By: Rama
Is Rama still in love with The Muppets after all these years? Please make sure to follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
THE MUPPETS makes me smile, makes me feel like a kid again. This film doesn’t have a single dull moment, I love every minute! Genius songwriter Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords) should get nominated for his catchy original songs Man or Muppet and Life’s A Happy Song.
I had my worries at first because the Forgetting Sarah Marshall team Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller’s brand of humor are in the same R-rated raunchy ring as Judd Apatow’s but Segel and Stoller are very respectful to THE MUPPETS characters and this whole property. There’s no innuendo and it’s very family friendly. Folks of all ages will enjoy the humor. Neither Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy, Gonzo nor Pepe are any different than the way remembered them growing up. And Walter is a fantastic latest addition to one of the most beloved gangs of all time…
What’s your childhood’s favorite Muppets movie? The Muppets Takes Manhattan? The Muppets Christmas Carol? Muppets From Space? Well, this comeback movie beats all of those.
The story is basically about Muppets getting their team back together to save their studio. Years have gone by and everybody’s got their own separate lives, some successful, some not so much but their personalities, their habits are still intact, some may be repressed but it’s there in them, waiting for the ‘animal’ side to be unleashed.
Kermit and Miss Piggy still have that complicated adoration tension relationship. You can’t not like those two. You know they care for each other, they care for the show, they care for the team but they’re like old bickering married couple, Kermit often makes fun of Piggy and Piggy is too focused on herself to pay attention but that’s the tie that binds, they will always end up together and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Because THE MUPPETS has so many characters, just be ready for the fact that one or two of your favorites may not be getting much screen time but it’s totally understandable in my book, because you gotta keep in mind that Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and the new puppet Walter are also part of the story, they’re key characters as well. Segel deciding where his priorities are, Walter conflicted between joining the team and sticking by his human pal, and Adams feels neglected.
You may get bombarded by the film’s many moral messages and themes but I for one don’t mind because that’s what THE MUPPETS been about anyway, to let you know that you’re awesome, that you belong, that everyone’s got talent, that music always makes doing chores fun and the list goes on.
The telethon takes you back to the old episodes, this is one that’s not to be missed.
I think the way this movie reintroduces these characters to today’s generation is brilliant. In this day and age when everything is CG animation or hybrid, it’s good to see old skool puppetry skill at work. You get newfound respect for that.
And just like the old shows and the old movies, this movie too has a gazillion celebrity cameos and they aim to cheer you up. Oscar winner Chris Cooper is excellent as the bad guy Tex Rich and the humor that occasionally breaks fourth wall will invite you to be part of the joyous occasion.
There’s one cinematic set piece in the film that I really had fun watching, when Kermit sings and the paintings of his buddies all around him turn to life, kinda speaks in a way that reminds us that even if we haven’t seen THE MUPPETS in a while, they’re not entirely gone, they’re still around, they’re just not around as a team,.. until this movie comes along and makes that reunion possible. And I think this whole thing is a major success mostly because it’s handled by people who truly love THE MUPPETS and have been genuine fans ever since they could remember.
GRADE: 5 out of 5
Please Leave A Comment-
Comments