The Muppets Review

"It's time to play the music, It's time to light the lights, It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight."

And with those three lines the long time coming return of the Muppets finally happens, and it may be the single most enjoyable time you could have in a theater this year. Not only is the Muppets a well-crafted, hilarious romp for all ages, but it is also a movie with a ton of heart. It is not the best film of the year but it may as well be the most enjoyable.

After twelve long years the Muppets have disbanded due to unspecified reason. The story starts with Gary (played by Jason Segel) and his Muppet brother Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) who on a trip to Hollywood end up uncovering a plot to destroy the famous Muppets Theater. Gary, Walter, and Mary (Amy Adams) have only two weeks to reunite the Muppets and put on a show to raise money and save the Muppets. What follows suite is a hilarious montage, absolutely amazing musical numbers, and a combination of sharply written Meta like dialogue alongside some heartwarming moments. This is more a movie for anyone already familiar with the Muppets rather then children. Sure, they will find plenty to love, but the subtly moments that truly make this movie shine. I find it hard for anyone familiar with the characters not to get a little misty eyed during the song "Pictures in my Head", or to wonder exactly what happened to Miss Piggy and Kermit. These may be Muppets but they live normal human lives and suffer from human conditions also.

Every character in this movie has at least one moment to shine, whether it is in song or in montage every character is represented well. This is especially true for the human characters that are completely believable as they are merely acting with simple puppets. But the movie is well aware anyone who comes to this movie is there for Muppets and does not spend a lot of time on the humans. The movie starts to drag in the second act as Mary and Gary start to take centerfold (and a sub-plot seems to arise between Miss Piggy and Mary that is never mentioned), but it all wraps up quickly for the spectacular third act. There are tons of cameos ranging from Neil Patrick Harris, Ken Jeong, and Whoopi Goldberg, but the best cameo I will not spoil (just look out for the mirror man). All of them are fine but do not really do anything. They're just kind of there. 

Those minor grips are nothing though compared to what the movie succeeds in. The soundtrack is probably the highlight of the movie with Disney finally reaching the level of excellence they have yet to reach in the 21st century. The jokes are funny and campy like they should be, the movie is colorful and fun, and it all wraps up exactly like you would imagine it. This is a movie that does not break down any walls in terms of entertainment it just camps next to them. For a Muppets movie it hits all the right notes and does exactly what it needs to do: introduce the Muppets to a new generation of children and hit the right points to invoke a sense of nostalgia for those already familiar with the source material. Its not the best movie of the year, but I'll be damned if it is not the most enjoyable time you will have at a theater. You will be grinning the entire time, guaranteed.