When The Muppets was first announced, there was a lot of concern about whether or not Jason Segel was the right man to play the lead, let alone to pen the script.
How could the guy from such films Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Knocked Up possibly do right by the family-friendly puppets? Well, curious hypothetical reader, you’ll be glad to hear that Segel has written – and stars in – about as perfect a Muppets movie as you could want in 2011 (or 2012 if you happen to live in Australia).
It looks like they have everything under control
Another big question was whether or not the Muppets would even be relevant in 2011. It’s been 12 years since the Muppets last graced the silver screen and the film is well aware of this with many a references to the fact that nobody cares about them any more.
The film sees Gary (Segel), Mary (Amy Adams) and Gary’s Muppet obsessed brother, Walter, visit Los Angeles from Smalltown to take a tour of the Muppets studio only to find that the studio is run down and about to be exploited by the oil baron Tex Richman. Obviously it’s up to Gary, Mary, Walter and Kermit to get the Muppets back together for one last show so they can buy back their studio.
The studios have certainly seen better days
What follows is roughly 90 minutes of non-stop, unfettered, all-singin’ and all-dancin’ fun.
It’s the sort of fun that you hadn’t realised was missing from film until you sat down to watch this one.
Part of that is nostalgia, for sure, and it will be interesting to see how kids react to the film. Being a Muppets film it is obviously 100% kid friendly but the reality is that it’s the parents and older “children” that will have the fondest memories of the Muppets from when they were young.
Oh, also I would be remiss to not mention the songs – written by Flight of the Conchords own Bret McKenzie – which are exceptional and will have you wanting to sing and dance in the aisle (or maybe that’s just me!).
Of note is the now Oscar nominated song Man or Muppet which not only features a Muppetised version of Segel, but the most expertly cast cameo performance for the human version of Walter.
One of these men is an Oscar nominated song writer
Because it took so long for Australian cinemas to get their hands on The Muppets, there’s not a lot left to say that hasn’t already been said before. However, I will venture to say that The Muppets provides a kind of child-like joy that is hard to find in film these days.
Even if you’ve never heard of the Muppets before or never really had any affection for Jim Henson’s felt creations, you should probably still check this movie out. I cannot remember the last time I’ve had so much fun in a cinema.
Eclectic Dynamite 