At the end of the day, the underlying subject of this movie is: "We are The Muppets: If modern society decides we are no longer funny and popular, we're ok with that. We are just here to entertain for those who will appreciate."I'm not a professional critic, so there's no need for me to bore everyone with an over-analyzed, granular review. What I can say is I (like many folks) have been a die hard Muppet fan since I was a kid in the early 80's. Jim Henson was a genius and the world became a slightly darker place when we lost him. I lost touch with The Muppets over the years as they tried to re-envision themselves and relate to a new generation. Though still popular, it wasn't the same to me. This new film is the closest thing that I have seen in attempting to return to their truly zany days when you had Henson, Oz, Hunt, and Nelson leading the charge.
Jason Segel (who co-wrote the screenplay) didn't have to do his research. It's obvious he has been a fan of the Muppet-brand of humor for a long time. There were so many subtle homages to the classic essence of Henson and The Muppets that will fly under the radar of many, and yet they still managed to write a genuinely, caring story that will hold the attention of a new generation. Also, in the tradition of classic Muppet movies, keep your eyes peeled for "blink and you'll miss them" cameos by movie stars of all generations.
Additionally, I would like to point out that it was refreshing to see a plethora of classic, overlooked Muppets from the past getting their time in the spotlight in this movie: Lew Zealand, The News Anchor, Marvin Suggs, Uncle Deadly, along with the ALWAYS hip Electric Mayhem just to name a few.
I will close this review by saying, the absolute best part of seeing this movie was NOT looking around and seeing adults and kids in the theater laughing together at the same moments, but sitting next to a woman about my age with her two kids. (**Very minor spoiler) During a scene in which Walter is looking around the old Muppet theater, old pictures on the wall featuring Jim Henson and other Muppet history came into view. I heard the mom next to me sniffle, and I too wiped a few tears away. Her daughter leaned over and whispered, "....why are you crying?". Her mother turned to her and said, "...you wouldn't understand." I couldn't have said it better.
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On Saturday (11/19), my son and I attended an advance screening of the new movie "The Muppets". From the moment I received the invitation, I started going back in time to when my entire family would gather in the family room to watch The Muppets on TV.I remember the show format being similar to "Laugh In" and 'Sonny and Cher" (if you are old enough to remember back that far). I was in love with Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog and Fozzie's silly jokes cracked me up. Everyone was rooting for Gonzo to finally do one of his hair brained stunts right and the dancing chickens were the hit of the evening. And each show was always hosted by one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. When I told my son that I was a few years older that he is now when the show first came on TV, he said "Dang! The Muppets are that old?" Don't you just love kids...
The movie "The Muppets" starts out back in the day when the TV show was still a major hit. A little boy (well, more puppet than boy) named Walter who doesn't fit in with the rest of the kids in the neighborhood discovers The Muppets Show on TV and lives and breathes everything Muppets related all the way into adulthood. His brother Gary (played by Jason Segel) it very protective of Walter, much to the chagrin of his very, very long time girlfriend Mary (played by Amy Adams). What was suppose to be romantic getaway to LA for Mary and Gary, turns into a trip to the old Muppets studios by the threesome.
The Muppet Theater is now in major disrepair because the gang has all gone their separate ways. Kermit is in seclusion. Miss Piggy is now a Vogue editor in Paris. Fonzie Bear is living foul doing bad theater in Reno and Animal is in a mental institution with actor Jack Black. When a evil oilman plans to take over the Muppet Studios and tear it down, Gary talks the Muppet gang into getting back together to raise enough money to save the studio from ruin.
The movie is a totally cute vehicle for introducing a new audience to The Muppets while also taking the people who grew up watching the show in the 1970's back down memory lane. My son thought all the silly gags and fart jokes were great and I was singing The Muppets song and totally enjoying getting re-acquitted with all the characters from my youth.
My favorite character is still Miss Piggy and she was adorable with all her clothing and hair changes throughout the movie. My son was rolling when Miss Piggy started karate chopping everyone. And when Kermit started singing "The Rainbow Connection" I was singing right along with him.
Just like in the original series, his movie had cameo appearances from major Hollywood stars like Mickey Rooney, Alan Arkin, Selena Gomez, Whoopi Goldberg, and Neil Patrick Harris.
If you were not a Muppets fan before, you will be after seeing this cute movie. And don't say I did not warn you when you start singing "The Rainbow Connection" and "Mahna Mahna" on your way home :)
"The Muppets" opens in theaters Wednesday November 23, 2011 and is rated PG due to signature Muppets fantasy violence.There is a wide spread misunderstanding on what a family film is. Most people don't know, and unfortunately it seems most movie studios don't know. A family film is not a kid movie. A kid movie is almost literally a poor man's family film.
A kid movie only sets out to entertain children, and that doesn't take much. Bright colors and upbeat music is enough to make kids happy most times. As movies go, kid movies are a pretty safe bet. They're usually cheap, quick and easy to make and usually make money. Someone may be able to prove me wrong, but I don't think there is a such things as a good kid movie. Throw a rock at a movie marquee and you'll hit about three kid movies.
A family film is a completely different animal. They are meant for the entire family, and not just trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator. They supply things that the intelligent movie goer expect to find. Characters with depth and progression. A story with a beginning, middle and end. A mediocre family film will have moments come and go which are recognizable as peddling to certain demographics. A good family film will feel as if every moment is for everyone. The Muppets is such a movie.
I expected to enjoy this movie. I did not expect to love it. Oh man, was this movie good. I don't really know how to start. Well, I guess the beginning is a good a place as any. There's a few things you could say The Muppets is about. It's a little bit of a coming of age story, a little bit of a movie about the relationship between brothers and a little bit about the relationship between a man and a woman. Or occasionally a frog and a pig.
In the first case the movie is about Walter [Peter Linz (puppeteer and voice)], a newly introduced... well... Muppet, but that's not entirely correct in the mythology of this film, as Muppet refers solely to the performers of The Muppet Show, kind of like despite popular belief every Englishman is not in Monty Python. Here's what we'll do: muppet (small `m') will refer to the Henson created puppet, while Muppet (big `M') will refer to a member of The Muppets.
Starting over. In the first case the movie is about Walter [Peter Linz (puppeteer and voice)], a newly introduced muppet who grew up watching The Muppet Show. Being the only muppet in his idyllic Real America small town, The Muppet Show gave him something to relate to. In that regard I suppose The Muppet Show is kind of like muppexploitation. As such Walter leaps at the chance to join his brother Gary [Jason Segel] and his girlfriend Mary [Amy Adams] on their big trip to LA. For Walter it is very much a pilgrimage to... Mupecca.
The relationship between Walter and Gary (not a muppet, by the way) is charming. Also a little cutesy as the two seem to live in a bit of a state of arrested development. This is for three reasons, I'd say. Gary's devotion to his muppet brother, their existence in this town plucked straight from Leave it to Beaver and lastly because I think they're both kind of man-boys. Or occasionally muppet-boy. In that regard the movie is as much of a coming of age story for Gary as it is for Walter.
Interestingly the relationship between Gary and Mary feels flatter than the one between Kermit and Miss Piggy. But that's more praise for the ability of the muppets to come across as real characters with real emotion than it is an indictment of the human performance. The human romance is given a sense of reality by the difficulty it's faced to overcome, but the muppet equivalent has very parallel themes while also being performed by hands in felt.
The Muppets does just about everything right. The cameos are just good fun. The musical numbers are generally great, one or two of them struck me as falling just below the mark, but not enough to really take me out of it. The level of nostalgia felt just about right. It plucked the right heart strings without seeming like it was excluding the younger crowd for who wouldn't understand the history. I really enjoyed Jack Black in this movie. That's the first time I've been able to say that for years. I was constantly impressed with how much character and emotion could be delivered from a puppet which so often you just don't get from computer animated characters. Hear that Lucas?
There are very many places in this movie where it could have gone horribly wrong. I think the movie is protected by that it knows what it is and knows what it isn't. It has no problem poking a little fun at itself or light heartedly breaking the fourth wall. For example, the antagonist is a very stereotypical evil rich guy. But instead of playing it straight and being a glaring fault the film has fun with it. The dude's name is Mr Richman. He doesn't maniacally laugh. He says "Maniacal laugh."
The movie is also very aware, and in some cases about, that The Muppets have largely been out of the public eye for a long time and that people might not care about them. I don't know how much of that was an actual concern in the making of the movie, but it seems that people have responded by saying "Yes we do."
5 out of 5 hands in felt.
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I loved 'The Muppets 2011'....a fun, happy, total feel good movie for all ages in my opinion. We need more fun and happy in our lives, especially in today's world....fantastic.Save 30% Off
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