Kermit, Fozzy, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and the rest of the fabric clad gang of puppets are all back on the big screen this Thanksgiving. And, they didn’t come alone. It wouldn’t be a Muppet Movie without the casual cameos – Dave Grohl, Mickey Rooney, Selena Gomez, Alan Arkin, Zach Galifianakis, and many more. The combination of puppetry, star power and tons of musical numbers (the Music Supervisor is Bret McKenzie of the band and TV show “Flight of the Conchords”) is what makes The Muppets a delight for both the new audience and the life long fans.
The story is really no different than what we had seen in the earlier Muppet films. The gist of it is that the Band of Brothers (The Muppets) must come together to over come an evil human. If you had seen “The Muppet Movie” from 1979 they had to over come Doc Hopper because he wanted to make frog legs from Kermit. Now in 2011 the evil doer is Tex Richman (played by Chris Cooper) who wants to take the run down Muppet theater and drill for oil on its property.
We are introduced to a new Muppet, Walter, the brother of a real human, Gary (played by Jason Segel). They are living an ideal existence in Smalltown, U.S.A. with no real problems except that Walter is the only Muppet of this town of 102 humans. Gary buys tickets to Hollywood for the 10 year anniversary of dating his girlfriend, Mary (played by Amy Adams).
Once at Hollywood the trio immediately goes to the Muppet Theater to see their Mecca has been run down with no magic left. Walter overhears Tex Richman’s plan to take over the Muppet theater, unless someone comes up with $10 million.
Walter, Mary and Gary hunt down Kermit the Frog who is living a somewhat of a “Sunset Boulevard” existence in a lonely mansion. They team up to find the remaining muppets who have also faded into the pop culture background. Fozzy is in a Muppet tribute band called “The Moopets,” Gonzo is a plumbing magnate, and Miss Piggy is a famous magazine editor in Paris. After a funny montage the crew is back together and they earn their big break to put on a telethon to raise the needed $10 million.
The story picks up more speed once the telethon is in full swing with reluctant celebrity host, Jack Black. We see some new renditions of modern pop songs and even a barber shop quartet version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
The story finally climaxes like all Muppet movies do with a grand finale musical number where everyone learns a lesson and all ends well. Not to ruin the ending for you, but if you have seen one Muppet movie you have seen them all. But that is a good thing, for being foam filled pieces of fabric they sure are some positive folks who aren’t afraid to make fun of themselves.
Should you see this movie? Yes, it’s a fun family movie where all along both the Muppets and the cameo stars know they are in a film and embrace the audience to take them on an enjoyable journey.
If you grew up watching “The Muppet Show” or have seen “The Muppet Movie,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” “Muppets from Space” or any of the other Muppet films you will know that you will be leaving the theater humming at least one song and smiling at the same time.
P.S. My song was “Mahna Mahna.” Dee do dee do, mah na mah na, do do do.
