The Muppets ☆☆☆☆

Words cannot describe how happy I am these felt creatures are back on the big screen...but I'll give it a go!

I grew up with the Muppets, maybe not the regular evening show but I can vividly remember going to the old cinema down the road to see Muppet Treasure Island and every Christmas I watch Muppet Christmas Carol as though its the first time I'm seeing it, yet know all the words to the songs. They are part of my childhood as I watched Sesame Street in the mornings, even watching Elmo's special early morning show when I was a teenager, who could never admit to watching such a programme, but would much rather see Elmo on screen than the news headlines.

Jim Henson is many people's hero, mine included, because he created characters that are lifelong, you won't meet a bigger Diva than Miss Piggy, be less able to understand anyone more than Beaker, and yet we love them.

You might have guessed already this is going to be a positive review.

So to the movie itself. It has been a long time since The Muppets graced the silver screen with the particularly awful Muppets in Space which finally explained where Gonzo the Great came from...no, not right. If ever a character's roots needed to not be explained it was Gonzo's, as the joke lies in the inability to say what he is. We have Kermit The Frog, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and the Gonzo the...whatever he is!
This film in contrast goes back to the origins of The Muppets and the show, where the Studio is in danger of being torn apart to find oil, not be preserved as a museum.

In comes the plucky youngster whose love of the Muppets will reignite the show and bring the gang back together, Walter (voiced by Peter Linz, a long time muppeteer who has provided background voices but now gets a lead). Walter has an older brother Gary, played by Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) who also co-wrote and was the driving force behind this movie being made, who takes his little brother with him to L.A on his vacation with his girlfriend Mary (played by Amy Adams of Enchanted fame).

I heard the Radio 1 movie reviewer (who is frankly an awful critic) remark that Amy Adams is no where near as chipper as she is normally - all I can say is she wasn't playing a Disney Princess this time, she was the woman in a ten year relationship whose boyfriend seemed more concerned with getting the Muppets back together than spending time with her, its understandable she isn't all white teeth and big eyes.

Walter and Gary and Mary all work with Kermit to bring the gang back, revamp the theatre, and put on a show to earn the required 10 million needed to stop greedy oil tycoon Tex Richman (played with such relish by Chris Cooper - Bourne Identity) from destroying the Muppet Studios.

Thats all you need to know plot wise. Its pretty standard Muppet fare, but its the execution that matters, and it is slick in its chaos, nostalgic, and so funny and sweet its like watching them on the TV once again.

Acting wise, well the Muppets are brilliant of course, and new Muppet Walter is so lovely he is the embodiment of Jason Segel's enthusiasm for these characters and their world.
As for the human cast Jason Segel and Amy Adams have the required singing and dancing talent, and their story provides a nice side story of not forgetting those who are important to you, which had happened to the Muppets also. Chris Cooper is fantastic as evil Tex Richman, even rapping at one point! The greatest thing about the Muppets is they need goodies and baddies, where the goodies are almost angelic and the baddies you can almost see the pitchfork and horns. They give actors the chance to do pantomine, but almost legitimately.
Rashida Jones (I Love You Man, Parks and Rec) does a fine job as the TV executive who reluctantly lets the Muppets have a slot on television, getting to shake Kermit, but ultimately realising the joy that comes from these characters.

The cameos are brilliant, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters/Nirvana) gets to be a Moopet, Emily Blunt rekindles her Devil Wears Prada character as Miss Piggy's assistant, and I could go on but that would spoil the surprise for spotting people.
I have to say though at one point Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) comments "I don't know why I'm not hosting the show either" and as much as I love him, he does not have the international level of fame that Jack Black enjoys who is the reluctant, to say the least, host of the Muppets telethon.

If you don't know who these actors are however the purpose of the cameo is lost, same as if you don't remember the noise your modem used to make when connecting to the Internet a lot of the jokes may not make you laugh. I'm old enough to remember these things, watch enough television and movies to get all the cameos, and more importantly I have loved the Muppets since I was a child.

I was never going to hate this movie, A Muppet Christmas Carol and Treasure Island remain two of my most favourite book adaptations of all time because the Muppets tell the stories so well, keeping the scary moments but also adding a lot of humour that makes them memorable.
I hope this means that the Muppets will come back to our television screens and stay for years to come, so that if I ever have kids I won't have to explain who Kermit, Piggy, Animal or any of the others are.

If you love Muppets, go see this film.