It's time to light the lights!
You know how you had that favorite film or show you loved as a kid, then as an adult you heard they were remaking it? Remember being filled with tentative joy at being able to see your childhood icons once more? Until you finally saw it in theaters and wept loudly until they dragged you kicking and screaming from the marquee? Wait, maybe that was just me… But come on, we’ve all had our dreams crushed so many times that we don’t even blink when Hollywood craps all over another of our favorites from yesteryear. That’s why many people have so much trepidation over the newest Disney release, The Muppets. I mean, if their Muppet Show ‘reboot’ Studio DC:Almost Live in 2008 was any indication, Disney just can’t handle the Muppets. Rest assured ladies and gents and pigs and frogs and weirdos, this film is truer to the Muppets formula then the franchise has been in decades.
Though the movie isn’t really being sold as a reboot, it is in a way. Getting into the details would spoil the plot, but it will suffice to say that in the end the Muppets start with a fresh slate for any new films or shows to begin. It’s basically the original Muppet movie… just set in the 21st century as a follow-up. The plot, or rather, plots, are fairly basic. The Muppets need to save the theater from an oil baron (again), so they regroup and decide to put on a show. Gary (played by Jason Segal) needs to be there for both his brother Walter (played by Walter) and his girlfriend Mary (played by Amy Adams) and in the end needs to choose one to be with. All three actors play their roles well, though in the end they take backstage to the real stars of the stage, the Muppets.
And this is the return to the true Muppets form that we have been wishing to see for decades. Absurdist parodies abound, along with numerous references to things guaranteed to fly over kids’ heads. No CGI to be found here, just plenty of puppetry. And you’d think they couldn’t find any new ways to present puppets, but you’ll undoubtedly leave the theater wondering how they pulled off the likes of ‘Muppet Man’. Celebrities such as Mickey Rooney, Neil Patrick Harris and Dave Grohl will have the adults laughing while the kids will undoubtedly recognize the likes of Jack Black and Selena Gomez. Kids… kids do recognize Jack Black right? They’d better.
Here kids, this is Jack Black.
Ah, and the musical numbers. Music has always been a huge part of the Muppets and it certainly delivers here. There’s fun covers of We Built This City, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and @#$% You. Then there’s new Muppet songs like Pictures in My Head, Man or Muppet, and Me Party. And (yes there’s even more) classic Muppet songs like Mahna Mahna, the Muppet Show theme and Rainbow Connection should crack a smile of nostalgia. It’s all good and it’s all quite memorable and endearing.
That said, the movie does have a few faults. The villain is hardly utilized well and really isn’t original in the slightest, though I will admit he is quite memorable thanks to a musical number and his maniacal laugh. The pacing in the entire film doesn’t really mesh well either. The first third of the movie kinda drags until the Muppets really start coming together. The various plotlines could probably intersect better. And while the humans play their roles well, they can’t help but seem bland compared to the brevity and raucousness of the Muppets.
Someone somewhere looked at Chris Cooper and thought he could rap. We bless that man here.
Though in the end, my complaints are fairly hollow. I’d buy a ticket to see this movie again in a heartbeat and honestly, this a movie everyone should see. Muppets are for everyone and it’s refreshing to see something so… sensationally charming in theaters. Movies like the Muppets only come every once in a green moon people, so go see it already.








most prolific rides and spawn a highly successful movie franchise. And the latest entry in the franchise is looking to be one of the most successful financially. And there’s already a fifth being planned! But does this move hold up after watching, and it is worthy of your hard-earned money?
Blackbeard is our new main villain, though he’s no Davy Jones. Sure he has a magic sword that controls ships, but his presence doesn’t really strike fear into your heart, unless you’re terrified of generic pirates who are ‘evil to the soul’. The mermaids though are terrifying, dark creatures of mystery and allure. If your kids are excited to see mermaids, expecting something akin to Ariel, it’s best to warn them of what they’ll see. These are mermaids that destroy entire ships, eating their victims (men, of course) alive as they drag them to the ocean depths. I was on the edge of my seat for them, and not just because of their extremely well-placed Godiva Hair. The new female lead Angelica is alright, but her main character trait basically amounts to ‘pretty girl’. She’s exciting at the most, but hardly memorable.
