The Muppets (2011)

It's been a long time since the Muppets made their last silver screen appearance and don't they know it. A little puppet named Walter has been an avid Muppets fan since childhood; they were his heroes and his role models. During the ten year anniversary of his brother Gary and his girlfriend Mary (Jason Segel and Amy Adams), the three of them go to Los Angeles were Walter goes to visit the Muppets Studio. There he finds the place rundown and nearly empty, with only an evil oil tycoon and his two stooges bent on purchasing the studio in order to drill for the oil beneath it.

The one loophole in the contract he has stipulates that the Muppets may buy their studio back if they can raise $10m before it expires. Walter drags Gary and Mary along in his quest to save the studio and reestablish the Muppets as a reputable source of entertainment once more. As it has happened before, a road trip ensues to collect the scattered puppets from around the country (and eventually the world) to bring them together for one final telethon to raise the funds.

I'm not sure that this film will do good work in creating new Muppets fans among the young generation, but it aims to please a wide audience, new and old alike, and it succeeds. There are too many characters and too many inside jokes for the children of today to understand exactly where each of them stands with regards to the entire group, but it's fun, energetic and full of love.

For those of us who have seen plenty of the crew in the past this is a breath of fresh air from some of the previous, lack-luster adventures they have put on. Kermit, Ms. Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and all the rest are undeniable cute and funny, but often they have been in stories which don't offer them enough room to exercise the full potential of their brand of comedy. This one is different. It's zippy, silly and the jokes are good. It's just the right length, with really good music and a lot of spirit.

Its central messages are about fighting for what you believe in, having confidence in who you are and making sure that your friends come first. There is nothing new in that to be learned, but it is nice to have positive messages being shown to children by a group of characters that never really deserved to die out. When there are so many children's films coming out with violence, innuendo and mind-numbing plots, this dying breed seems almost new again. The film is self-aware and there are many references to the fact that the Muppets are past their prime, but hopefully this film will spark a renewal of cleverer plots and a continuation of the very strong franchise. 

3/4