Jim Henson’s legendary creations, the Muppets, were crafted from one part felt, one part google-eyes, and one part pixie dust. For a couple of decades they were the rulers of family entertainment, with their madcap dedication to progressive humor and extravagant song and dance numbers leading to them being featured prominently on both television and in movies. To this day they are pop culture icons. Show a kid a picture of Kermit the Frog or Miss Piggy and they will know exactly what they’re looking at. But something strange has happened in the last decade or so. The Muppets have all but disappeared. The last movie they had in the theaters was 1999’s Muppets From Space, and other than a couple one-off specials they’ve had no presence on TV either. It begs the question, in this age of video games, mobile computing devices, and the Internet, does anybody care about the Muppets anymore?
This new film, written by Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s Jason Segal and Nicholas Stoller, and directed by The Flight of the Conchords’ James Bobin, doesn’t just test out whether or not there is still a place for the Muppets in this world, it makes a very strong case that there is. From pretty much the first frame, this movie just feels right; like the spirit of The Muppet Show and The Muppet Movie has been recaptured, perhaps for the first time ever. And, with respect to legends of family entertainment like Henson and Frank Oz, this is probably the Muppet creative team with the strongest comedic sensibilities ever. There is certainly something to be said for the nostalgic magic of watching The Muppet Movie, but The Muppets is the funniest that felt has ever been. And by the time you get through the first big music number, “Life’s a Happy Song”, any bad memories of the non-funny, non-singing and dancing atrocity that was Muppets From Space will be the furthest thing from your mind. The Muppets doesn’t just introduce Jim Henson’s creations to a new generation, it sees Kermit and friends scooping a new generation up in their arms and sweeping them along on a joyous ride.
The story told works perfectly for a new Muppet film because its self-referential and Meta in the best ways. It takes what the audience is already feeling about a new Muppet movie and it uses it to create an instant emotional connection to the conflict. The Muppets is basically exploring the question of whether or not the Muppets are still relevant, and whether or not they can be successful with current audiences. When the film starts off the Muppets are scattered to the wind. They haven’t performed together in years and Muppet Studios has fallen into disrepair. This doesn’t sit well with our new character Walter, who has always felt like he’s a little different (probably because he’s three feet tall and made of felt), and has always been inspired by Kermit and the rest of the gang. Together with his loyal big brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary’s longtime lady friend Mary (Amy Adams), he takes the trek from the small town of Smalltown all the way to L.A. to see The Muppet Theater for himself; and circumstances see him leading the charge to reunite the Muppets and put on a fundraising show to keep the Muppet Studios and the trademarks for the Muppet names out of the clutches of evil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper).
The question hangs in the air though, does anyone still remember The Muppets? Does anyone care? Should they really make the effort to preserve the memories of their past performances and save their legacy from being exploited by an egotistical jerk like Richman? Segel and company seem to think the answer is yes, because when faced with the real life version of these questions, they bet on the Muppets, and the results of their efforts are this film; a joyful, sweet natured affirmation that the optimistic mindset of the Muppets is just as relevant today as it ever was before. Throw in a bunch of great songs, some personal obstacles that need to be overcome, and a whole truckload of gags, and what you have is the best Muppet product that has come out in a very long time, if not ever. The Muppets is just a cornucopia of smiles, and I can’t imagine anyone, young or old, coming out of it and not enjoying what they’ve seen.
Really, I can only identify one problem I had with it at all, which was that the first act was better than the rest of the film. Don’t get me wrong, this is a strong movie all the way through, especially for being such a broadly appealing family film aimed at the mainstream, but the final two thirds just couldn’t live up to the sense of discovery and forward momentum of the setup; and it messes up the pacing a little bit. Once all of the Muppets finally get together and it’s time to play the music and light the lights, the film noticeably slows. A large part of why that happens is just because the newcomers to the Muppet world are so interesting. Jason Segel and Amy Adams are both adorable in this. Their so-idyllic-it’s-cheese vision of the inhabitants of small town America is endearing to the point of being Muppet-like in its execution. A lot of times the human characters in these Muppet movies are just fodder for celebrity cameos (and there are a lot of those here) or bland straight men for the insanity of the Muppets to bounce off of. But Segel and Adams’ Gary and Mary manage to be relatable characters who hook you into their relationship drama as well as funny characters who add entertainment value to the film. They don’t just give Gonzo and Fozzie reaction shots, they crack jokes and have big music numbers of their own. Segel’s “Man or Muppet” and Adams’ “Me Party” aren’t just two of the best songs in the film, they’re also hilarious and they’re huge spotlights for non-Muppet characters.
And the newest Muppet, Gary’s brother Walter, proves himself to be a worthy addition to this universe as well. When I originally heard of the premise of the Walter character, that he was a lifelong fan of the Muppets’ TV shows and movies, I thought that he would be a boring or even tedious character. Would he just be there to gawk in amazement at everything the Muppets were doing, a character working as a cue to let us know when we’re supposed to be fondly remembering all of the good stuff the Muppets have done in the past? And, personality wise, would there be anything interesting about him other than the fact that he loves the Muppets? Would he end up just being a blank page that we’re supposed to project our own personalities onto so we could relate to the glorified fan fiction that is this new Muppet movie? Thankfully, none of that stuff happened. Walter works great as a protagonist, and while he is used as the catalyst of the story, the cheerleader who gets all of the characters back together, he also has his own struggles that I found really compelling. What is it like for a puppet to grow up in a small town where everyone else is human? Where does he fit in, and how can he find his own identity in an environment that has no idea how to nurture a creature like him? Coming from a small town myself, I found the story to be very relatable. And when Walter reveals that he himself has a performing talent toward the end of the film, well that just solidified him as a real member of the Muppet roster in my book. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of Walter in future Muppet projects.
Let’s face it, the current state of family movies is in the toilet. Just looking at the trailers that got attached to the front of this movie is an easy way to remind yourself of how lazy, predictable, and stupid child friendly films have become. They’re all about remixes of obnoxious pop songs, bathroom humor, and exploiting familiar brand names. No attention gets paid to story, character, or heart. The Muppets are different. They’ve always been about creating their own additions to the pop culture lexicon, not just remixing and exploiting stuff that’s already out there. They’ve always had a commitment to subversive, absurdist humor. In this film Fozzie wears a pair of “fart shoes” and we’re supposed to laugh at what a hacky comedian he is. But in any other kids movies that came out this year, fart shoes would have been treated as the height of hilarity. Do we really want to teach our kids that the easiest joke is always the best joke?
I don’t know if this movie proved that the Muppets are still relevant to our modern society or not; that’s a tale that will need to be told with time. But The Muppets certainly proves that these character are still fun, that they still have some life in them when they’re handled by the right people. And it proves that you can still get laughs without being cynical or crass; that even in an age of anti-heroes a character as earnest and good-natured as Kermit the Frog can stir something inside of you by giving a big speech appealing to the goodness in our hearts. It’s a bit of a stretch to think that The Muppets might create some sort of revolution where a new wave of wholesome, interesting, and intelligent family films replaces the crop of cash grabs that we’re getting now. But at least it feels like this movie is trying to start a revolution. Shouldn’t that be the goal of any art; to change the way we think, to put us more in touch with our humanity (or Muppetness), and to make the world a better place? If you want your kids to be good people, don’t take them to see Chip-Wrecked next month, take them to see The Muppets now.
