The Muppets – Official Poster – from IMDB.com

The Muppets (2011)

Director: James Bobin
Writers: Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller, and Jim Henson (based on) (as Disney’s Muppet properties and characters)
Stars: Amy Adams, Jason Segel and Chris Cooper

I have always loved the Muppets and I grew up watching their films and TV show reruns. However I really fell in love with the Muppets when I turned 21 when I, for the first time, watched the original Muppet Movie. There was something about seeing the self-aware sense of humour be done in a subtle way that really appealed to me. So of course when the new Muppet film was due to be released I organised with a few girlfriends to see it on opening day. It was everything I could’ve hoped for and more. It had the random singing numbers, the self-aware humour, the story of the Muppets having to come together again and defeat the challenges facing them. And yes, it is the “same story” as the other Muppet movies (Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Movie, even A Muppet Christmas Carol has the same idea) but there is a wonderful beauty to a good story arch and The Muppets stands up for itself in that.

Jason Segel and Amy Adams are brilliant but my favourite performance in this film is by Mickey Rooney who appears for one line but warms my heart so brilliantly! And many of you may not know who Mickey Rooney is and you should go and google him and watch some of his early films with Judy Garland because he is a brilliant actor/musician/dancer/singer/etc. The entire Muppet cast is incredible but even more so is the writing of Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller. They have created an accurate rehashing of one of the world’s most loved family enterprises and I really hope that a whole new generation get to fall in love with The Muppets like I did as a kid.

If you haven’t seen anything of the Muppets previously then a) I feel sorry for you and your childhood, and b) you may not get the Muppets straight away. It is particular strange as an idea but it is an idea that works. The characters, their development over the course of the film, and the way the film brings together so many different artists is a delight to watch for people of all ages. It makes a great family film and adults will love this film as much, if not more than the kids.