Muppets are reintroduced and reunited
Ramsey Kincannon
News Editor
Throughout the majority of Jason Segel’s new incarnation of Jim Henson’s beloved collection of characters, the jokes, situations and cameos kept the surliest person I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing giggling in his seat.
In order to get a new Muppets movie (the last one was 1999‘s “Muppets in Space”), Jason Segel purchased the rights to Jim Henson’s franchise, saying that “The Muppets have shown for 40 years that it’s possible to get laughs without having to do it at anyone else’s expense” (Miami Herald). Also, with his experience with puppets in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” another movie he co-wrote, co-directed and acted in, Segel came to the Muppet movie with some experience as a puppeteer. His expertise shines through and the Muppets come alive on screen. Kermit, the charming leader of the gang, is tasked by Gary (Segel’s character) and his puppeted brother, Walter, to reunite the gang in order to raise money to save the Muppet Theater and ultimately the Muppet name from Chris Cooper’s Tex Richman, an oil conglomerate who is, ready for this?, unable to laugh. Gary; Mary, Gary’s wonderful girlfriend (Amy Adams); Walter, and Kermit try to reunite several Muppets, ranging from Fozzie Bear to Gonzo to Animal (in a hilarious rehab sequence) and even Miss Piggy, Kermit’s lover, once upon a time. It’s a run-of-the-mill story, but executed wonderfully; it successfully reintroduces all of the Muppets to new generations of children, but gives older fans new reasons to love these rich characters.
The movie goes somewhat astray, however, in constantly breaking down the fourth wall. By continuously reminding the audience that they’re there, even if the comments are hilarious (i.e. “this is going to be a really short movie,” “I didn’t know we had enough money in the budget for an explosion like that,”) they kept me from truly getting immersed in the movie. Instead, I was completely aware of the fact that I was a puppet myself, told when to laugh at jokes.
The Muppets is a fun-loving movie, and anyone with any recollection of Jim Henson’s beloved creatures will laugh, no matter how crabby, grouchy, or ill-tempered they are. The entire ensemble, ranging from the leads (Segel and Adams) to the Muppets (voiced by Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobsen, Dave Goelz and co.) to even the guest stars (Jack Black as a kidnapped celebrity host, Alan Alda and even Rashida Jones as a grinchy network executive) are all totally enthusiastic and clearly love the project they’re working on. Though bulldozing the fourth wall provides some laughs, it can reinforce the structure a little too firmly. However, this doesn’t ruin a genuine movie, where Jim Henson’s characters are clearly adored and loved.
Funding for the movie review was provided by Cinemark.