4.5/5

The Muppets are back and silly as ever in Jason Segel?s reboot of The Muppets formula, and becomes one of the most blindingly silly and emotionally satisfying movie returns for a franchise seen in recent years. The Muppet?s have been a beloved yet missing in action trouped for over 10 years, so there was much anticipation for this big screen return. Although Jason Segel had big boots to fill with the likes of Jim Henson and Frank Oz missing in action, he sticks with what the Muppets do best and reconciles the generation gap between the older Muppet?s classics and their latest Disney servings. He treats our beloved Muppets like the age old legends that they are, and pays tribute to both the Muppet?s of our childhood while making sure the kids will get a kick out of these loveable characters. This works out for everyone involved. Older fans will be happy to see the Muppets they knew back as kids. They?ve retained the same life-affirming energy, the ?We can be whatever we want to be? attitude (as Amy Adams sings in the opening number) and the confidence in one?s self, warts and all (and the muppet?s have some large and loveable ones) that we learned to have (or wanted to have) through watching their diverse range of friendships that they?ve encompassed for the past 40 years or so. If there?s anything that can be said about ?The Muppets?, it?s that it is appropriately named. That?s because the Muppets know who they?re supposed to be. This time we welcome a new Muppet in town. Walter is the world?s biggest Muppet fan. He?s an identity crisis on his hands and finds a special connection when he discovers The Muppet Show as a child. Beside him always is his muppet-faced human brother, Gary (Jason Segel) who plans to go to L.A with his girlfriend and bring Walter with him. What this means for Walter, is that he?s finally going to see The Muppet Studios and meet with the Muppet Troupe that he?s got posters, and games and costumes of. He even owns a Kermit watch. Walter?s undying passion for the Muppets would be relatable to long-time fans of the group. When Walter discovers that the Muppets have broken up long ago (and that it wasn?t just an internet rumor), and gets involved with a conspiracy that involves the destruction of Muppet Studios for the drilling of oil beneath it, planned by the devious Tex Richman, oil barron extraordinary (?It?s great to be me yeah?, sings Tex in a rap number), and so who then stalks Kermit to tell him the real deal, who must then help get the Muppets back together for a big show to get the $10 million to save the studio (as it says so in the contract). We know where he was coming from. Apart from the Muppets, we follow the relationship tensions between Gary and Mary due to Walter?s existence that wedges between them. It works and makes for some fun songs such as the rocking ?Me Party? by Amy Adams and ?Man or Muppet? by Segel both of which sound modern and fresh enough to please young and old alike. But the stars of the show are of course the Muppets, and what a show! The Muppets reboot not only returns these human cloths to the big screen but also brings back what made them famous. ?The Muppet Show? comes back dazzling as ever, with all those song and dance numbers and special guests that we love. However, ?Will anybody listen, or even care, or did something break we can?t repair?? sings Kermit. This may be true; there was a reason why it?s been 12 years since the last Muppet Movie. The last one was Muppets in Space (which I liked), and it failed to repent its costs. But just like this comeback show, this movie asks the same question. Are the Muppet?s still popular and loved enough in our day and age? I must now talk about a certain act in this show that hit me like a cannon ball to the face. Kermit sings Rainbow Connection with the entirety of The Muppets. It?s spellbindingly beautiful. It?s simply magical. A song that both encapsulate what The Muppet?s mean to me and the world, and what the world needs more of. ?Someday we?ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.? Sings Kermit, with Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Beaker and the rest. Kermy, you?ve found it. It?s been there beside you all along. And as I left the theatre with my fellow cinema goers, there was that sense that maybe it was between us as well. There was going to be an interesting comparison between Miss Piggy and Kermit and Gary and Mary?s relationship tensions but it ultimately never took off. And certain scene?s in the middle of the film don?t gel well and kind of slow it down a little. But The Muppets is a beaming, clever reboot of Muppet magic that many fans have waited so long for. The Muppets hopefully marks the return for a string of Muppet movies that follow these loveable characters. It?s an incredibly watchable film that is witty, self-ware and so silly that it?s never too serious about its plot or its logic. That?s because Kermit and Co. are what drives this film. The Muppet?s are back, and as Miss Piggy would have it, everything else comes second.