User reviews

I must admit, I usually write reviews when i am angry, however in this case, I am writing this review because of pure love for the movie.

I went to this movie expecting few laughs and an enjoyable night. My expectations were met and more. the songs were great, the plot was classic Hollywood plot but they made fun of it so it didn't bother me at all. I laughed at all the jokes without exception. I didn't know the whole cast so the surprise appearances affected me emotionally.

most importantly, I felt that the people who are doing that movie didn't acted on that movie for the money, for the box office or for the fame, they did it for pure love for the Muppet's(most of them anyways) and I felt that. I was asking my self why I loved this movie? and this is was the answer I got. As long as these kinds of movies being made, there is still hope for Hollywood.

For all of you who are wondering if this will even come close to capturing the magic of the original Muppet movie, I just have one thing to say to you: go see this movie!!!!! I was a little worried myself that this movie would not be great, but tonight, I gave it a chance. And I left with a smile on my face. :) The story is that Gary (Jason Segel), Mary (Amy Adams), and Walter (the new Muppet) decide to take a trip down to Los Angeles; Walter wants to see the Muppet studios, but Mary and Gary are going for their 10th year anniversary of dating. There, they discover the oil tycoon Tex Richman's (Chris Cooper) plan to tear down the Muppet theater. That's when they decide to get the Muppets gang back together, and to put on one last show to raise enough money to save the theater. I'll let you put two and two together now.

Warning: This just might be my longest review so far on this website. That's right: I loved this film so much that I have to ramble on and on about how much I love it.

Let me first start off with the behind-the-scenes work. Jason Segel, I applaud you. You believed in this movie more than anybody else, and it is why they trusted you, my man. Thank you so much for everything you have done on this film; the result is that kids are now laughing at the Muppets, while adults are reminiscing about the old days when Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and the rest would come into their TV's and bring laughter into their homes. Both generations are coming out with smiles on their faces. As for the rest of the crew, thank you so much for doing your job right. I am so happy that cgi and 3d was not used here, so thank you for not incorporating those elements.

Now, to the actors (the human actors). Jason Segel and Amy Adams are perfectly corny in this, but it works here, because it's the muppets! Their little story on the side was great; it was not overplayed, it was just right. I won't spoil what this side-story is, but trust me, you'll enjoy it. Chris Cooper was perfectly evil here. I would say that he was one of the most evil characters in the history of the Muppets, but even he gets a song in this movie.

Speaking of the songs, they are all so great and corny here. From the new songs, like "Life's a Happy Song," to the great old ones, like (yes, you are hearing this right) "The Rainbow Connection." They even have the celebrities in this movie singing "Mahna Mahna" in the credits. Loved every bit of it.

And finally, the stars themselves: the Muppets. The trailers did emphasize Jason Segel and Amy Adams, but make no mistake, this is a Muppet film, and the whole entire gang was back. Kermit is still the normal Muppet trying to pull it all together, Fozzie still has a bad sense of humour, Miss Piggy is still very selfish, Gonzo is still trying to perform dangerous stunts, Animal still plays the drums, Rowlf still plays the piano, and all the others are doing their thing. But, let's not forget the newest addition to this wonderful gang: Walter. If you guys are wondering if whether or not he is worth watching, guess what, he is worth it! He is a really likable character, who grew up watching the muppets, and therefore has found them to be his place in life. He is a very nice addition to the family, and I welcome him aboard.

Simply put, I can't stress on how great this film is. Forget about Twilight; The Muppets is where it's at! Everything about this film is great! Honestly, I don't know why Frank Oz said that he felt like this film did not focus on character development of the Muppets. Um Frank, I believe that the Muppets have been around for around 35 years now; I don't think they need that much more character development. Simply put, this movie is great. Kids will love the Muppets, and Adults will remember why they loved the muppets when they were growing up. My only complaint is that this movie should have been longer, but that's barely a complaint, since I enjoyed the movie so much that I will give it a 10/10. That's right, a 10/10 for me! Welcome back, muppets!

Warm, charming and funny, just like the Muppets I remember from my childhood. I'm not often one for musicals, but this one - aided by the brilliant combination of fuzzy puppet singers and Flight of the Conchords composition - hits all the right notes. It's funny without nudging into blue territory, a talent that's becoming more scarce by the minute, with a heartwarming reunion storyline that slowly reintroduces the cast and reminds us why we grew to love them in the first place. Loaded with unexpected cameos and sly winks at the troupe's long history, it's clear that a lot of love went into the making of this picture; the screen positively resonates from beginning to end. Though I was hesitant to revisit this old territory at first, by the final act I was grinning warmly and nodding right along, utterly entranced.

There are very few of us twenty-somethings who grew up without the Muppets. Between Sesame Street, Muppet Show reruns, and videocassettes of the various Muppet movies, we saw these guys all the time. We even had one or two theatrical releases of our own during the '90s. (My personal favorite of those is The Muppet Christmas Carol, which is still annual holiday viewing.) In recent years, since the very underwhelming Muppets from Space, we've seen them pop up now and again, mostly in similarly underwhelming TV projects and in short (yet hilarious!) YouTube videos. I am quite happy to say that, in this newest movie, the Muppets are back in a big way!

The movie starts by introducing us to a new Muppet, Walter, and his strangely human brother Gary. Gary has planned a trip with his girlfriend, Mary, to Los Angeles, and he is taking Walter along to visit the home of his heroes, Muppet Studios. They find the studio to be in disrepair, and hear of an evil plot to destroy it. Can the Muppets, and everything we hold dear about them, be saved? To get my one complaint out of the way, I do feel that this movie was a bit rushed in places. I wanted more time with these awesome characters, and it did feel as if they were trying to get from one place to the next a bit too quickly.

That said, I spent nearly the entire movie with a smile on my face. These are the Muppets that I grew up with, doing what they are best at doing, with that gently edgy humor at which they have always excelled. While there are some moments that are very touching, it is mostly very funny, with lots of nods to The Muppet Show and The Muppet Movie. While new little Muppet fans should enjoy this, it will be much more meaningful to those who have a history with Kermit and Co.

Clearly made with love for Jim Henson and his creations of fur and felt, The Muppets is the most delightful movie I've seen in theaters this year.

The Muppets is essentially flawless. I know this is a weird way to start a review, but I feel I should just forego formalities and cut to the chase. This year has been a fairly disappointing year for movies, but The Muppets just about makes up for it all by itself. It's an absolutely life-affirming tribute to beloved characters and memories that should have never been allowed to fade into obscurity, and if you care at all about movies you need to see this, as soon as possible.

Jason Segel, along with co-writer Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin have made a film that is just absolutely bursting at the seams with affection towards the Muppets, and that love and passion has instantly rocketed this movie to the very top of the list when it comes to long history of Muppet shows, movies, and even viral videos. The film is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time and accomplishes this without being crass or cynical; it's smart, witty, and most importantly, completely heartfelt. Jason Segel with his obvious and undying love for the Muppets is, by all accounts, the most deserving person to be given creative control of the Muppets since Jim Henson himself.

The original Muppet Movie will always be a timeless classic, and it's charm and legacy will likely never be topped by another Muppet movie. However, The Muppets is the closest it has ever come, and, due to the timeliness and poignancy of the story, I would argue that right at this moment it is more relevant and moving than even the 1979 classic. I was unable to stop smiling during the entire running time of the movie, even while tears were coming to my eyes.

I know I'm not really reviewing the movie right now, and I'm more just beaming about how much I loved it, but really, I feel it would be a disservice to go into details about this movie. Simply put, you need to see it, and if you don't you're robbing yourself of a truly extraordinary film experience. This is the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational movie of the year. Go see it. Right now. I mean it, go buy tickets for this weekend, and you can thank me later.

A+

In Disney's major release for the holiday season, they went with an old stand by, the Muppets, in a film simply called The Muppets. It's a strange blend of humor, nostalgia, and satire. Here we meet Walter, who we know just by looking at him is a little bit different. He is, well, for lack of a better word, a Muppet. The only thing is he is a Muppet living in the real world, and not, I stress not, a member of the Muppet gang. At a very young age he fell under their spell, through television and video rentals. Walter's dream was to walk through the studio that his beloved Muppet's walked through. He gets his chance to meet them when his brother Gary (Jason Segel, who also co-wrote the script) takes his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles.

Walter finds out that the Muppets aren't as popular as they used to be. He finds only remnants of the glory days in a dusty studio, but winds up uncovering a sinister plot intending to bury the Muppet franchise for good. With so much at stake, Walter goes to great lengths to find his idols and bring them back together. With the help of Gary, Amy, Kermit, Fozzie, and the rest of the gang, Walter sets in motion a reunion scenario where if the Muppets put on one last show they can raise enough money to stop the maniacal Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) from ending the Muppet's hopes of survival.

It's almost like The Blues Brothers, where if "the band" gets back together all will be saved. The only difference is that for the audience it's like a reunion, too. We haven't seen the Muppets together save for a few commercials and music videos here and there. I would be lying if I said I didn't get goosebumps seeing Gonzo with his chickens, or the Swedish Chef and his man-hands. Without even trying this film grabs you right in the heart, squeezing every ounce of childhood you have left in there.

It is really evident that Segel took the task of acting and, more importantly, writing, very seriously. His heart really comes through. He didn't want to do an injustice to the franchise that gave him so much pleasure as a youngster. It's as if he wrote Walter as a Muppetization of himself (which really comes through during one particular musical number). He follows the Muppet formula of combining cultural references with the power of celebrity and the importance of silliness and childlike inhibition.

Has any of the magic left the Muppets? I don't think so. I must admit that some of the story points were a bit ridiculous, and sometimes a little too on the nose (yes, I am aware that it was trying to be, but doing it too much becomes tedious). I wasn't entering the film expecting completely revamped Muppet style. It was by the book, aimed appropriately at both children and adults, without ever stepping too far in either direction.

The BIG question remains...now what? The whole point of the movie is to show that the Muppet's have basically become an afterthought. A fond memory that quickly fades. Will this film attract a slew of Muppet followers? Will there be another film? Television show? Who knows. The movie ends optimistically, but how could it not? The thought of a world without the Muppets is scary. It's nice knowing that somewhere Kermit and the gang are waiting for their next queue. To light the lights, put on make up, and all that jazz.

So go treat yourself to a little taste of your childhood. It will do the soul good.

The Muppets may quite possibly be one of the best movies of 2011. I don't just mean that as a fan. The Muppets had everything spot on – it was clever, entertaining, adorable, heartwarming, and absolutely hilarious. The magical thing though is that The Muppets pleases everybody -- average moviegoers and Muppet purists alike, and that I believe is its greatest triumph. On one side is a modern comedy, chock full of hysterical celebrity cameos and pop culture references. And on the other side is a nostalgic throwback to the Muppets era. Those who remember the old series will unquestionably find delight in seeing their favorite puppets reunite for another big show, literally.

Funnily enough, the movie treats the Muppet characters as if they were real life actors, with The Muppets shows and movies being their past careers. The Muppets haven't seen any action in years (a fact also true in real life), and each muppet has taken his/her own path in life with varying degrees of success. When crisis arises, the old troupe is forced to find each other and give it another go.

It is all weaved through a fascinating metanarrative that begs the question, what happens to the Muppets when they aren't The Muppets? After all this time away, can The Muppets make a comeback through a reunion and relive their former glory days? – a question ultimately answered by the movie itself.

The film opens with a common puppet named Walter, whose childhood consists of watching The Muppets and dreaming of joining them. His older brother Gary (Jason Segel) extends the invitation to come with him and his girlfriend of 10 years Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles so that he can visit the Muppet studio. Much to his disappointment, the Muppet theater is abandoned and Walter even overhears an oil tycoon's (Chris Cooper) plot to tear down the place. Walter and Gary quickly seek out Kermit the Frog to reunite the Muppet crew and remedy the situation, but all the while Mary is upset that the turn of events is ruining her 10 year anniversary with Gary.

As you can imagine from the premise alone, the movie is a tribute to the Muppets in every sense. It travels respectfully through the old Muppet history, and relives it instead of trying to replace it. In fact, seeing how each one branched off from the group like members of an old band and "grew up" gave, I would say, substantially more character to each Muppet than they ever had before. I think fans will agree that this is the best possible way the muppets could have returned.

Simply put, I can't imagine anyone with a heart not enjoying this film. There's something in it for everybody, especially if you're in the mood for laughter and catchy musical numbers. The creative humor was a breath of fresh air. There is plenty breaking of the fourth wall and oh so much of that lovely deadpan irony and absurdist humor, reminiscent of old comedies like Airplane! The audience in the theater was cracking up almost every other moment, myself included. And while humor is its strong suit, the movie is also an incredibly heartwarming tale of friends that go their separate ways but are still connected through their hearts. Moviegoers and Muppet fans alike, go see this movie!

9/10

Before this film, there had not been a Muppets film for many years and this is directly addressed in the film's premise. The overall storyline is a bit typical but all the characters and gags make up for it.

It's difficult not to get swept up by the hype of the first theatrically-released Muppet movie in 12 years. The preview trailers have been going viral since this past summer, and the Muppets & their human co-stars have been hitting the talk show circuit like never before. Audiences who don't catch on to this Muppet fever will be missing a refreshingly entertaining movie.

"The Muppets" lives up to most of its hype. It's a solid, stand-alone movie with a great storyline. While the film may be considered a tribute, which in many ways it is, very rarely does a tribute make a great movie. Any TV show can put the Muppets on proverbial pedestals using archive footage. "The Muppets" succeeds by breathing new life into characters we've known for years, and bringing them back down from their high pedestals so they're easier to see.

It really takes a Muppet fanatic to reintroduce these classic characters about whom the movie alleges everyone forgot. In the movie, that fanatic is Walter, who is himself a Muppet that the world treats like a human being, albeit a very short human being. When Walter accompanies his best friend and roommate Gary (Jason Segel) and his longtime girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles, Walter's ultimate goal is to take a tour of the famed Muppet theater. He soon finds that the theater's glory days are long gone, and the Muppets themselves have since gone their separate ways.

In reality, it's Jason Segel who is the Muppet fanatic. Segel co-wrote the screenplay with Nicholas Stoller (director of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (2008)), and also served as executive producer. He does a good job acting in the movie, knowing precisely when to take a step back and have the film's real stars take center stage. As a screenwriter, he also allows virtually every classic Muppet to have their screen time, as the Muppets are brought together the same way Jake and Elwood reunited the old band in "The Blues Brothers" (1980). Each character's appearance reminds us why they were so revered way back in "The Muppet Show" days.

The plot involving a Texas oilman wanting to demolish the Muppet theater because there is oil underneath has been done before, but Chris Cooper, as villain Tex Richman, lives up to his clever name. He's funny while also being a convincing villain. He performs a rap number (yes, Chris Cooper raps) that is desultory, but amusing if only for its randomness.

If the thought of Cooper rapping alone makes you cringe, there are plenty of other highly original songs that will wash out that memory quickly. All the songs, most of which were written by Bret McKenzie (one half of the band/comedy duo, Flight Of The Conchords), are well-written. My favorite was "Man or Muppet", sung by Segel and Walter, which was funny and poignant.

"Pictures In My Head", sung by Kermit, is also surprisingly touching, with Kermit's walking through a hallway of Muppet paintings adding to the sentiment. It could rank as the best Muppet movie song since "Together Again" from "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984). The aforementioned songs, and perhaps even "Life's a Happy Song", have strong possibilities to be nominated for Best Original Song at the upcoming Academy Awards.

With all these original tunes, it's a wonder why they wasted precious royalty money on the terrible Starship song "We Built This City". Alas, this is the chosen song the Muppets sing while renovating the Muppet theater.

While the songs add heart to a movie that makes the term "franchise reboot" seem too myopic, the movie would not be worth watching if it was not funny. Fortunately, most of the Muppet gags are gut-bustingly hilarious. Some gags are self-referential with characters breaking the fourth wall without even have to look at the camera. Others are the zany gags you'd expect from seeing "The Muppet Show", but are clever and hilarious too.

While the trailers had their share of recent movie parodies, the film fortunately eases up on them. There's one reference to "Kill Bill", but it's slight and capricious. I also laughed at the 80's Robot.

All the classic Muppet characters make their mark in ways they haven't done since "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992), the last great Muppet movie. The few newer Muppets that are allocated screen time happen to shine, fortunately. Walter is a great new Muppet, and has a lot of heart of which the late Jim Henson would whole-heartedly approve.

Dozens of celebrity cameos abound here, but the film's strength is knowing who the real stars of the movie are and why we love them. I just hope younger audience members get the same message.

I really thought that I would love this film given all it's critical acclaim. I had a lot of time to think about this one over the last 2 days and how honest I wanted to be about this film. I can't say that it really took my breath away as much as I had hoped, but overall, I did end up liking it more than I disliked it. I do think that over half the songs didn't really work and felt incredibly awkward. Some of the cameo's here are really what made the film for me. One fellow critic here states "A rapping Chris Cooper takes uncomfortable awkwardness to a whole new level" . This statement is about as true as it gets. Also, the small part with Alan Arkin really felt quite depressing as for a number of other scenes in the film with the Muppets themselves. It seemed the Muppets spent most of the time being quite mopey, while it was the new characters that brought life to the film and brought something joyful to it. There is also a new Muppet in here which I don't recall from the past who is basically a trans gender version of Miss Piggy. This I found to be a bit disturbing to say the least. Some may find it funny, but I found it to be really out of place in this film.

If you're a huge fan of the Muppets, this is a must-see, and in all honesty, I have been quite a huge fan of the Muppets in the past, and perhaps I need to do some re-watching of the old material to acquire more appreciation for this one. However, after seeing this, I can't say that my fandom has grown at all, and honestly, I can see this going down in history as one of the most overrated films of 2011. But thats me.

This was the best Muppet Movie since 1981's The Great Muppet Caper, which is saying a lot, because I hold that film in very high regard.

The Muppets have been rather hit and miss since Jim Henson passed away. The Muppet Show was originally started by Henson and Oz as a more adult oriented, yet still family friendly comedy variety show as an outlet for gags and bits that wouldn't work on Sesame Street. It worked too, both kids and adults loved the show, and the first three films are classics in their own right. But, sometime in the 80s, The Muppets started to cater more towards Kids rather than adults. The Muppet Babies were first introduced in the third feature film which eventually spawned its own series. Henson then sold the franchise to Disney and sadly died shortly thereafter. It seems that, after the success of Muppet Babies, Disney decided to continue to move The Muppets in a more kid oriented direction ... one with a decidedly Disney flavor to it. This didn't really help the Muppets legacy in the long term. Kids grow up, and eventually grow out of kid shows and movies. And with very little, if any, appeal to adult audiences, The Muppets were soon forgotten by the generation who grew up in the 90s and 2000s.

But the generation that that grew up in the 70s and 80s had not forgotten the old Muppets, in fact they missed them dearly. Jason Segel is one of those people, and it is clear from this film that his enduring love of The Muppets and the influence they had on him as a child, was the driving force behind this movie.

This is a comeback movie. The Muppets start off in a bad way. People have forgotten them, their abandoned studio is about to be torn down, and they just aren't popular anymore. This is reflecting the actual situation The Muppets franchise was in at the time they were making the movie. And thus the plot lends itself to fourth wall jokes that were so prevalent in the early films.

It is, for the most part, a return to form. This is old school muppet humor at its best. You have the silly and catchy musical numbers, mixed in with a bit of sincere songs, celebrity cameos, fourth wall jokes, pop culture humor, a self aware plot that frequently pokes fun at itself, Fozzie's bad jokes, Statler and Waldorf's heckling, a Kermit and Miss Piggy romance plot, and just general wackiness and slapstick.

Still, as similar as it is to the old Muppet formula, it's also quite different. After Disney took over, human characters often played larger roles in the Muppet films. That is the case with this one. In fact, much of the plot and humor in this film is not centered around the muppets at all, but are centered around the two human characters and the new muppet. While some may be disappointed by this change, I have to disagree and say that, for this film, it works and works quite well. Still, it's clear that Disney doesn't have much confidence in The Muppets holding the film together on their own, like they did in the original (and best) Muppet Movie.

As a result there are times where the movie feels less like a Muppet Movie and more like a tribute to the Muppets. In some ways this is the film's strength, in other cases it is a weakness. Also, some of the bits in the second half seem a bit awkward and fall flat, often on purpose, but usually it isn't worth the payoff. Nevertheless, this film hits on an emotional and nostalgic level, especially for those who grew up with The Muppets. There were times when I actually felt a tear come to my eye. It's that moving.

The film's success so far has been warranted, and I'm hopeful that Disney will do the right thing and green light "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made", a project Henson and Oz had been pushing for since 1985. There were even plans to make it in 2009, but the project was set aside for this film instead. Hopefully, this last idea by Jim Henson will be the next sequel, the premise certainly looks like it has potential.

I have been a fan of the Muppets since I was a child and I greatly anticipated this film having trusted Jason Segel completely. I'm sad to say he has disappointed me a little bit.

The film IS funny, just not REALLY funny as other Muppet films were. The script was pretty good, it was a good idea using the well-known plot of 'getting the band back together because a big bad company wants to knock the studio down', because it means a new generation of potential Muppet fans can be introduced to this. The humour from the Muppets themselves is great and can be really funny and even satirical at some points, meaning both adults and kids can laugh.

The major weak part of this film was the songs, some were just awful, very few were funny apart from a few lines overall. The dance routines were also pretty poor; I expected a lot more for a Muppet film.

The real life actors were probably what let this film down overall, from the main characters to the supposed famous cameo roles. Half of the cameos were all just Segel's friends which is fine but some real A-Listers would have been greatly appreciated.

Overall, the film was good and was really funny but too much let it down which means it left me a bit disappointed.

I wasn't raised on Barbie dolls, or cartoons. I wasn't in love with Duck Tales or The Secret of Nimh (in fact it scared me senseless), but I was raised to love The Muppets. Fozzie the Bear was a safe old friend who always cheered me up, Kermit was my sense of justice and reason, Miss Piggy was an exercise in the unrestrained Id, Gonzo was something I didn't and still don't understand, but he's blue and adorable! The Muppets are incredibly precious to me. And I just LUCKED out, because the newest Muppet movie was made by a fan who took all of that into account and made a film that just celebrated the glory of the Muppets. Sure there were moments of overkill, sure it sometimes got ridiculous, but The Muppets is about more than just the Muppets. It's about yearning for something pure; something innocent without patronizing its audience. This film was really clever, self aware with a great sense of humor with a giant heart. Definitely see it!

"The Muppets" is one of the most gleefully smashing movies of 2011. It's one of those pictures that is not only charming and clever, but does not smugly rub its accolades into the faces of the audience, so that they may just sit back and enjoy the show. Watching the picture with an auditorium full of persons from all ages and joining in with the unanimous laughter and cheers and shameless ear-to-ear grins was one of the great experiences that I have had in a movie theater. It's like one of those classic Broadway shows where even though you've seen it a dozen times and have a general idea of what to expect, you get never tired of. I personally loathe the idea of the Muppets ever disappearing from the screen. But never fear, this movie is proof that is not about to happen any time soon.

This movie starts not with any of the old gang, but instead a brand new sock-puppet character by the name of Walter (voice of Peter Linz) who looks sort of like a tan, tuxedoed Kermit the Frog with a tuft of hair on his head. He's the brother (adopted?) of a human (Jason Segel), who is also his best friend, but has always longed to be one of the Muppets who have sort of fallen out of their pinnacle, as they have in real life, until now. And just like until now, their fame is foundering until Walter and his brother and his brother's fiancée (Amy Adams) journey to Hollywood. There, they not only bump into Good Ol' Kermit the Frog, but discover that an evil oil tycoon (a perfectly-cast Chris Cooper) is planning on demolishing the Muppets' old studio. The only thing that can stop him, as Statler and Waldorf point out in a comically on-camera acknowledgment of a plot point, is if the Muppets can raise ten million dollars. And the only way they can do that is come back together again and put on a big show.

The first half of the movie spends the appropriate amount of time collecting all of our beloved characters. The movie devotes enough space to each and every one of the primary characters so that they don't feel like just points pushing the plot further along. The second half of the movie is where it really, really gets good. It is completely devoted to the revival of the Muppet show, in which they try new tactics and also reuse the familiar but never tiring gags that they have done for decades. Here the movie really scores strongly by diving right into the hearts of the audience. Just watching the performances by the Muppets was soul-lifting; it was like being a kid once again, watching early-morning shows on the weekend or before school, as I did a lot growing up. Simultaneously, the movie works with a 'struggle for success' kind of suspense plot and frankly, waiting to see if the Muppets will succeed or fail in saving their studio (and the results may surprise you!) is much more intense than seeing which side of Michael Bay's frighteningly personality-devoid robot-armies will triumph over the other, or whether at least one empty-headed college kid will survive getting gobbled up by a shark. I really do not want to give away the ending, but I will say this much. It reminded me a lot of the ending of the underrated classic "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" which also found just the right note about the difference between success, failure, and the importance of never giving up.

What also makes "The Muppets" such a great movie-going time is the way it kids around with itself, with the characters acknowledging plot points and mentioning the budget of the movie. Furthermore, it makes great moments in drawing in celebrities such as Whoopie Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Alan Arkin, and Jack Black (who steals all of these cameos in some of the most hilarious moments of his up-and-down career) for appearances that are not mere throw-aways. Cap onto that some wonderfully ear-worm musical pieces. Three of the classic Muppets songs are reused; the rest are brand-new. The opening number is particularly good, reminding me of the musical-comedies of Hollywood's golden era. The best and most funny of them being when Walter and Gary are duo-singing "Man or Muppet" along with reflections in the mirror. The gag is that the reflection is a character who is the opposite of what they are.

What do I mean, exactly? Well, rather than give it away, I'll let you go see the movie.

It is a wonderful thing to be surprised by movies, but it is even more glorious to go in with high expectations to have them all met to the hilt. "The Muppets" is one of those movies. Hollywood has made countless revivals, spin-offs, and remakes in recent years and some of them have felt absolutely unnecessary and tiring, but not this movie. This is a revival that deserves to go on and on. And it is so clever and smart and charming with the way it handles itself that it deserves to be seen by people of all ages, regardless of how much or little they know about the Muppets or their creator, the late Jim Henson. But whether you are a longtime devotee or newcomer, this new "The Muppets" will leave you hungry for more.

There is also a key moment midway through the movie, when a TV producer is describing to the Muppets their on-air competition: the violence and pseudo-hip garbage that children have been flooded with. And in the end, the scene proves to be a commentary on an element of American culture today and reminds kids and parents that something like this is more pure and important in a child's life than what they usually find on the television today. And there is still magic to be found at the movies.

I like the Muppets a lot, but on some points this film didn't quite deliver. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't completely the comeback I had hoped for.

What I liked about it is that a lot of the muppets that we know from the films and series are in it, as opposed to some of the older films which I seem to remember were mainly Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo and Ms. Piggy. Too bad though that the collective Muppets have so little screen time in this film, or in any case a lot less than it could ideally have been. There were several moments where I thought "just show me Muppets for crying out loud!"

The human companions are a given in any Muppet production, which is fine if they are funny or entertaining to watch, or if they are merely creating the setting for showing us funny Muppet situations, like would so often happen with the many celebrities that visited the Muppet TV-series. Amy Adams is lovely and at times funny, but I have yet to discover the merits of Jason Segel as an actor. He isn't compelling to watch, he really isn't a great actor and he certainly isn't funny. It were especially (but not exclusively) his parts that felt like a drag. If a Muppet, for instance Kermit or in this case Walter, sings a melancholy song it is funny or lovable, but when humans, especially Segal sings it, it just looks kinda ridiculous and besides it feels like it's wasting precious potential Muppet screen time. Even Jack Black's part wasn't seriously funny or properly exploited for the potential Muppet "magic" that I was hoping for.

The story itself was fine, not more than that, and anyway it only serves as a vehicle for showing as much Muppet craziness as possible... which I think was pretty meager in this film. They managed to squeeze in a lot of the famous Muppets, and even a few good jokes, but to me it felt like they left open a lot of opportunities to squeeze in even more.

All in all I'm happy the Muppets are back, especially if this potentially means we could expect more Muppet films in the future, hopefully even better and funnier than this one. I enjoyed this film, but it certainly wasn't great. It's the first Muppet film in years, but that fact alone really isn't enough to earn it more than a 6 out of 10.

The late Jim Henson's lovable Muppets have now been around for decades, entertaining people of all ages. I'm definitely far from the only one who can say that the world-famous puppet characters were a major part of my childhood, and I haven't been disappointed revisiting them after growing up. I didn't see this 2011 movie, simply titled "The Muppets", when it came into theatres late last year, but since I had seen all the previous theatrical Muppet movies, I was bound to see this one after it came into stores, hoping it would be a LOT better than 1999's "Muppets from Space", the only theatrical movie in the franchise that didn't impress me at all! Well, I've seen it twice this week, and can say I definitely got what I hoped for!

Walter, a puppet, has always been very close to his human brother, Gary. At an early age, the two of them discovered the Muppets and quickly became a devout fans. Years later, the now grown up brothers still live together, and Gary has been dating a woman named Mary for the past ten years. The human brother plans to take his girlfriend to Los Angeles for their tenth anniversary, and is taking his puppet brother along with him for a tour of the abandoned Muppet Studios, though Mary doesn't like Gary always bringing Walter along with them wherever they go. During the tour of the Muppet Studios, Walter sneaks into Kermit the Frog's old office, where he witnesses Statler and Waldorf selling the Muppet Theatre to businessman Tex Richman, and after the two leave the room, Walter overhears Richman's intentions to destroy the building and drill for oil underneath! The devout Muppets fan tells Gary and Mary about what he has just heard, and the three of them must try and reunite the Muppets so the old team can raise $10 million and save their theatre!

This 2011 blockbuster begins fairly well, showing Walter and Gary growing up together and their relationship. After this sequence, it shows them grown up and about to go on their trip to Los Angeles. This part features the first song in the movie, "Life's a Happy Song", and while this may not be "Rainbow Connection", it's still a good and catchy tune to start off with. Other standout songs follow, such as "Man or Muppet". The gags in the film may not usually be hilarious (though there are some hilarious moments, such as how long Walter screams after he hears Richman's intentions), but there are plenty of amusing moments, obviously largely thanks to the famous Muppets with their charm and antics. I guess they're not exactly the main characters here, which some fans have a problem with, but they still get PLENTY of screen time and are still thoroughly entertaining. Jack Black can also provide some laughs as himself here, even if this is not the funniest he's ever been. "The Muppets" doesn't rely entirely on its gags, as I found the plot consistently entertaining, and there are some poignant moments. Jason Segel and Amy Adams are both impressive as the human leads, and Chris Cooper is also convincing as the antagonist. Walter, a new Muppet introduced in this movie, is a lovable one, much like Henson's famous Muppets.

I've noticed a lot of negative reviews here, and I'm sure some fans of the Muppets gang have good reasons to dislike this movie, but I'm afraid I can't say I agree with any of them. The only theatrical Muppets movie I've ever been able to write a negative review for was the last one before this, which I found to be not only not very funny, but so too dreary and cruel for the Muppets. I felt like the Muppets I knew as a kid had gone so far away when I watched "Muppets from Space" several years ago, but that was certainly NOT how I felt when I watched this latest theatrical movie featuring Jim Henson's characters. I'm sure many people haven't been impressed with anything that has been done with the Muppets since Jim Henson's premature death in 1990, and for them, I guess there's no point in watching this, but if you're not one of those, and you want a good, lighthearted family film, I think this is a really good one to check out for the family. Yes, it is rated PG, but I've definitely seen far raunchier PG-rated films marketed in the "family" category, such as the unsatisfactory "Cheaper by the Dozen" remake.

I just got done reading the "hated it" reviews of The Muppets and not one of them really explains why the nay-sayers hated it other than it wasn't true to their childhood memory of growing up with The Muppet Show. My own experience of growing up with the muppets was less than satisfying. Sure I loved them, but they were screened on Sunday night and as soon as the show was over I had to go to bed. So for me the muppets symbolised the end of the weekend and having to go to bed only to wake up to yet another week of getting bullied at school. This movie makes up for a lot of that!!!

From the moment The Muppets started, my friend and I were laughing appreciatively, as was everyone in the session I attended. But when the muppet telethon started, the laughs went into hyperdrive and I found myself barely able to breath from laughing so hard. It was also great to see Jack Black actually being funny again, after a run of tepid, unfunny "comedies." Black plays the perfect fall guy and actually adds to the hysteria. The whole thing is so masterfully executed. Then when Kermit comes out and reprises the song he is most famous for, my eyes welled, especially when he was joined by Miss Piggie and the rest of the cast. I'd forgotten that the muppets do sincerity and poignancy as effortlessly as they do their laughs.

A few criticisms. I noticed there were lots of kids in my session and most of them were pretty wriggly while the adults laughed like mad. I don't think Disney has been able to cater for all tastes with this film. There are too many "talking head" moments to generally keep kids engaged and they are too young to understand what nostalgia is, which is heavily emphasised in the film. I loved all the songs but during dance sequences the actors kept addressing the camera and then vaguely looking off into the middle distance which became rather jarring. I don't mind actors breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the camera, but it needs to be done with conviction and purpose, both of which seemed missing here and it kept pulling me out of the filmic experience (I may be quite alone here). I also didn't like seeing Disney unashamedly plugging Cars 2 in one scene near the end of the film. It was a shameless piece of cross-promotion. Having said this, I really loved the Toy Story short at the start of the film - fast paced and full of ingeniously hilarious toys.

"If you're going to see The Muppets you've got to seem them in the theater." "Yeah, you don't want to let 'em into your home!" - Statler and Waldorf.

For the last two months of attending films an ad has preceded each movie. Instead of the obligatory "please don't spoil the movie by adding your own soundtrack" narration a cute, lively, spontaneous Muppet skit was shown where Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy were trying to attend a peaceful movie with the remainder of the Muppet characters making loud and disruptive noises. At the end, the quote above was said by Statler and Waldorf, and it will forever sum up my thoughts on the film.

To effectively experience the rambunctious Muppets, you should see their liveliness in the theater. It seems a screen as big as a theater's can't contain their actions. But I'm sure that once The Muppets hits DVD and Blu-Ray many parents will be forced to watch the film again and again on replay. It's a better choice than Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Zookeeper for sure.

The Muppets is an extremely self-aware revival to a franchise that will never die. Jason Segal, who also worked on the screenplay of the film, clearly is a super-fan of the movies and the Television series and wanted to give the series a much needed return to the big screen. He doesn't try to parody the formula or rework it in any way, but instead glide along with it in hopes of achieving the best film possible. He doesn't put his usual goofball spin on his character he's done in the past.

Set in Smalltown, USA, Gary (Segal) lives with his Muppet-brother Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) and is dating the lovely and adorable Mary (Adams). Walter has grown up with Gary for years, and is one of the biggest Muppet fans of all time (which leads me to believe he is reflecting Segal's personal love for The Muppets). Upon going to The Muppet Theater, Walter overhears Statler, Waldorf, and Tex Richman (Cooper) discussing plans to sell the theater to Tex. But Tex is secretly planning to tear down the theater and drill for oil underneath it.

So the only plausible situation in Walter's head is to talk to Kermit the Frog who appears in a glowing light at the nic of time and convince him to reunite the old Muppet crew to put on a Telethon. Then they're off getting back every character in creative and inventive ways.

In the time of gimmicky and useless 3D madness leaching onto every children's films, here is a movie that doesn't believe it should subject itself to dimming its colors and its actions just to garner in a higher revenue. The Muppets are such an eclectic and effervescent bunch that the 2D world can handle them perfectly fine.

There are a few things that I noticed here and there. The main one is definitely the voices. If you're a Muppet fan, you may be disappointed to notice that voices like Kermit the Frog aren't on par with the voices from the series and the previous films. Still, it doesn't take long before you forget that fact. Also, the lack of cameos astounds me. There are quite a few, but the ones "edited for time constraints" like Danny Trejo, Mila Kunis, Ricky Gervais, George Clooney, Lady Gaga sounded fun and enlightening, but also limitless in possibilities. Of course we do get pleasant cameos like Zach Galifianakis, Jack Black, and Alan Arkin, but it feels like that for once the cameo portion wasn't focused on a lot like in previous Muppet films.

I also have to say I was a little disappointed that popular Muppet characters like Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, after all these years, still gets brought to the foreground leaving many secondary characters in search of a time to shine. One character that needed a musical number was the Swedish Chef, personally one of my favorite Muppets next to Statler and Waldorf. The Chef needed at least one musical number, but the film just incorporates him very vaguely and rarely. Along with other Muppet characters like Gonzo and Fozzie Bear.

There is still plenty here for amusement, and The Muppet character never cease to put a smile on your face whether you're old or young. Although targeted to families, I'm not sure many kids would "get" the references, but immediately dive into the bright colors in this unique world. I don't think the film really cares if you get the joke or not. I think the idea is just happy to be back on the screen one more time.

Starring: Jason Segal, Amy Adams, Jack Black, Zach Galifianakis, and Alan Arkin. Directed by: James Bobin.

I was looking forward to watching this film having been a fan of the Muppets for a long time. This film had few laughs, dragged on for too long and had far too many all human scenes. The songs were lame. The Muppets were just in the background in this movie. I didn't care for any of the human acting and the writing was poor. I'm amazed at the scores and reviews on IMDb. I just don't understand why people think this was such a good movie. Kids will get really bored with this one and most adults will too.

I did read that Frank Oz did not agree with the script and did not work on this movie. I can see why now and wish Disney had let him do the movie the way he wanted.

Don't waste your money at the theater with this movie. It is at best a DVD rental at a discount price.

While I love Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and the other muppets of all shapes and sizes because it has been such a loooooong time since I last saw them, and that Amy Adams and Jason Segel are utterly adorable (watch especially for Adams' and Miss Piggy's rendition of Me Party), that the finale "Rainbow Connection" can cause teary eyes, and the cameos by Jack Black, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Emily Blunt, amongst others, are priceless and thoroughly entertaining, one can't wipe off the feeling that The Muppets is going to be no more than a one-off nostalgic ride down memory lane for those who grew up with them, and as much it is a tribute to Jim Henson, is unfortunately largely irrelevant to today's kids who grew up on a diet of CGI, coolness and cell phones. The age of technology, the dearth of nostalgia.