After purchasing the rights to the Muppets a few years ago, Disney has been slowly incorporating these lovable characters in to their overall strategy. The Muppets is the first major motion picture to feature Kermit, Piggy, Fozzy, and the rest of the gang in what looks to be a new era of Muppet mania.
To start things off, we meet brothers Walter and Gary (Jason Segel) and watch as they grow from small kids to young adults although Walter slowly comes to realize that he may be more muppet than man. After being introduced by Gary to The Muppet Show on television, Walter looks to someday meet this cast of characters and idolizes the shows star, Kermit the Frog.
Meanwhile, Gary has been maintaining a 10 year relationship with girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), and has plans to take both her and Walter to Hollywood for an anniversary vacation. Mary is reluctant to include Walter on what she hopes to be a romantic getaway, but agrees to let him come along. While In Hollywood, the trio takes a tour of the aging Muppet studios and Walter, having found his way in to Kermit's old office, inadvertently overhears a scheme to take over and demolish the studio by oil baron Tex Richman (Chris Cooper).
After telling Gary and Mary about his discovery, the three attempt to locate Kermit's house so they can warn him of this dastardly plan. Upon meeting Kermit, and after fainting a couple times at the site of his hero, Walter manages to convince him to take action against this new villain. This sets in motion a Muppet reunion and an eventual plan to put on a Muppet Show telethon to save the studios from being destroyed.
To start things off, we meet brothers Walter and Gary (Jason Segel) and watch as they grow from small kids to young adults although Walter slowly comes to realize that he may be more muppet than man. After being introduced by Gary to The Muppet Show on television, Walter looks to someday meet this cast of characters and idolizes the shows star, Kermit the Frog.
Meanwhile, Gary has been maintaining a 10 year relationship with girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), and has plans to take both her and Walter to Hollywood for an anniversary vacation. Mary is reluctant to include Walter on what she hopes to be a romantic getaway, but agrees to let him come along. While In Hollywood, the trio takes a tour of the aging Muppet studios and Walter, having found his way in to Kermit's old office, inadvertently overhears a scheme to take over and demolish the studio by oil baron Tex Richman (Chris Cooper).
After telling Gary and Mary about his discovery, the three attempt to locate Kermit's house so they can warn him of this dastardly plan. Upon meeting Kermit, and after fainting a couple times at the site of his hero, Walter manages to convince him to take action against this new villain. This sets in motion a Muppet reunion and an eventual plan to put on a Muppet Show telethon to save the studios from being destroyed.
Jason Segel, who is more famous for starring in adult oriented comedies rather than kid friendly fare, was brought in to write and star in a movie that will be very important for the future of this franchise. Segel manages to give the audience a story that reminds older viewers why they fell in love with the gang, and also introduces the younger viewers to a band of misfits they will not soon forget.
In reviewing a movie like this, there really is no reason to be critical in any way of the quality of acting performances or overall story, I mean...it's the Muppets! What's important here is having fun and even though there are as many plot holes as there are convenient solutions and the acting is intentionally over the top and cheesy, everything just fits together perfectly.
When it's all said and done, The Muppets is a very fun and entertaining movie. The one thing that really summed it up for me was something a young boy said to his mom as the credits began to roll: "These guys are going to make a ton of money!" Here's hoping that 'tons' of theater-going audience members help Disney make a rainbow connection to that elusive box office pot of gold.
When it's all said and done, The Muppets is a very fun and entertaining movie. The one thing that really summed it up for me was something a young boy said to his mom as the credits began to roll: "These guys are going to make a ton of money!" Here's hoping that 'tons' of theater-going audience members help Disney make a rainbow connection to that elusive box office pot of gold.
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