After a batch of truly terrible previews for Disney-Pixar movies (not only did the movies look bad, the trailers themselves were interminable), my screening of “The Muppets” (a franchise that Disney now owns) finally began — and, mostly, it was worth the wait. Although the Muppety messages about self-confidence and following your dreams don’t do much for me, Jason Segel’s Muppet fandom shines through in every frame, and it’s hard to resist his complete lack of cynicism and irony when it comes to these beloved animated stuffed animals from his childhood (and the childhoods of all of us aged 25 to 40).
“How I Met Your Mother” actor Segel — whose character in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” was a puppeteer — wrote “The Muppets” and also is the leading human star, although he respectfully gets out of the way and lets the title characters be the stars when it comes down to it.
I’m not generally a fan of musicals, but a lot of the music here — both new and recycled — is light, fun and foot-tapping, starting with “Life is Happy Song,” which finds Gary (Segel), his schoolteacher girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), and his Muppet brother Walter singing that they always have a smile on their faces.
The stakes for the main characters are small as far as blockbuster movies go: Mary and Gary love each other, but Mary feels like he takes her for granted; Walter has a great brother, but he feels left out of a lot of human activities (for example, he doesn’t grow, so he’ll never be able to go on an amusement park ride). Indicative of the film’s sweet, light humor: No one notes that Walter obviously looks like a Muppet. He’s just a longtime fan who has felt a kinship with Kermit and the gang ever since “The Muppet Show” in the late-1970s.
The plot kicks into gear when Kermit — at Walter’s urging — resolves to get the gang back together for “one last show” so they can make a payment on the Muppet Theater and keep it out of the hands of an oil baron (Chris Cooper as the wonderfully named Tex Richman). Kermit’s “Pictures in My Head” — where he wistfully views the framed photos in his lonely mansion — is a nice way to re-introduce us to everyone, and it’s a further blast seeing him get everyone back together. Everyone’s in a different place: Fozzy Bear is living in an alley in Reno’s casino district and singing bad cover songs with the Moopets, having given up on his comedy career; Animal is in anger management along with Jack Black (“drums” is the trigger word for them both); and Miss Piggy is a hugely successful fashion magazine editor in Paris.
I like when the Muppets clean up the old theater to “We Built This City,” and it’s neat to see Cee Lo’s “Forget You” pop up during the telethon grand finale, although I wasn’t crazy about how it’s presented.
I think adults will appreciate “The Muppets” more than kids — while the themes aren’t deep, the jokes aren’t too broad or too insider-y. It doesn’t hit you over the head with anything; it has cameos, but they never hurt the flow of the movie. The humor is never mean-spirited, nor does it bother to “work on two levels,” something that many Disney and Pixar films are overly praised for.
Segel has made a movie from the heart that will especially resonate with Muppet fans. For me — someone who appreciates the Muppets but isn’t a mega-fan — “The Muppets” doesn’t have much re-watching value, but it’s a pleasant diversion.