Hi there. Extremely long-time lurker here (I remembering lurking here before "Muppets Wizard of Oz" was released!), and it's rather appropriate that I should finally post with the release of this movie, which I saw yesterday. Yet, I think what's motivating me moreso is all the complaints I'm reading about, with how the plot fails compared to the novel and original script, so I'll address this first.
I think one thing of note is that most of those complaining have read the novel and the script. (also of note is that I have [and still haven't] read any of that, and only went in with knowledge of the main two trailers and basic logline; this is the first time I'm ever hearing about these details) According to them, apparently the movie "makes no sense" without these details, that the editor clearly did a butcher job. While I won't make a single attempt to argue the fact that there was some judicious cutting, and a couple of flaws arise from it ("Me Party" being cut down makes it seem more superfluous than necessary), however it benefits in other ways.
1) Tex Richman's "maniacal laugh". When he first did this in the office scene, my sister and I were dying. It was this perfect Muppety randomness that cracked us up. With an explanation, instantly the joke loses traction. "Oh... it's a character trait and not just a great subversion... nevermind." Yes, it makes Tex's reasons a bit more personal, but is this really needed? We already have two motivations: greed for oil, and gaining the Muppet name to twist it into a supposedly more popular, cynical act. Again, for the sake of greed. In regards to the overall theme of the film, that's just fine. So none of this was lost. He was still fantastic.
2) Kermit and Piggy. This especially baffles me because I couldn't think of anything else in the movie that was wonderfully conveyed already. Who really cares exactly how they split, the fact is that: they're split. The movie pulls that off, we get a sense of how ugly their relationship has gotten and fact that both want to move on. Miss Piggy has a torn wedding photo, Kermit has the other half. No one needs the exact backstory on this, it's simple and symbolic of their torn relationship. One thing I found fascinating about this movie was that the Muppets somehow just lost their way due to become irrelevant, and this is never truly explored, yet it doesn't need to be. The raw feeling you get from the way they talk about it and how bad things have gotten (except for Rowlf of course haha), you know. That's the power of these characters, when they are down, you feel it. And you can really feel just how terrible things were without seeing it. That my friends, is something only the combo of good writing and performances can attain.
3) Ending. Okay, I'll give some props here. When they started singing "Life's a Happy Song", I was squirming in my seat thinking, "So that's it? Tex gets the theater and destroys it? Seriously they ended a Muppet movie like that?!" Then of course the credits appear quickly tying all the plots in a neat little bow. A little rushed? Yes. Very. I think that was my only complaint, because while I really loved the "Muppet News Flash" way of presenting it, significant plot should not be shrugged off like that. It's sort of feels like a cheat. Yet, as for the actual ending, I started to understand it more. They never needed the theater or their brand name... they had each other, and even moreso, their true fans who will never give up on them. They had (as the song says) "everything that (they) need, right in front of (them)." So I think it was intentional to do it that way. I thought it was very profound that the epilogue kinda ruins it. (even though there's no way Disney would let them get away with it)
4) The overall film. Okay, here's a complaint I really don't get: "the film was too short". Let's ignore the fact that at 1 hour and 45 minutes, it is easily the longest Muppet movie ever made. There's also the point in that this is mostly being directed at families. While John Lasseter has enough pull to allow them to permit a nearly two-hour-long-plus film about cars of all things, I doubt Segel, Stoller and Bobin can persuade them as easily. Even if they wanted to, there was no way Disney was allowing this thing to stretch any longer. The shorter you get, the better the score gets from kids, the better the returns get as the theater can show it more, etc. They made the necessary cuts that convey the same story. Yes, the film essentially had three plots with Kermit & the gang, Walter, and Gary & Mary, but the first two are woven together and the last is kinda perfunctory (but we'll get to that in my main review)... you have a pretty epic Muppet movie here already. And yet, despite the extra trimmings (a lot of those telethon segments can be derived as "filler", not too mention "Me Party"), it's kinda tight. A good tight. Do you really want a repeat of "Muppets from Space" and "Wizard of Oz", where they just went willy-nilly and went on almost complete tangets for no real reason except that they thought it was "funny"? I wouldn't. I want a movie that sticks to the plot and moves it along without getting too sidetracked.
So, yeah, the film made complete sense to me and I read nothing before hand.
Onto the actual review:
"The Muppets" was a surprise. Not in that it was good, no, I was expecting that from the start. But the fact of its focus. From the very first frame, which is a murky, Super 8 recreation of the first shot of the Muppet Movie, along with the intro of the title in that Muppet Show font... I instantly got it. Whereas the marketing is touting, "The Muppets are back!", this film is more of "Remember the Muppets?" Even though the gang has never really disappeared from producing new things in the 90's or the new millennium, "The Muppets", much like the actual case for other recent nostalgic hits like "Yogi Bear" and "The Smurfs", act seriously like it has. A wave of both understanding and disappointment washed over me. I was mostly disappointed because the film was taking us into an alternate reality that both ignores some Muppet things I grew up on ("Muppets Tonight", MTI, MCC) and doesn't have the party already started. The party doesn't even exist anymore! This is the one major thing that bothered me about the film. Whether or not you think that they "lost their way" in the 90's, just flat out pretending that they vanished from existence after the 80's ended (and Jim died) did not work for me at all. Because unlike even dreck such as "Yogi Bear", they didn't. It's Jason Segel lying to the viewer, and while it may help the story, did they really need to dial it all the way back to the mid-80's? I understood that the Muppets would be broken up, and I dug this premise, I just didn't know it would be so time specific. Yet we have to understand the writers, who grew up on The Muppet Show and have a harsher eye for stuff after the 90's. And while the nostalgic intent is pure, and I don't blame them for going back to the 70's and 80's roots, the denial of anything happening afterward makes you think like it was the Holocaust or something to these dudes. It felt... bizarre.
This was the only BIG complaint about the film. Otherwise... my god it was fun. I laughed so hard, I cried at certain points... even the film's Muppet-less (aside from Walter) first fifteen minutes has a unique sparkle to it all. Walter's backstory is genuinely sad and touching, and the "Life's a Happy Song" number has so many fun and whimsical facets that you can feel the Muppet spirit already there. Like I alluded to, a minor quibble is the fact that Gary and Mary are so detached from our main story which lead me to wonder at times "Why are we watching this?", fortunately it goes by quickly. (in my opinion, the script could have rid itself of Mary, yet I think Disney wanted a female lead, and Amy Adams does a great job) Also, it gives us the "Man or Muppet" musical number, which easily helps forgive things.
Kermit and gang may kidnap Jack Black, but they also kidnap the film as well. I do love how Walter is still kept as vitally important and interwoven throughout this specific story. But truly our heroes keep this ship afloat, and they do a great job.
I've been writing this for well over an hour now, and I need sleep badly. So forgive me when I have to cut this review a bit short. And I'm kinda grumpy about it since there's a lot more whining then I wanted there to be. Suffice it to say: despite, I loved this film. I can't wait to see it again, and to own it. It is the best Muppet film in quite some time. I hope it does blockbuster business so we can see another one greenlit soon.
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