THE MUPPETS directed by James Bobin, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, with Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and Kermit the Frog. A Walt Disney Pictures release. 98 minutes. Now playing. For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NNNN
The Muppets shouldn’t work. The story is clichéd, the music isn’t great, and the focus shifts awkwardly between small-town brothers Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (a Muppet voiced by Peter Linz) and the classic characters we know and love.
But somehow, once our new heroes have convinced Kermit and company to save their theatre from an evil oilman, none of that matters.
That’s because The Muppets – co-written and produced with deep, abiding love by star Segel – does what it most needs to do. It recaptures the unpredictable energy and genuine magic of Jim Henson’s beloved felt creations, and releases that energy back into the wild.
It reminds us how much we love Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Animal, the Swedish Chef and all the rest, and it lets a lot of famous people – among them Feist, Emily Blunt and Neil Patrick Harris – pop up to express their own affection.
The new songs by Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie don’t have the scale or impact of The Rainbow Connection. (What could?) But then Camilla the chicken covers Cee Lo, and all is right with the world.
