THE MUPPETS (U)
Release Date: 8 December 2011
Running Time: 102 minutes
Distributor: Walt Disney
Director: James Bobin
Screenplay: Jim Henson, Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Peter Linz
Plot: On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. REVIEWS AFTER THE JUMP.
Note: Before you start reading, best if you could see this:
Review: Jim Henson's greatest and most celebrated puppet characters are back to the big screen after an absence of 15 years. The latest film simply entitled as 'The Muppets', arrived with charms of nostalgic memory with some of the fondest one particularly for those who grew up watching and familiar with these adorable characters. 'The Muppets' effectively outdo itself by erasing the past cinematic failure by returning to its glory this time. All The Muppets fans should be relieved because they have done it right!
As the story goes; Walter (Peter Linz) and Gary (Jason Segel) are the world's biggest Muppets fans. The dream to visit the legendary Muppets studio comes when Gary decided to bring Walter and long-term girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) for a spring vacation to Los Angeles. Troubles only begin when they find out that the rich Tex Richman is buying the studio in hope to launch its evil plan to tear down the studio and to drill for oil underneath it. To save the studio, they need US$10 million in hand, which also means that the old gang of The Muppets must reunite to stage a comeback act to raise the money.
The video embedded above is intentional. See how close they mimic the original theme song with the one at the Telethon. The movie clocks only 102 minutes but it certainly has done enough to bring back my childhood memory vividly clear. I grew up with The Muppets and it seems very rational why I would be so excited about this project since day one. Oh boy, I love this movie and I love how they handled this with care. Let's analyze, shall we?
First and foremost, 'The Muppets' marks a great recovery of its former glory. The movie revisits the adorable characters by exploring their traits and personalities with care; allowing the new fans to study them with ease. Kermit; I shall say still remain as Kermit as he was. Mrs Piggy is still as elegant as always. Here and whatever it is, my point is that seeing these characters shot up-close to the camera is like watching owns past through the wall mirror, only that it feels so close as it was only yesterday.
So to say, ‘The Muppets’ gives every opportunity it can find to throw you back to the past. The Muppets sing constantly and that is what they do best. Songs are generated to narrate the story and emotion brilliantly. The outcome is an amazing soundtrack with some old-school hit renditions like Nirvana’s ‘Smell like Teen Spirit’ and Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” are done with exquisite signatures. Genre-wise, it is a well-executed musical comedy drama because scenes are flow-able with feel good and spot-on tunes.
It is a little too structural that the story line is the weakest link in his movie. The premise is pretty simple but it touches the heart at the most fundamental trigger for emotion; heartfelt and warm, tender and inspirational. Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller have done quite a decent job in making a story that not only pays tribute to the creator, the origins as well as the devoted fans; but avoid rubbish treatment that might have make it nothing more than slapstick and fart-joke garbage. The script treatment in unfortunately not perfect because there are some arbitrary scenes with plot holes here and there – not a major problem though!
Anwyay, for the 100 minutes, the glimpse of yesteryears landed over the reality with ‘The Muppets’ is fueled with lovable characters, heartfelt simple story, amazing soundtracks and charming good-ol-fun!
MY RATING:
Story: 4.0
Casts: 4.5
Cinematography: 4.0
Effects: 4.0
GREEN-TEA-O-METER: 16.7/20.0
