Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and the rest of the gang are back. This time, the gleeful crew must stop evil oil tycoon Tex Richman, played by Chris Cooper@@http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204342/@@, from demolishing their old Muppet Studio to drill for oil.
Although satire gleamed in parts of the movie, it generally lived up to the typical standards of an over-the-top children’s musical. For one, Cooper debuted a rap about his money and Jason Segel (who plays Gary)@@imdb link@@ sang a heartfelt ballad titled “Man or Muppet.”@@http://www.amazon.com/Man-Or-Muppet/dp/B0065KTGMC@@
Those are just two of the memorable scenes presented in the full-length feature film.
The story starts in Smalltown,@@http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Smalltown,_USA@@ where the audience is introduced to the main character Walter, a puppet@@http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Walter@@, and his human brother, Gary@@http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Gary_%28The_Muppets%29@@. One night while watching television, Walter and Gary become enthralled with “The Muppet Show.” The obsession continues through their childhood and into middle adulthood. Then Gary decides to take his girlfriend of 10 years, Mary (played by Amy Adams)@@imdb link@@, to Los Angeles for their anniversary. Gary decides to invite Walter to join the couple, because L.A. is home to the Muppet Studio, without consulting Mary. Mary is a delicate, conservative woman always outfitted in vivid dresses and works at the local school as a mechanic. The three characters get together with the town to sing about life, happiness and the excitement of traveling to L.A.
The overdone number was a clear indicator of the rest of the movie.
The trio heads to Los Angeles to find Walter’s vision of the Muppet Studio turned to a rustic ghost town where tours cost $1.50. It is here that Walter learns of Richman’s plans to tear down the area, even though he had informed the Muppets he was restoring the site to build a Muppet museum. The only way to stop his destruction is to raise $10 million to buy back the property. The trio frantically combs through Hollywood looking for Kermit.
After a juvenile song of nostalgia, Kermit decides to get the gang together to put on a show to raise the money. The rest of the movie contains montages of finding old Muppets, getting their show on the air, kidnapping Jack Black@@oh boy@@ as a celebrity host and discovering Walter’s real talent — whistling.
The movie also features odd appearances by Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez and Neil Patrick Harris,@@names checked@@ each appearing on the screen for no longer than a minute.
It wasn’t clear whether this movie was introducing stereotypical movie themes to make fun of them or if it was embodying the stereotype itself.
Despite atrocious musical performances, the random celebrity appearances and the fact that Adams (an Academy Award nominee@@http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/26100@@) agreed to the part, the movie reached its desired demographic by creating a movie of hope and determination propelled by the classic Muppet Crew.
So if you are looking for a family friendly movie over the holidays, this movie is great. Kids are sure to enjoy the innocence and lighthearted feeling with these classic characters. Just don’t be surprised when Tex Richman stomps atop his desk and brings showgirls out from his office closet while singing “I’ve got more cheddar than some super-size nachos.”@@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9dvz29Kr7Y@@