They've retained their original values - there's no CGI, no animation. Just real people, real puppets. Maintaining the vaudeville kitsch that entranced their original audience, their rehearsals in the theatre will stir the memories of any long-term fan.The film starts with enough lip-twitching moments to make the back-story palatable, and even pleasant, although the initial musical number was a bit too saccharine for my own taste. Opening in the utopia-burb of Smalltown - which seems to share the muppet-world acceptance of the clothy ones - the fourth wall is quickly broken and the snorts, exhalatations and other breath-evacuating sounds of humour begin their march from your lungs - occassionaly twanging into your heart if you're a long-time muppet fan - and out into the world.
The walking plot-hole and lead role that is the unaware-of-his-true-muppet-self Walter is shown to be becoming quickly jaded as his apparently biological brother Gary (Segel) grows up, unknowingly leaving Walter to wallow in the Lost Boy lifestyle. He soon finds his Wendy-bird though in the form of The Muppet Show television programme, becoming a huge fan of the series and its stars.
Gary and his long-term girlfriend are going to Los Angeles on a romantric trip for three. The ecstatic, and possibly elasticated, Walter eagerly anticipates a trip to the muppet studio lot, but becomes dejected upon finding the cast disbanded and the grounds dilapidated. In a conveniently-timed moment, he overhears the aptly named Tex Richman (Cooper), an oil baron, planning to destroy the property.
Enter the frog.
Finding the mansion, built by one little pig, the following scene is well managed, extracting a laughs and nostalgic smiles amidst a subdued, forlorn musical number and setting. And here begins the Blues Brother style, getting the band together series of vignettes and self-referencing montage.
The ending - or at least the credits coda - sadly falls short, and seems oddly trite compared to the obvious thought and dedication that has gone into the film. It does little to sour the experience, and can even be seen to fit into the muppet-verse's laws of normality, but it still seems tacked on, more so after the extravagance of the preceding musical number.
The music itself is spectacular - mixing the talents of original crewmember Bret McKenzie and the edgier sounds of Flight of the Conchords' James Bobin. It mixes the twee and the original. The return of Rainbow Connection is a particular high point, with a certain Nirvana cover coming a pretty close second and Cee-Lo Green's Fuck You is used to great effect, although the fowl language (sorry, I can't help it) may not be to everyone's tastes.
The film will satiate repeat watchings, especially if you buy the expected extended edition, if only for the celebrity hunt, which I find apt for a Hollywood movie. Its cameos have become something of a legend, and whilst sadly some never made it from paper - seeing Elmo in this would have replaced Walter's reflection as the highlight of the movie for me - there are still an incredible amount of stars to be seen, both for those who are hardcore muppet fans, and those who just like seeing contemporary celebrities. Of those who were left on the cutting room floor, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are perhaps the most wanted for the DVD feature, but there are plenty of musicians in the film already to watch for.
For the die-hard and the newborn devotees both, the film is engaging, whimsical, and a great romp back and forth between memory lane and the modern world. It's therefore a greater shame about the stinger (credits scene) as the major narrative of the movie is concluded with a mundane plot device, reducing what would have been a fantastic story to an incredible show - but then, that's arguably what The Muppet Show is all about.
