Muppets

Ok. I have been all for a Muppet re-boot since I first heard about the production. I grew up on reruns of The Muppet Show and the film catalog. We even had a recorded VHS tape of The Muppet Family Christmas Special. This franchise hits home for me even more than nickelodeon or Disney (which subsequently owns the aforementioned property). So, when I read this via MovieBob's post--- I became quite worried though not altogether surprised.

Unrest within the Muppet clan has been an industry secret for over a decade. In fact, talking with some people who have worked closely with the family has given me a new insight into the politics of puppetry. Disney had been after the Muppet property for years leading up to Henson’s death and the sale was highly disputed within the loyal workers and muppeteers. Both movies made after the sale, Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, were technically directed by Henson’s son but greatly developed and created by this same loyal crew. I was a big fan of these movies and didn't know what to think of this general grouchy tone towards the “new blood” in the family.

I decided to give Segel the benefit of a doubt and not jump to conclusions before seeing the film.

I saw the movie the night before Thanksgiving and here's what I thought.

WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW!!!

Alright, up until this point Muppet movies not remaking classic literature follows some pretty basic conventions:

-Muppets are underdogs

-it ALL works out in the end

-and the big one is that the Muppets exist as an innocence and comic relief in a reality-based and often cruel world.

The reboot does NONE of these things.

The main characters are Gary (Jason Segel), Mary (Amy Adams), and Walt (a puppet). Gary and Walt are brothers and Gary and Mary have been dating for ten years. (yeah-you heard me) They all come from this perfect little innocent town in middle America to tour the Muppet Studio in LA. Their mission in all of this is to take the defunct and somewhat jaded Muppet crew and put on one last show to save the Muppet theater. By the way, HAVEN'T WE SAVED THAT DAMN THEATER 20 TIMES BY NOW??!!

So, this is a big flip for a lot of conventions. The main characters are not from Muppet canon. They act as the innocent within this harsh world. Instead of the muppets rising to action and motivating everyone else to put on Broadway production / prove innocence / seek aliens / same the theater over and over --- it is these newcomers motivating the muppets themselves. The muppets are NOT innocent and “pure” in this. Kermit is fine with fading away into the background. What one must remember is that this is a meta-narrative and for all intensive purposes—these are the ACTORS who made all the other movies and shows. This take allows a reboot to create new conventions and updates in the franchise. I can see where a crew who had been working with these characters for decade would not like this definite change.

I'm not going to get into a review of the film, I assume MovieBob will come out with on rather soon and I generally agree with his knowledgeable take but I will say this:

It's a pretty good movie.

It's not great. It does some new things but doesn't change the game. And, I think I can be fine with that.

I'm not sure if it would have been possible to make a better movie than this. I give Segel a good deal of credit for making this because people really don't seem to realize what a risk that is for him as a writer. He hasn't made waves with his other comedies and screwing up a notable franchise like this could have stuck him with a bad mojo for his future endeavors.

I think people should see it and keep an open mind. With any luck, this will fill that Disney void for umbrella films.