Resistance is futile. The Muppets are back and they’re ready to tickle your funny bone, put springs in your step and knit a cosy, multi-coloured jumper to lovingly wrap around your heart. Quite simply, The Muppets is magic.
As the film begins, the Muppets haven’t performed together in many years. But when their biggest fan Walter uncovers a plan to sell the Muppet Theatre to evil businessman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), he, his brother Gary (Jason Segal) and Gary’s girlfriend (Amy Adams) seek to reunite the Muppets and remind them of just how great they were together.
The plot is timely. It’s been 12 years since Kermit and pals graced our cinema screens, and many have forgotten them. Not simply the idiosyncrasies of the individual characters, but what they stood for collectively. Luckily, writers Nicolas Stoller and Jason Segal didn’t. They know that Jim Henson’s ‘Rainbow Connection’-singing creations are pure, unadulterated, timeless joy. Though the wry pop-culture nods have been updated – the covers include Cee-Lo, the celebrity cameos feature SNL favourites – the prevailing tone remains what it always was: innocent, childhood laughter embodied, with absolutely no additives, preservatives, or cynicism.
Through the toe-tapping ‘Life’s A Happy Song’, Kermit’s tear-jerking trip down memory lane in ‘Pictures In My Head’ and of course the infectious ‘Mahna Mahna’, Brett Mackenzie’s (Flight Of The Conchords) score evokes more fun, poignancy and nostalgia that seems humanly (or Muppetly) possible.
So go greet your old friends. They’re ready to welcome you back with loving arms.