muppet revew

Skyler Ball – Review of “The Muppet Movie”

I’ve  loved the muppets since I was a little boy.  My favorite characters were always, “Beeker” and “The Swedish Chef”.    I also loved the musical guest hosts.  Elton John and John Denver were two of my favorites.

I recently watched the new, “Muppet Movie”.  The movie starts with Gary, who is a huge fan of the Muppets.  When his brother, played by Steven Segal, goes on a trip with his girlfriend, played by Amy Adams, to California, Gary goes along to see the Muppet studios.  He is super excited about the trip but when he gets there he finds the Muppet studios are falling apart – literally. 

Gary decides to round up all the Muppets for one more show before an evil oil tycoon destroys the property to get to the oil underneath the studio.  After he convinces Kermit the Frog to join his cause, they set out to find each of the original Muppets.    Their search takes them all the way to Paris and back with many songs and dance numbers thrown in.  They manage to find the whole cast and bring them back to the Muppet studio.

I liked the movie overall, but found the song and dance numbers to be excessive at times.  I think it was very well acted and I really liked the performances of Segal and Adams.   I was disappointed in the some of the voice actors.  They just didn’t sound like the originals.  Fozzie Bear’s character seemed very different than the “old” Fozzie and I didn’t think he was as funny.  Jack Black’s appearance in the movie seemed unnecessary.

I enjoyed it when the cast sang, “Rainbow Connection” because it reminded me of being a little boy and watching the show.  I think it’s cool that the Muppets are still relevant today- especially since this show began in the 1970’s.