The Muppets have returned to the big screen with a complete revamp and their first theatrical release in 13 years, but can their trippy charm translate into 2012 or will we witness a Muppet mid-life crisis?
Thankfully - and unsurprisingly - there is nothing to worry about. Our film's hero is a pint-sized muppet named Walter who is the Muppets' biggest fan and lives with his brother Gary, played by co-writer Jason Segel. Their muppet/human family relationship is never questioned, and why should it be!? Walter has a closet full of Kermit t-shirts, a bed covered in Muppets stickers and a dream to one day meet his heroes. But the problem is, his heroes only exist now on late night Muppet Show re-runs.
The Muppets have long disbanded and their appeal has no place in the modern world. Miss Piggy is now the editor of French 'plus-size' Vogue. Animal is in a celebrity rehab clinic. And Fozzy is in a sleazy Muppets tribute band, 'The Moopets' -essentially a drunken gutter version of the gang, and including 'Miss Poogy' and Dave Grohl. But when the Muppets franchise is threatened by an evil oil tycoon, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), it's up to Walter and Gary to help get the Muppets back together for a reunion show to save their legacy and bring them back to life.
This plot is only a small part of the package: The Muppets is essentially about feel-good nostalgia. There are references to previous Muppet films - including a road trip that harks back to the original 1979 Muppets flick - and the glue that holds it all together is its self-aware humour: it's consistently campy and occasionally cheesy, but in true Muppet fashion it's the tongue-in-cheek laughs that make it work.
As always there are a bunch of celebrity cameos, from Jack Black to, er, Selena Gomez. Then there's Segel and Amy Adams - who plays Gary's fiancée Mary - whose performances are delightfully enchanting. Hailing from Smalltown USA, a perfect town where the inhabitants burst into musical numbers in the street, the couple's cheerful optimism represents the warm fuzzy feelings that the Muppets have given to so many over their 40 year lifespan.
Full of musical numbers that were written by Bret Mackenzie of Flight Of The Conchords fame, the songs are seriously stellar. Whether it's a feel-good infectiously catchy musical number like Life's A Happy Song or a hilarious warble like power ballad Man Or Muppet, you'll be humming the whole way home.
By the time the credits roll and the happy ending is cemented, it's clear that the Muppets have not only successfully transitioned into 2012, but they will have won over a new audience as well as rekindling their relationship with old ones. A truly delightful, celebratory and touching film, whether you're a long-time Muppet enthusiast or new to the magic.