The Muppets
2011
****
Director: James Bobin
Cast: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Peter Linz, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Jack Black, Stevie Whitmire, Alan Arkin, Emily Blunt, James Carville, Bill Cobbs
Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, tours the Muppet Studios in Los Angeles with his human brother Gary and the latter one's girlfriend Mary. To his shock, Walter discovers that his heroes have become historical relics and their legacy is about to be erased, so he tracks down Kermit and inspires him to regroup the gang and stage a comeback show to save the Muppet Theatre. The seventh Muppets film doesn't feature the original sound cast (Frank Oz is the most conspicuous absentee) and the story is taken from Blues Brothers, but it's nevertheless an irresistibly warm and funny comedy. A new generation of children will hopefully fall in love with these characters, but the film's hilarious metafictional gags and frequent references to the 1980s are clearly directed at the parents who grew up with the original show. Bret McKenzie (one half of Flight of the Conchords) won an Academy Award for his song "Man or Muppet".
