Synopsis: Walter, a lifelong fan of Kermit, Miss Piggy and crew, dreams of visiting the Muppet studio. When he, his brother Gary, and Gary's significant other, Mary (Amy Adams), finally make the trek over there, they discover that it's been largely abandoned. Worse yet, Walter overhears an evil tycoon's plan to buy the Muppet studio only to dig up the oil reserve beneath it. The only way the nefarious scheme can be stopped is if Kermit and friends can raise ten million dollars. Kermit assembles the old crew together to put on a benefit...but, that nefarious oil baron will stop at nothing to be the owner of the Muppet studios. Will Kermie prevail in the end?
Features appearances by Jack Black, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Selena Gomez, Emily Blunt, and several other celebrities.

The Good: After Jim Henson died, the Muppet franchise went into a downward spiral. _Muppet Treasure Island_ and _Muppets from Space_ were pretty good...but, after the mediocre and somewhat crude _It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie_, the absolutely horrible _The Muppets' Wizard of Oz_, and the inane _A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa_, things seemed bleak for Kermit and crew. Well, I'm happy to say that this film brings back the Muppet magic. It's a serious throwback to a time when movies were made to simply be enjoyed, not picked apart for hidden meanings. Humor abounds; the musical numbers were great; the heroes were likable; the villain was utterly despicable; and, there's many a cute moment.

The Bad: Unfortunately, the makers felt the need to add some occasional crude bits, though it's nowhere near as egregious as in the other Muppet flicks mentioned above. Without them, this movie could have scored a "G".

Conclusion: I grew up watching the Muppets in various forms: movies, both older and newer; _Muppet Babies_; _Muppets Tonight_; and, yes, even _Fraggle Rock_. That may make me a bit biased, but, I still had a blast with this movie. Say what you will about Disney; they brought back the Muppets to their former glory. Whereas the movies from the 2000s would have made Jim Henson turn in his grave, this would have made the late Muppet creator proud. Let's hope the next movie, _Muppets: Most Wanted_, continues this trend.

Score: 4.5/5

I grew up with "The Muppets". They premiered on TV when I was 12 and I watched them every week. I loved their off-the-wall humor, the overall craziness of the skits, and how every week Kermit had to keep control of the Muppet cast who were nuts. I looked back on the show with fondness and the nostalgic nerd in me was geared up about the Muppets coming back. I should have known better.

This is an awful reboot. The story is the typical 'someone's-going-to-close-the-theater' tripe. The bad guy is another villain that we've seen countless times out of Hollywood. Yes it's the evil oilman. Even dumber...his name is "Tex Richman". Get it? Ha! Ha! "Tex" as in "Texas" and "Richman"...like "Rich" as in "money"? Isn't that clever?!? My god it's idiotic.

So we get a new Muppet character named "Walter" who wants to be a Muppet. He ends up saving the theater during a fund raising telethon. And his talent? He whistles really well. Whistles! I couldn't believe how stupid that was! I sat there in the theater with my jaw on the floor.

Each Muppet is basically in the movie so we nostalgic types can see our favorites again like Fozzy Bear, Animal etc. But they aren't part of the story. Instead, we get the bland new Muppet Walter, his meat-headed human brother Gary, and his boring girlfriend Mary.

The only reason I give this a 2 out of 10 score is because I liked the recreation of the old "Muppet Show" opening. But that's it.

A suitably bright, cheerful revival of the old Muppet franchise, stuffed with cameos and furry puppets, old and new. I really loved this upon my first watch, five or six years ago, but much of the shine has worn off since then. It does manage to modernize the show without losing its spirit, no small task in and of itself, but the ceaseless, overwhelming optimism is lathered thick and I didn't find the soundtrack quite so charming on a second pass. Amy Adams and Jason Segel are the worst offenders here, acceptable enough as small-town sweethearts but disturbingly happy and overacted, prone to drop everything for a song like they're in the process of succumbing to a massive Glee overdose.

My boys didn't care for the musical numbers either, but all three of us enjoyed the big, seat-of-their-pants stage production that closes the show. That felt like the most successful interpretation of the old material anyway, a fast-paced variety show that's just as comically chaotic behind the scenes as it is before the audience. Fresh in the sense that they don't make clean, wholesome, feel-good programming like this any more, but it doesn't have a lot of shelf life. One viewing is more than enough.