For those of us who grew up with the magic of master puppeteer Jim Henson and his Muppets and Fraggle Rock, this movie delivers and delights.  The movie stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and just about every favorite fuzzy Muppet you can think of and a heartwarming new edition to the pack, Walter. There I was, a grown woman, in the theater with two friends and we all cried… twice!

In this movie, the Muppets, fading Hollywood stars have dispersed all over the globe; the theatre where they used to shoot their TV show on Hollywood Boulevard is now more of a ghost town than a tourist attraction. Ah, but as any movie needs a villain, oilman Tex Richman (Cooper) steps right in, under the guise of wanting to restore the theatre to it’s glory days, he is actually buying it to demolish for the oil rights and the plentiful oil under the building. And here enters Walters story.

Walter grew up in Smalltown, U.S.A. and his best friend and brother is Gary (Segel –  just go with the part that one is human and the other Muppet).  Gary is dating girl-next-door-school-teacher Mary (Adams) and they are about to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Mary has quietly born the attached at the hipness of Gary and Walter, but their anniversary trip together to Hollywood has her feeling more like the third wheel as it’s Walter’s dream to visit Tinsel Town and visit the home of his hero, Kermit the Frog, and the Muppets. 

When they arrive, the first thing they do is tour the theatre and Walter is left despairing by the decay. Kermit’s office is closed off for the tour but Walter sneaks in anyway.  It is in there while hiding that he overhears Tex and his evil Muppet henchman lay out their plans to destroy the theatre from a loophole in the theatre contract.  The only way to save the Theatre and the Muppet legacy is to gather all the Muppets and put on a show to raise money. Walter enlists Gary and Mary to help him and it leads them on a great adventure to find all the lost Muppets and put on a show.

Wonderful themes are addressed in this movie that will touch and teach kids and adults alike – the theme of fitting in for Walter, following your heart for Miss Piggy, and of course good vs. evil (never too old to learn a good moral of the story.) The script is charming and witty, having been written by die-hard Muppet fans, Segel and Nicholas Stoller (“Get Him to the Greek”).  The soundtrack is strong with a nice mix of old and new, highlighted by the Muppet chickens singing their version of “Forget You” by Cee Loo Green and another classic number I just don’t want to give away. There’s a whole slew of surprising cameos and strong performances by the core cast. The movie slows down a little in the middle with a few “necessary” plot complications, but when the actual show begins it gets you smiling and singing along in your head to all of our favorite Muppet songs and laughing with the characters we’ve come to love.  I wish the show itself was a little longer as the weekly variety show was half-hour of pure enjoyment, itself full of bits that were cleaver and funny.  The running time is 95 minutes.  Perfect for little kiddies, but adults like me were left wanting a little bit more of “the most sensational, inspirational, celebration, Muppet-ational…”

Definitely worth catching a matinee this Holiday Season!