The Latest Muppet Movie Leaves Much to Be Desired

I grew up watching The Muppets. My favorite Muppet movie was The Great Muppet Caper. You can't go wrong with Kermit, Ms. Piggy and the gang and a mystery in a foreign country. i even put up with The Muppets Take Manhattan, even though it wasn't my favorite. And then there was the time that my sister and I met Jim Henson in Walt Disney World, months before his tragic death - ok, I nearly ran him over and my sister got his autograph. Go figure. I loved him and still do. Those movies and episodes of The Muppet Show are nothing if they aren't classic. So I really wanted to give that to my son - he loved The Fraggles and Sesame Street and Labyrinth. And he liked the Great Muppet Caper. But this latest installment of the Muppets leaves something to be desired.

The plot isn't anything new - it's of the "Hey kids, let's put on a show!" variety. And with it comes the predictability that a plot like this inevitably brings. Walt, the newest Muppet, is eager to go to LA so that he can visit the Muppet Theater, where the Muppets filmed the Muppet Show that inspired him and got him through his childhood. When they get there, they see a rundown venue that is going to be bought and demolished by an oil tycoon. Of course, their only hope is to get the entire crew together and put on a fundraising show in order to save the theater. It was entirely saccharine and way too long for my almost four year old son to watch in the theater (although he *really* liked the Chicken's version of a famous pop tune). That being said, I think that I got more of a kick out of it than he did - I got the jokes. I laughed when I saw Kermit's robot partner and at the other jokes that I think were geared more towards me as a 32 year old parent that grew up on the Muppets than my son, who had no clue who the Muppets were until recently. I loved seeing the cameos of famous people (all hail Zach Galifnikis, Sarah Silverman and Jack Black). I teared up when they sang songs about rainbows. And I was happy that there were still Muppets even though the movie was a tad predictable.