Honestly, I had mixed reactions when I first heard this movie was underway. I was initially apprehensive mostly due to Jim Henson's death, and Frank Oz's lack of involvement, but I was intrigued when I heard that Jason Segal was writing it, solely based on my enjoyment of his Sarah Marshall vampire puppet musical.
The Muppets as written by Jason Segal works quite well. It is entertaining, sweet, hilarious, adorable, and chock full of fun celebrity cameos (as expected). Without any spoilers I will just say I was awful excited to see that waitress.
A traditional musical, this movie embraces the honest emotional conflict about the idea of a new Muppet movie on the big screen. Should we? Do we still want to see a Muppet movie? Should we let sleeping Muppets lie? Maybe their time has passed and there won't be an audience for it anymore? Will we wreck everything with this if it sucks? Yet no one can deny how loveable our Muppets are, everyone has a favorite (mine is Pepe), and we will always want to see more.
The point is, the true heart in this tickling movie, is that it takes our beloved Muppets of the past and tells this new story with the weight of the material in hand. At no point do you feel the Muppets are being violated or that anything is "wrong." Granted, it's not our traditional old Muppets and honestly, it never will be due to the change in voice artists. None the less, Jason Segal honors the Muppets with this script, his love letter to their legacy.
Go see it. I love The Muppets. And I want to hug Jason Segal.
