Ma na ma na…do do dodo do.
Ma na ma na…it’s thirty plus! do do do do.
Yep, it’s been so long without The Muppets that I recognise their theme song more as a sunscreen commercial.
But NO MORE! They’re back!
And it’s all thanks to a naked Jason Segel and Dracula…sort of.
The story goes that Disney loved Segel’s Dracula puppet show in Forgetting Sarah Marshall so much, that they offered him the gig to reinvent The Muppets for a new generation.
Not only has he done that, but also a movie that will not (or at least, should not) disappoint any fans of old.
Maybe the best part of The Muppets is how cool it makes its musical scenes (stay with me). I’ll admit the first time Segel and his Muppet-like brother Walter break into song and dance, I went a little wide-eyed. But soon the whole process takes the absolute piss out of itself and maybe, just maybe, actually makes sense of musical numbers in movies.
It’s self-referential humour could also be the best part. Without actually saying it, these characters know they’re in a movie. They tell the audience that they’ve just heard a crucial plot point. They plan montages and fade outs so that time will go faster. It’s brilliant, if not just out of reach for the kids…but there’s plenty for them to like.
Then, there’s the cameos. Seriously, anyone who wasn’t in New Year’s Eve and won’t be in The Avengers seems to pop up in The Muppets somewhere. Comedians, TV actors, rock stars!
I was more of a Thomas The Tank Engine and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan as a kid, so I wasn’t overly hyped for The Muppets movie, but I can’t recommend this any higher. It’s awesome. And I’m calling it the best all-age pleaser since Toy Story 3.
Ma na ma na…four stars.
-The Prince
(@Mitch_Lewis)
FURTHER VIEWING:
Check out THIS PARODY of THIS TEASER for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Or my chat with writer / star Jason Segel HERE.
ALSO OUT THIS WEEK:
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (audio)
Hugo
The Descendants
LAST WEEK:
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
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