♫ Everything is great, everything is grand.
I got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand.
Everything is perfect, its falling into place.
I cant seem to wipe this smile off my face.
Life’s a happy song when there’s someone by my side to sing along… ♫
If you are not familiar with that song, you soon will be. It’s one of the songs from the new Muppet Movie. It’s such a catchy tune! I can’t get it out of my mind.
I should have known that music was going to play a big part in the movie. When my husband and I were waiting for the earlier showing to let out we saw a whole bunch of young kids walking out of the theater singing the Mah Na Mah Na song. You might not know the title but I’m sure you’ve heard it before.
Here is a video of the original version of the song. In the Muppet Moviethe song is sung by the cast of the movie, including the pink Muppets seen in the video.
Seeing those kids leaving the theater only proved something that I have already known about the Muppet Movie ever since I caught a glimpse of it being filmed back in January and that is that this new movie was going to introduce the beloved Muppets to a whole new generation.
My husband and I were so excited to see the Muppet Movie that we purchased advanced tickets two weeks ago. We were also the first ones on line (for our showing of the movie) so that we could score perfect seats. I think we were just as giddy about seeing the movie as the kids that were all around us.
The Muppet Movie starts off with a Toy Story toon called Small Fry. It stared Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the other Toy Story cast members. I really love that franchise. The first movie my husband and I saw together was Toy Story, so that movie series will always have a special place in our hearts. Small Fry was really funny too. It’s about a Happy Meal-type toy that escapes the fast food restaurant because he wants to be played with by a child. In doing so he left Buzz Lightyear behind. Buzz learns that there are many toys stuck in the fast food restaurant that wish they could be enjoyed by a child. It was very sweet, but very funny at the same time. I love the toys that had weird little “quirks” about them.
Finally the movie started. I actually think I was sitting up front on the edge of my seat.
I won’t give away the whole movie. But I’ll give you a brief summary of the movie.
Gary and Walter are brothers who live in Small Town, USA. Gary (played by Jason Segel) looks human where as Walter resembles a Muppet.
When Walter was a young boy he discovered the Muppets (Kermit, Miss Piggy, Beaker, Fozzy…). Watching the Muppets on TV made him happy. The Muppets helped Gary through some tough times. He also became obsessed with the Muppets, even though the kids in town made fun of him because of it.
Walter’s dream was to go to LA to visit Muppet Studios. Gary was planning a trip to LA for his 10th Anniversary with his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) and decided to surprise Walter by taking him along with them (much to the dismay of Mary who wanted to be alone with Gary).
Upon arrival in LA, Walter could not wait to visit Muppet Studios. When the trio arrived they were saddened to see that the studios were in serious decay. Everything was closed down, falling apart and covered in cobwebs. The reason being that the Muppets were no longer relevant and no one cared about them anymore.
On a side note, Muppet Studios in the film is really the legendary Charlie Chaplin Studios which was built in 1917. In 1969 the City of Los Angels declared it a historical site. Charlie Chaplin Studios is now Jim Henson Studios. When you see the scene in the movie where Walter, Gary and Mary are standing in front of the gate, that is really that gated entrance to Jim Henson Studios. I was honored to visit Jim Henson Studios where I took some pictures of that infamous gate. I even took a photo of a wall that features Charlie Chaplin himself. * You can click on the photos for a larger image.
While touring the decaying ruins of Muppet Studios, Walter happens to over hear the evil plot of billionaire Tex Richman to acquire the studios and knock them down to drill for oil which is underneath the studios. The only way the studios can be saved is if the Muppets could raise $10 Million dollars to buy the studios and void the contract.
Walter cannot let his beloved Muppet Studios be destroyed. Walter had to let Kermit know what Tex Richman had planned. The only problem is that no one had seen Kermit in many years. So together with Gary and Mary, the trio head out to track down Kermit.
Thankfully they were able to locate Kermit and tell him what Tex Richman had planned. Although it took a while for the gang to convince Kermit that the studios was worth saving, the group felt that the best way to raise the $10 million dollars was to perform together one last time. To do that they had to locate ALL of the other Muppets including Miss Piggy, Fozzy, Gozo, Pepe, the chickens and everyone else they used to work with.
Will Kermit, Walter, Gary and Mary be able to find all the missing Muppets? Will they be able to raise the funds to save Muppet Studios before it’s too late? To find out the answers you’ll have to go and see the Muppet Movie, now playing at a theater near you.
Another interesting little tid bit, the front of the Muppet Theater, as seen in the movie, is actually El Capitan Theater, located on Hollywood Blvd. I’ve been there too! I went to the red carpet premiere of Gnomeo & Juliet at that theater.
The final musical number at the end of the movie looks like it was filmed on famed Hollywood Blvd. where the Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the Roosevelt Hotel are located. It was fun to see some familiar locations appear in the film. I’m also shocked that they were able to close off such a busy road in order to film the movie’s final number.
Another fun thing about the film was trying to spot all the celebrity cameos. We spotted Selena Gomez, Whoopie Goldberg, Jack Black, Sarah Silverman, Judd Hirsch, Zach Galifinakis, Emily Blunt, Jim Parsons and many others.
I loved the movie, from beginning to end. I loved everything about it. The songs, seeing all my favorite Muppet characters and the story plot. Even my husband, who is not often fond of “musicals”, loved it. He said that sometimes movies with a lot of songs in them often have songs he finds rather annoying or silly. He said he enjoyed the songs and music in the Muppet Movie. He was even singing the Mah Na Mah Na song when we were driving home.
I loved that the theater was filled with people of all ages. This is NOT a “kiddie movie”. This is a family movie that can be enjoyed whether your are 9 or 99. I even saw elderly people there with their grandchildren. The Muppet Movie is truly a movie that transcends all age groups.
While waiting online I overheard moms telling their kids how they grew up watching the Muppets. Now, thanks to the Muppet Movie, a whole new generation of children will fall in love with these sweet, lovable, funny characters.
If you are looking for a great movie to take your whole family to – go see the Muppet Movie.
If you are going on a first date, or looking for a fun date movie – go see the Muppet Movie.
If you are an older couple looking for a movie that is entertaining and not jam packed with violence and obscenities – go see the Muppet Movie.
The Muppet Movie will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you want to stand up and cheer and it will make you want to jump in the screen and sing and dance along side these beloved characters.
On a scale of 1-10 I’m giving the Muppet Movie a 25! LOL!
If you would like to read more about the Muppet Movie you can check out the Muppet Movie tag on my left side bar for all my Muppet posts. You can also visit www.Disney.Go.com/Muppets and/or www.Facebook.com/Muppets to learn more.
♫ Mahna Mahna
Do doo be-do-do
Mahna Mahna
Do do-do do
Mahna Mahna
Do doo be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do-doodle do do do-doo do! ♫
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I also paid for my own movie tickets and a small fortune to buy two bottles of water and two bags of popcorn. 🙂
CathyO says
Thanks for the review! I totally loved the movie, came out yesterday totally crying, it was so good!!! My son loved it too. So glad they are back. I hope they bring their weekly show back too. Great characters and story line. I read on wikipedia that the end scene was filmed on the actual street, they closed it down for two days to film. Great movie I want to see it again and again!!!
ANN* says
This sounds like a great movie to see. Muppets have
been around since my kids were little
anna pry says
The whole movie was wonderful! It makes me even consider adding the dvd option to our netflix account just so I can get all the episode of the Muppet Show for my daughter to watch. We were late though and we missed the first half of the short film:(