The Muppets (film)

The Muppets is a 2011 American comedy film and the first Muppet theatrical release in 12 years. In the film, Walter (performed by Peter Linz), the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) must help raise $10 million to save the Muppet Studios from Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), a businessman who plans to demolish the studio to drill for oil. The film is directed by James Bobin, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, produced by Martin Baker, David Furnish, Jason Segel, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and John Scotti, and features Bret McKenzie as the music supervisor.

The film was released in the United States on November 23, 2011. It was released in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2012. The film was first announced in March 2008 and production started in September 2010. The film premiered at the 2011 Savannah Film Festival.

The film features 21 new musical numbers (fifteen of them as brief dialogue) and three classic Muppet songs which are "The Muppet Show Theme", "The Rainbow Connection" and "Mah Nà Mah Nà."

The film is rated PG for some mild rude humor, making it the third Muppets film to receive a PG rating (the first being the 2002 television film It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and the second one being the 2005 television film The Muppets' Wizard of Oz). However, it's the first theatrical Muppets film to receive a PG rating.

The Muppets is the fourth Muppet film to be nominated for any Academy Awards in general for the song "Man or Muppet" (the first being The Muppet Movie for both its score and "The Rainbow Connection", the second being The Great Muppet Caper for "The First Time It Happens" and the third being "The Muppets Take Manhattan" for its score) and the first to win a single one.

The Muppets was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. on March 20, 2012.

Plot
Walter is the Muppet brother of Gary (Jason Segel), a human. Walter once watched The Muppet Show and became the biggest fan of the show. Years later, Gary tells Walter that he intends to bring him along at his tenth couple anniversary vacation with Mary (Amy Adams) in Los Angeles where the Muppets Studio stands. Mary seems annoyed that Gary is giving much more attention to Walter than her. ("Life's a Happy Song") Once arrived at the Studios, he finds the place poorly-maintained and only used for tours. During the tour, Walter infiltrates Kermit's office. During his passage, he finds that Tex Richman's (Chris Cooper) plan to raze the Muppet Theater and exploit the oil discovered beneath the theater. Tex is assisted in this by Bobo the Bear and Uncle Deadly. The only way to foil the plan is for the Muppets to buy the theater for $10 million as explained in the contract.

Panicked, Walter warns Kermit the Frog about the plan after encountering him outside his mansion. Kermit is discouraged as the only way to amount so much money is to make a show, which has not been done in years ("Pictures In My Head"). Walter convinces him to try anyway, and their quest begins. Fozzie Bear is found in a tribute band called the Moopets in a Reno casino, featuring much more punk-styled version of the Muppets except for Animool (performed by Foo Fighters lead singer/guitarist Dave Grohl in a costume). After a conversation in private with Kermit, Fozzie accepts to reunite. Gonzo became a powerful plumbing magnate and at first refuses to join back. Then on second thought, he blows up his storage building for a stunt and reveals he wore his stuntman suit every day under his businessman suit, and he and his girlfriend Camilla the Chicken join the group. Animal is in a clinic for celebrity anger management with Jack Black as his sponsor. Despite Jack Black's warning not to say drums, Kermit accidentally enrages Jack Black and a fight starts between anger management patients, leaving an opportunity to for Animal to escape. The rest of the group is seen getting back in the gang via montage. During the montage, it is seen that Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem were performing in a subway, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker are working in a research laboratory, Crazy Harry did some explosive work on Mount Rushmore, Sam the Eagle is a news commentator, and Scooter works for Google. The only missing member is Miss Piggy, who split up with Kermit and left to work for Vogue. Miss Piggy refuses to cooperate and the Muppets replace her with her Moopet equivalent Miss Poogy. After unsuccessfully pitch the show to several TV studios, the Muppets get two hours of broadcast when they persuade Veronica (Rashida Jones), a TV executive. The Muppets repair the theater ("We Built this City"), but their rehearsal fails. When Miss Poogy announces she is burning some of Piggy's clothes, Miss Piggy kicks her out.

Frustrated with Gary about leaving her, Mary goes out sight-seeing alone ("Me Party"). Veronica says that she will not put the telethon on air if they do not find a celebrity host. Kermit asks Tex Richman for their studio back, but he refuses to cooperate ("Let's Talk About Me"). He then reveals that they'll also lose the Muppet name and all characters under that name and Kermit leaves. Cooperating with Miss Piggy and the other Muppets, Kermit kidnaps Jack Black. When Gary arrives at the motel, Mary leaves him. Gary and Walter have a falling out after Gary remembers he forgot his and Mary's anniversary ("Man or Muppet"), but they reconcile later on. Meanwhile, the Muppet Telethon is working out great, but Tex tries to stop the telethon by cutting the power. Gary and Mary, now back in their hometown of Smalltown USA, reconcile and travel back to LA. Meanwhile, Uncle Deadly realizes he is working for "the bad guy" and defeats Tex before he can completely cut the satellite feed from the building.

Meanwhile, the telethon runs with acts including Camila and the Chickens singing Forget You, Sam, Rowlf, Beaker and Link Hogthrob singing Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Gonzo performing a head-bowling act with Black as his volunteer. After performing "Rainbow Connection", Walter finds his talent by whistling complicated tunes while tap-dancing. When the clock strikes midnight the digital counter stops at one dollar less than needed to save the property, because of Tex knocking over a nearby telephone pole. The counter glitches, revealing the Muppets were only at $99,999.99. Kermit states that they tried and that is all that matters. The Muppets, along with Walter, Gary and Mary, walk out of the theater into waves of cheering fans and press. ("Life's a Happy Song")

The Muppets become famous again and they get to keep the Muppet Theater after Tex gets hit in the head with Gonzo's bowling ball and Fozzie makes him laugh. Gary proposes to Mary ("Mahna Mahna") and Walter finally achieves his dream of being with the Muppets.

Cast

 * Jason Segel as Gary
 * Amy Adams as Mary
 * Chris Cooper as Tex Richman
 * Rashida Jones as Veronica

Muppeteers

 * Bill Barretta as Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef, Bobo the Bear, Pepe the King Prawn, Mahna Mahna, Muppet Gary, and Behemoth
 * Tyler Bunch as Fozzie Moopet and Thog
 * Dave Goelz as Gonzo the Great, Beauregard, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Waldorf, and Kermit Moopet
 * Eric Jacobson as Animal, Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle, Miss Piggy, and Marvin Suggs
 * Peter Linz as Walter
 * David Rudman as Janice, Scooter, Wayne, and Miss Poogy
 * Matt Vogel as Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Camilla the Chicken, Uncle Deadly, Sweetums, '80s Robot, Rowlf Moopet, and Janice Moopet
 * Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog, The Newsman, Link Hogthrob, Beaker, Statler, Lips, and Rizzo the Rat

Muppet cast
'80s Robot, Afghan Hound, Animal, Atrics Drummer, Beaker, Beauregard, Beautiful Day Monster, Behemoth, Big Mean Carl, Bobby Benson, Bobo the Bear, Camilla, Crazy Harry, Droop, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Dr. Teeth, Floyd Pepper, Fozzie Bear, Frackles, Frogs, Gonzo, Janice, Kermit the Frog, Lew Zealand, Link Hogthrob, Lips, Luncheon Counter Monster, Mahna Mahna, Marvin Suggs, Miss Piggy, Miss Poogy, Nigel the Conductor, Pepe the King Prawn, Rats, Rizzo the Rat, Robin the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, Sam the Eagle, Scooter, Sheep, The Snowths, Statler and Waldorf, Sweetums, The Early Bird, The Moopets, The Mutations, The Newsman, The Singing Food, The Swedish Chef, Thog, Trumpet Girl, Uncle Deadly, Walter, Wayne and Wanda, Whatnots, Yolanda the Rat, Zoot

Development
In 2008, Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller pitched a concept for a Muppets movie to Henson Executive Vice President of Production Karen Falk, and they were offered a deal to develop their script. The news became public in March 2008 when Variety first reported that Henson had signed a deal with Segel and Stoller, with Segel and Stoller writing the script and Stoller directing. In June 2008, Jason Segel announced that he had turned in the first draft of his script and was hopeful that the film would live up to previous Muppets movies. Later in 2008, Stoller noted that he and Segel had written an "old school Muppets movie, where the Muppets have to put on a show to save the studio." In this same interview, Stoller also confirmed that they would get as many cameos and guest stars as possible, and that Jason Segel would play a ventriloquist.

Originally, the film was titled The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time, and an early leak of the script suggested that it would feature celebrity cameos by Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Christian Bale, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Jack Black, Mel Brooks, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Rachel Ray, Bob Saget, Lisa Lampanelli, Jeff Ross, and Charles Grodin. Although early reports indicated that Stoller would direct the film, in January 2010 it was announced that James Bobin would direct the movie. In February 2010, additional details about the plot surfaced, indicating that the film would be about a villain that wanted to drill for oil underneath the old Muppet Theater, and that the only way to stop him would be to put on a show that draws ten million viewers. Reports from the summer of 2010 revealed that the production team had met with the creative heads at Pixar to fine tune the script. During the summer of 2010, it was announced that the film would be released on December 25, 2011, but in December 2010, the release date was moved to Thanksgiving 2011.

In October 2010, it was confirmed that Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and Rashida Jones would also be starring in the film. Over the next few months, several guest cameo announcements emerged, including, but not limited to Emily Blunt, Ricky Gervais, Zack Galifianakis, Billy Crystal, Jack Black, Alan Arkin, and Dave Grohl.

During the summer of 2010, Flight of the Conchords co-star Bret McKenzie flew to Los Angeles to serve as the music supervisor for the movie.

Filming
Production and filming for the movie began in late 2010, with the first set photos emerging in December 2010. The November 12, 2010 issue of Entertainment Weekly featured a 2-page spread about the new Muppet movie, including a summary of the film's concept, quotes from Segel and Bobin, the first images of Walter, and new photos of the Muppets with Jason Segel.

Hollywood Boulevard was closed for two nights in January 2011 to film a reprise of "Life's a Happy Song", the final musical number for the movie. According to SlashFilm, the shoot involved Amy Adams, Jason Segel, and hundreds of extras performing an elaborate musical number outside Disney's El Capitan Theatre. The Los Angeles Times also notes that other musical numbers will appear in the film, including Kermit singing his signature song, "The Rainbow Connection", which he will play the same banjo that he used when he performed the song in The Muppet Movie.

Filming locations included Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, Pink Palace Mansion in Bel Air and the former ARCO headquarters building in downtown Los Angeles.

Although principal photography was completed on February 11, 2011, on April 26, 2011, a second unit film crew traveled to Reno, Nevada to film some exterior shots, including a scene in the Bonanza Casino parking lot with some Muppet characters, and a small shot looking into the casino.

Release
The film premiered at the 2011 Savannah Film Festival. The movie will be released in the United States on November 23, 2011 and the United Kingdom on February 17, 2012. Originally, the film was set to be released in the United States on December 25, 2011 (Christmas), but it was later moved to November 23, 2011 (Thanksgiving).

Jason Segel and Amy Adams appeared at CinemaCon in March 2011 to promote the project, showcasing several clips from the film. Clips from the film were also shown at Suffolk University in April 2011 during a Q&A with David Hoberman, Muppeteer Steve Whitmire and Kermit the Frog. Although there had been some speculation that the cast would appear at Comic-Con, nothing surfaced.

Marketing
In May 2011, Kermit the Frog attended the world premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at Disneyland to promote the upcoming Muppets release. A spoof romantic comedy trailer for the movie was attached to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and it was later released online under the faux name Green With Envy. Three additional spoof trailers were released from May to September. These were parodies of The Hangover Part II (called The Fuzzy Pack), Green Lantern (called Being Green), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (called The Pig with the Froggy Tattoo).

On August 23, 2011, Jim Henson Records released Muppets: The Green Album, a tribute album of popular Muppet songs performed by multiple contemporary artists, as part of the film's promotion. Jim Henson Records also re-released the 2006 Christmas album on November 1, 2011.

On October 31, 2011, the Muppets made a guest appearence on WWE Monday Night Raw, in which, among other things, Kermit and Miss Piggy got into a row with Vikki Guererro and Beaker assisted Santino Marella in a match against Jack Swagger.

In addition, the soundtrack of the film was released on November 22, 2011, one day before the film is released in theaters.

Reception
The Muppets has received universal acclaim. The film currently holds a 96% "Certified Fresh" rating out of 192 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with a rating average of 7.9 out of 10, and is the highest rated film in the "Muppets" series. The film also has a 86% rating from 58,133 ratings from the audience, with a average rating of 4.2/5. The site's general consensus says that "Clever, charming, and heartfelt, The Muppets is a welcome big screen return for Jim Henson's lovable creations that will both win new fans and delight longtime devotees." Metacritic gave the film a score of 76/100 based on 28 "generally favorable reviews". Justin Chang of Variety called it "an unexpected treat," noting that the film effortlessly blends "wised-up, self-relective humor with old-fashioned let's-put-on-a-show pizzazz." Todd McCarthy of Hollywood Reporter said it was "A mostly winning return for childhood favorties from a prior century looks to accomplish its goal of pleasing old fans and winning new ones." Joshua Tyler of CinimaBlend.com called it "One of the best movies you'll see this year." The Boston Globe gave it three out of four stars and said, "The result is refreshing on every level, a piece of nostalgia so old it’s new again, and a breather from Hollywood’s 3-D digital onslaught in favor of fur and fuzz." Ryan Dosier of the fan blog The Muppet Mindset said "'Life's a Happy Song' sums up The Muppets in the best way: 'Everything is perfect, it's falling into place, I can't seem to wipe this smile off my face!' And it's true... in so many, many ways. The Muppets have fallen into their place and on November 23rd and the days after, the support of the audience needs to prove it to see more and more Muppet projects. Go see this movie, Muppet fans. From one hardcore fan to however many of you are out there... Go see this movie. There is guaranteed to be at least one thing to make you grin from ear to ear, tap your toes, and give you shivers." On IMDB, the film has an 8.1 from 11,298 and on Metacritic, the film has a 75 score from 36 reviews.

Box office
The film earned $29,239,026 for the 3-day box office and $41,516,691 5-day run on its opening weekend. Both results put it at 2nd, behind The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 with $41,683,574 and $61,853,847, respectively. The film opened in 3,440 locaations in the US and Canada. It was the #1 Family movie for the weekend, easily beating Happy Feet Two ($13,397,346 and $18,351,970) and Arthur Christmas ($12,068,931 and $16,301,131). In its second weekend, the film lost 62% to a total of $11.2 million. The film has earned $88,585,000 so far in the US as of March 18, 2012. It has also got $69,800,000 worldwide for a total of $158,385,000.

Sequel
Due to the film's success, James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller were asked to write a script for The Muppets 2, which will be released in theaters some time in the near future (possibly even by the holiday season of 2013). Details were announced and included: James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller began writing the script on April 12, 2012.
 * The Muppet sequel will be a comedy caper.
 * Disney wants it out in theatres as soon as possible.
 * Jason Segel may cameo.
 * The sequel will bring new Muppet characters.