A MOST AGREEABLE PASTIME

I watched the new Muppet Movie on Sunday night and found it to be a delightful and nostalgic trip that didn’t miss a beat for the duration of the film.  The musical numbers were spot on and the Muppets themselves were as sharp as ever, in that puppet humour kind of way.  There were even a few call backs to that eponymous 1979 classic.  Needless to say the film lived up to what I remember the Muppets being all about back when they were at the height of their popularity.

As a pleasant surprise the plot line, which I had on watch for the ‘thing that was most likely to stuff up the movie’, was surprisingly serviceable without being obtrusive.  I mean lets face it the story of a film starring the Muppets is really just a device to watch the Muppets be as ridiculously silly and slapstick as possible, and as emotionally invested as to give rise to a tear jerker or two from Kermit the Frog.  And spoiler warning, Kermit goes ’emo’ within 20 minutes of the start of the film.  But that’s why we love him, isn’t it?

If you are sensitive to spoilers, don’t keep reading but I implore you, see the film, and thanks for reading.

If you haven’t seen the film the premise is simple – the Muppets need to raise the money to save their studio from certain destruction by an evil oil tycoon (is there any other type).  And that’s it really; a telethon and hilarity ensue.  The funny thing is, and i’m not sure if this is case anywhere else in the world, but I haven’t seen a telethon in about 15 years.   Which dates the Muppets somewhat, but also adds to the charm and nostalgia that comes with seeing the Muppets back in the spotlight.

And then I thought of how boring fundraising has become since the onset of the Internet.  I mean it was fun for a little while (nerve-wracking even) to watch Camoflaj cut it really close to their deadline in trying to raise the $500,000 to fund the development of their game Republique (not too far from the end half an hour of the Muppets film), but aside from that where are the talent shows, special events and galas that back in the day made fundraising a spectacle?

They don’t exist.  And these days all the Muppets would’ve needed was to launch a Kickstarter campaign.

So make an effort to see the Muppets.  Even better, save it for a day where you’re a bit down on life and rest assured, you’ll come out as assured about the world as ever.  Certainly worked for me.