The Muppets: Movie Review

Cast: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Kermit, Walter, Fozzie, Animal, Gonzo, Swedish Chef, Miss Piggy, Waldorf and Statler, Rashida Jones, Chris Cooper, Jack Black

Director: James Bobin

After 12 long years away, the Muppets are back.

But in a world where TV has moved on and the Muppets are no longer cool, they've become obsolete.

Except to Walter (a Muppet himself and brother of Jason Segel's Gary) who idolizes them still after discovering them when he was young.

So when Gary and long time girlfriend Mary (Adams) decide to go to Hollywood to celebrate their tenth anniversary, Walter is taken along too - and discovers that evil businessman Tex Richman (Cooper) wants to tear down the Muppets studio and mine for oil.

Walter takes the news of this to Kermit - and his greenness decides to get the gang back together and raise the cash they need to buy the studios back.

However, a major spanner's in the works because none of them are still in touch - will they be able to put aside their differences and find it's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights; in short, will the Muppet Show ever go on again?

The Muppets is perhaps the best Muppet film ever.

Heartfelt, humorous, hilarious and wholesome, it's a welcome journey back into the nostalgia and the brilliance of Jim Henson's creatures.

There's a simplicity to the story which is just charming and will reduce you to a dewey eyed sense of yesteryear. There's also a brilliance around the jaunty songs which pepper the flick; some have an almost Flight of the Conchordianesque feel (no surprise given Bret McKenzie and former FOTC showman James Bobin are involved) - and every single one of them a bright showtune, bathed in lyrical brilliance and clever lyrics.

The Muppets is a self knowing film; it mocks what they've become but never in an overly knowing way; it's a sly wink to the sophisticated audiences these days but one which really does make you remember how brilliant these guys were back in the day. And how brilliant they are once again.

At its very core, this is another chance to see the Muppets do their weekly show which so enriched our younger years, with its music hall sensibilities and its corny gags. They take on the bad guys too and an array of guest stars drop by - the majority of whom have made their showbiz names since the lights went down on the Muppets' weekly show. Sure, it's probably nostalgia which is giving this its wondrous feel and maybe it's aimed more at the adults than the kids, but it works so, so well that you can't help but crack a huge beaming smile and shed a joyful tear at how funny, clever, bright and engaging this film is.

Quite simply, as we head to the end of 2011, The Muppets is an unmitigated joy, a welcome return to form and easily the most spectacularly heart warming family film of the year.

The Muppets: Movie Review - Rating:

We Bought A Zoo: Movie Review

Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Colin Ford, Maggie Elizabeth Jones, Elle Fanning

Director: Cameron Crowe

Based on a true story and a best selling book, this latest from Crowe is an unashamedly clichéd, feel good flick about a family following their dream.

Matt Damon is recently widowed father of two Benjamin Mee; he has two different relationships with his kids - the one with his teen son Dylan is fractious and argumentative and the one with his young daughter Rosie is all sweetness and light.

When Dylan gets expelled from school and with advice from his brother to "let a little sunlight in", Mee sees this as a catalyst for change and promptly ups the whole family to a house in the country to start again.

The only problem is this house comes with a rundown zoo, its animals and its motley and jaded crew of helpers, led by head zookeeper Kelly (Johansson).

So, with the odds stacked against him and financial struggles aplenty, Mee decides to what he can to reopen the zoo and make a go of it - thus healing himself and his family.

Cliches abound in We Bought A Zoo - there's precious bon mots dispensed left right and centre and a warm feeling of gooey predictable sentimentality on display from the get go. And yet, despite all of that, you can't help but feel a little something for Mee and his family as the tale unfurls.

Thomas Haden Church has some great oneliners as the dry laconic brother of Mee; and Damon once again flexes his everyman appeal in this.

However, the rest of the cast are largely underused - Johansson resorts to a lot of grinning and sideways head-cocking as the inevitable romantic subplot unfolds; they very talented Elle Fanning is left with little to do - and the rest of the zoo keeper cast are pretty much confined to the background, with precious scant input.

Crowe pretty much milks a lot of the sentimentality too - with close ups of cute kid (who's also wise beyond her years) Maggie Elizabeth Jones and shots of Dylan declaring his love as the rain pours down.

You can see exactly what's coming in this flick - but for the holiday period and with its messages of self belief, family, and healing, I can't help but feel this will leave many with a rosy glow after exposure to the triumvirate mix of mawkish sentimentality, cute kids and animals.

We Bought A Zoo: Movie Review - Rating: