The Muppets - Blu-Ray

Movie: Applause! Applause! Applaaaaaaaus! The Muppets are back! More than ten years after their last cinematic adventure, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo Fozzie Bear, the Beast, and of course Waldorf and Statler returned to the big screen in 2011. Now, with the help of huge Muppets fan and How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segel, the stars from the legendary Muppets show manage to recreate much of the charm and anarchic wit of yesteryear for just under two hours in home cinema.

The film centers on the mismatched pair of brothers Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter, who live in the idyllic small town of Smalltown. When Gary and the love of his life Mary (Amy Adams) want to vacation in Los Angeles, Walter joins them. After all, Walter is the biggest Muppet fan in the world, and a chance to visit the legendary Muppet studios in L.A. is something he naturally can't pass up. But on their visit to the now run-down place, the brothers learn that unscrupulous oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) wants to demolish the old theatre, as there is supposedly a big oil well underneath. There is little time to save the theater. And only One can do it, too: Kermit the Frog. After a brief hesitation, even the disillusioned star of yesteryear realizes that his old theater must be saved. And so he rounds up the old troupe to put on a charity show to raise enough money to buy the theater. But of course, a Tex Richman isn't going to be messed with that easily...

Jason Segel and Nick Stoller, who previously co-wrote the hit comedy Never Have Sex With Your Ex Again, put their shared love for Kermit and company to work in their screenplay for The Muppets. uninhibitedly. So it's little surprise that Segel has made his own role in the film relatively large. And you can't really blame him, because anyone given the opportunity to work on a passion project like this would probably have done the same. And even though the story about Gary, Mary and Walter is actually very nice, overall it detracts a bit from the actual stars of the film.

But whenever the Muppets themselves are featured, it quickly becomes clear that there were real fans at work here, bringing their childhood heroes to life with a great deal of love, respect and passion. The humor is biting, but not cynical, which may seem a bit old-fashioned and even naive for today's times, but still works perfectly. The Muppets doesn't bother with constant references to current pop culture, but rather strives for timeless humor. What worked forty years ago still makes people laugh today. Whether it's the freak-outs of the animal desperately trying anti-aggression training, the blasphemies of Waldorf and Statler, the delicious recipes of the Swedish chef and, of course, Miss Piggy's love for Kermit - none of it is new, but it's warmed up in such an endearing way that it's a pleasure to watch again and again.

The Muppets may not be a perfect film. For that, there are a few lengths and hangs and some of the new songs then lack that certain something, which is especially evident when Kermit intones his legendary Rainbow Connection. Nevertheless, the return of the Muppets to the big screen can be called a success all along the line. Even Muppet father Jim Henson would certainly have enjoyed seeing how his creations have lost none of their impact on fans of all ages, even after all these years. Therefore, for fans of the old Muppets Show just as worth seeing as for younger viewers who are yet to really get to know Kermit and Co. Wonderful!

Picture + Sound: The Muppets come thanks to rich colors and high detail sharpness on the Blu-Ray extremely well. Even otherwise, the very clean picture can convince in almost all aspects. The same applies to the sound, which is available in DTS-HD 7.1, where not only the dialogue and the music, but also the numerous smaller and larger sound effects are excellent. Very good!

Extras: The good entertainment doesn't stop with the film's credits, but continues in the Blu-ray's entertaining bonus material. Particularly worth watching is the 15-minute look at the shoot, which features some extremely funny moments thanks to the Muppets. Not a standard making of, but rather an amusing fake documentary that also features a lot of self-deprecation. It continues with the longest (at least in the history of the Muppets) blooper special (approx. 8 min.), in which there are some sometimes more, sometimes less funny outtakes to see. A little camera test (approx. 3 min.) shows how the Muppets prepared for the first reading of the film. 10 minutes of cut scenes, which include amusing appearances by British comedian Ricky Gervais and actor and multiple Oscar presenter Billy Crystal, as well as several parody trailers (approx. 9 min.) and the complete Tex Richman song (approx. 2:30 min.) round out the video specials nicely. As an added bonus, there is an optional subtitled audio commentary by director James Bobin, writer/lead actor/producer Jason Segel, and his co-writer Nicholas Stoller. The three chat about the shoot in a relaxed atmosphere, reveal some of the tricks of the trade, or reveal which is their favorite episode of The Muppet Show. An all-around successful and very amusing bonus package that can be warmly recommended to every Muppet fan.

Conclusion: The Muppets make an impressive return with their latest feature film. The fun may have some minor lengths and hangs, but overall the charm and anarchic wit that made The Muppet Show the cult it remains today dominate. On the Blu-Ray, Kermit and Co. present themselves in top technical quality, and in the extras, the entertainment value outweighs the information content. Especially the Making of has some wonderfully funny moments to offer, through which the acquisition of the Blu-Ray proves to be absolutely recommendable especially for Muppet fans!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp