Reviews
The Scotsman
Alistair Harkness
“The anarchic end result is perfect in its imperfections – and about as joyous as a film for all the family can possibly be.”
09/02/2012
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The Independent on Sunday
Nicholas Barber
“You might be ready to file The Muppets alongside The Artist and Hugo: all three films are buoyed by their unabashed love of the showbiz of a bygone era. But the genius of The Muppets is the way it balances all this warmth and affection with anarchic, self-aware humour.
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12/02/2012
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The Los Angeles Times
Betsy Sharkey
“The filmmakers are definitely playing around with the form, breaking the fourth wall and messing with movie conventions when it suits them. There are a few stumbles, but not too many, and by the time Gary and Walter get to a showstopping number that asks the burning question — "Am I a man, or a Muppet?" — you are completely hooked.”
23/11/2011
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The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
“Though not without its flaws, this is the most inventive of all the Muppet movies, and certainly the goofiest. Its brilliant central idea is to recognise that, today, the Muppets are has-beens, but even 35 years past their sell-by date they have imperishable qualities — notably charm, innocence and optimism.”
10/02/2012
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The New York Times
Stephen Holden
“Winking at itself, the movie is casually, amusingly self-reflexive. In one joke Kermit the Frog considers telephoning President Carter. “The Muppets” makes no attempt to match the wisecracking hipness of the “Shrek” movies. If it doesn’t provoke belly laughs, it elicits many affectionate chuckles.”
22/11/2011
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Total Film
Ellen E Jones
“A textbook on-with-the-show musical comedy, celebrating the virtues of teamwork, being kind to each other and impromptu song-and-dance numbers – the kind of thing the Muppets do best.”
30/01/2012
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The Sunday Times
Edward Porter
“Here they go back to basics, regrouping to stage a variety show like the ones they did every week in their 1970s television series. Unlike those half-hour blasts, James Bobin’s film has a few longueurs, but it’s still sure to delight old fans.
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12/02/2012
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The Daily Telegraph
Robbie Collin
“It’s so genial, so joyous, and suffused with such a lip-smacking sweetness, that the occasional pacing issues and subplot hiccups simply don’t seem to matter.”
09/02/2012
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Time Out
Tom Huddleston
“A predictable sort of putting-on-a-show hi-jinks, but in some ways that’s the point: this is cosy-blanket filmmaking, the very definition of that overused term, feelgood ... replete with beloved supporting characters, subversive asides, terrible puns and some of the most ludicrous, maniacal musical numbers ever committed to film - one throwaway showcase for a flock of singing chickens may well prove to be the funniest scene of 2012.”
06/02/2012
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The Guardian
Henry Barnes
“Life's a happy song, as the film's big musical number testifies. Sing it loud enough to drown out the doubters.”
26/01/2012
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The Observer
Philip French
“The film's broad smiles and big-heartedness are bracingly disingenuous, the self-referential jokes well handled. Only the affection emanating from the audience is sincere.
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12/02/2012
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“The jokes flag after a while, though the charm stays strong, even when the promised Celebrity Cameo turns out to be Jack Black. Is he really on a par with Miss Piggy?”
10/02/2012
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The Evening Standard
The Evening Standard
“The film reminds us that this insane group of human toys are capable of wit and sophistication as well as farcical comedy.”
10/02/2012
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“Unfortunately the pang of loss – the “you can’t go back again” – is reflected in the film’s own inability go back again. After a meditative midsection it tries to re-establish cuteness and comic zeal. But this Kermit never quite returns to innocent life after we find him in his doomy chateau with the wrought-iron frog outline in the gate (a batrachian Kane). ”
09/02/2012
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The Times
Wendy Ide
“There is a familiarity here that borders on laziness ... But then you don’t come to a Muppet film for character development or a story arc. You come because you want to be reassured that childhood memories are unsullied. And yet somehow, the latest Muppet movie succeeds rather more effectively than it has any right to.”
10/02/2012
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