The Muppets (Tempest's 2012 Oscars Watchalong)

I thought I'd better do The Muppets alongside RIO as they feature the two songs nominated for Best Original Song Oscar.

Here's Man or Muppet, the actual song:

 

 

I think I might be about to say something controversial here. Obviously, The Muppets as a movie (not to be confused as The Muppet Movie) is a far superior film to RIO....and I did like Man or Muppet when it featured in the middle of the film.....but without the clips and the joke of Jim Parsons (actually he was probably there as Sheldon wasn't he?) appearing as the human version of Walter.....I possibly think as a song to listen to, Real in Rio might be better. OK, no stop, wait a minute....I've just remembered Jesse Eisenberg's singing on it....ok, Man or Muppet wins my vote.

I do like the silliness of the lyrics in Man or Muppet. It's very muppety. And possibly more catchy than Real in Rio. But it doesn't have Sergio Mendes and the drum beat. Oh I don't know.

As for The Muppets, I love it. I was a little concerned that it wouldn't be up to the standard of the original Muppet Shows and the first few Muppet movies (they did lose their way slightly, although The Muppet Christmas Carol stormed back on form, possibly one of my favourite Christmas movies). I was also concerned that the human stars, Amy Adams and Jason Segal might get too much screentime in place of some of my favourite Muppets.....but as soon as Fozzie and Gonzo showed up, and Fozzie put his fart shoes on I was as happy as my 8 year old self again.

And more importantly, I converted two others to the way of the Muppet. Goth Child and Melchett were vaguely aware of the Muppets.....I've played them enough clips from the original Muppet Shows and they've watched The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island with me. But seeing a Muppet movie in a cinema blew them away. They came away wanting to devour everything muppety....to the extent that, that night Melchett made me do her fingernails like this:

 

Yes, we liked The Muppets movie. And The Muppet Movie.

 

My scoring:

Would I recommend it to others to watch?  YES!

Would I watch it again?  YES!

What did I think about the song Man or Muppet? Liked it, especially as part of the movie. As a song that I might hear on the radio it isn't quite as appealing without the visuals.

What score would I give the movie out of 10?  9

 

And if you want a full list of the 61 movies up for Oscars in 2012, including their categories, I've made a list you can print off using Google docs: Tempest's 2012 Oscars Watchalong