The Muppets franchise gets a thorough dusting off and a major makeover in "The Muppets," but it's probably the parents, and not the kids, who will most appreciate the effort. This is the first Muppets movie to come out since "Muppets From Space" in 1999, and such a lot of water has gone under the bridge that the Muppets themselves are acutely aware of how times have changed, how old friends are gone and how their shelf-life has long since passed.
Kermit the Frog, that master philosopher who had always combined compassion with soulful self-pity ("It's not easy being green"), is the first to admit it; he's a relic of the past. He lives alone in a rundown Hollywood mansion, and his needs are catered to by a creaky "'80s robot" carrying drink cans on a tray. "I haven't seen the old gang in a long, long time," sighs Kermit wistfully. "I guess people sorta forgot about us."
And there's a lot of evidence to support Kermit's pessimism. Fozzie Bear is working at a third-rate casino in Reno, heading tribute band The Moopets with a horrendous drag queen named Miss Poogy. The real Miss Piggy is the "plus size" editor at Vogue Paris, ensconced in an all-white office while her receptionist (a hilariously snooty Emily Blunt) fields her calls. Uncle Deadly and Bobo the Bear have hooked up with an evil oilman named Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), who is unable to laugh and cues these Muppets to do it for him. "Maniacal laugh! Maniacal laugh!" he orders whenever he's about to pull off some evil scheme, and they do obligingly. The Muppets have truly and officially disbanded, and Kermit hasn't seen his old buddies or his beloved girlfriend, Miss Piggy, in years.