Is it time to turn off the music? Is it time to put out the lights?

Well, I have finally seen The Muppets. I enjoyed the movie immensely. It’s a good, solid Muppet movie.

However, strange as it may sound, the movie made me sad.

I have vivid memories of watching The Muppet Show every week on television when I was young. I saw every Muppet movie in a theater, including The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth all the way up to Muppet Treasure Island. I drew the line at Muppets in Space. When they announced there would finally be a new Muppet movie, one that ignored the literary spinoff’s (although I contend The Muppets Christmas Carol is great & is one of my favorite interpretations) and the aforementioned Space oddity, one would have thought I’d be ecstatic. I would say I was cautiously optimistic. The prospect of a true fan like Jason Segel steering the ship gave me hope. If you’ve seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you probably know Segel is truly a Muppet devotee. Still, there was a voice in my head wondering “is there still a place for the Muppets in this high-tech, digital HD world?”

That in fact is a major theme of The Muppets. Even Kermit himself realizes that he and his crew have grown irrelevant. When asked to get the gang back together, the green one laments that the day of the Muppets is long gone. Nobody wants them back. A sentiment that is echoed throughout the film, in a way that was probably meant to instill hope in the audience that once back together the Muppets would prove wrong.

However, I fear it is more of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Disney spent a king’s ransom marketing this movie for nearly a year. While we don’t have solid numbers, you can imagine the marketing came close to doubling the film’s budget. They clearly spent a considerable penny because Disney fired the head of marketing after The Muppets dismal first two weeks. Even though it actually had a strong(ish) opening weekend, the numbers rapidly collapsed in week two. According to media insiders, Disney has already declared there will be no sequel. It is possible that as quickly as they made their comeback, the Muppets may soon disappear again. Or at least be relegated back to their little 3D theater & gift shop at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park.

I hate to say this, as I will generally fight tooth and nail for something I love, but I fear perhaps the Muppets are a nostalgia act. Maybe they really can’t compete in the modern age. I don’t ever want to see CG Muppets. I didn’t even like how many times this new movie showed us their legs! Trying to make the Muppets contemporary would very likely turn them into The Moopets. The minute I see a hip-hop Fozzie, I’m out.

I really did love this movie, but I loved it for the scenes that took me back in time. I loved the feeling of nostalgia like a warm blanket on my Grandma’s couch staring at her Christmas tree. Another feeling I’ll never get back. Maybe it would have been best to let them live on in a reissue of the old movies on DVD. This new movie is a homerun for graying Gen-Xers like me, but a complete loss on teens and probably twenty-something’s. The only hope might be the really young. I took my 5 year-old son and he seemed to really enjoy it. Although, of course his favorite bit was “fart shoes.”

On a personal level, I admit a few of the voices bothered me to the point of distraction. I understand Jim Henson is gone so there’s no choice but recasting. I was much more upset by the absence of Frank Oz. Oz allegedly refused to participate because he felt this movie wasn’t true to Henson’s vision. One rumor is he didn’t like Kermit living alone in an old mansion. Having seen the flick, if that is true I say shame on him! The movie seemed fairly faithful to canon and his involvement could have elevated it. They even explain why he was in that house later in the movie. That said it still probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome. I doubt any 13 – 18 year olds are out there saying “I’d go see The Muppets if they had Frank Oz, but without him it’s bogus!” Do kids even say bogus anymore?

The Amy Adams subplot was almost like filler, but I can see where it was needed. We had to feel that Gary cared so much for Walter that he was unwittingly sacrificing his relationship with her. Still, it was a bit forced and I would say melodramatic, but it is the Muppets so you can get away with that. I enjoyed the cameos and inside jokes. Zach Galif . . . Galli . . . the guy from the Hangover stole the movie! Selena Gomez and the kid from Modern Family seemed out of place. (Again, because I’m old and this is a nostalgia piece.)

At the end of the day, I had bittersweet feelings about The Muppets. Sometimes you have to know when it’s over and go out gracefully. If nothing else, this would be a fitting goodbye, to erase some of the previous blemishes on their record. You never want to see a friend stay too long at the party, or keep repeating the same mistake, ultimately just embarrassing themselves. The Muppet crew has nothing to be embarrassed about with this film, even if it hasn’t been the blockbuster they were hoping for.

There is a scene at the end where Kermit stands before them all on the stairs (SPOILER ALERT) and basically says “Well guys, we tried and we have nothing to be ashamed of. It’s just over. It brought us all back together and that should be good enough, even if the world didn’t respond.” It’s touching and heartfelt. Then they walk outside and the street is flooded with people cheering and holding up signs with messages welcoming them back. You know that’s what everyone behind this film was hoping for in real life too. Unfortunately, the movie might have been better off ending with that speech. Because that just might be the true ending of the story for The Muppets. I hope not. I’d love to see some miraculous turnaround that never happens anymore where the movie has suddenly surges forward in the third or even fourth week and holds on right into the New Year. Anything is possible.

I can’t say I’m disappointed with the movie and while the Muppets may be a nostalgia act, I’m glad they tried and put out a good flick. If anything, the only ones to blame are the audiences that aren’t going to see it. If you are an aging Muppet fan that hasn’t seen it, go. You owe it to your youth. And find a kid to take with you. Tell them there’s more to movies than computer animation and 3D. Not every movie has to look like a video game. There used to be something called story. More importantly there used to be something called heart. The Muppets may not have all that digital magic, but it’s got heart. More so in fact, I’d wager than anything else playing right now.