Muppets Movies Ranked

What to say? This is the perfect Muppet movie. It's beautifully staged. The actors are completely dedicated to the concept of believing in the Muppets as real characters. The songs are the best they've ever been. The set pieces and "stunts" are all so lifelike that any sense of barrier between the Muppets and "real world" is totally removed. As wondrous as something like The Dark Crystal is, it's clear from this film that Jim Henson already had a firm grip on making the fantastical seem completely real. But in this movie, every bit of the magnificent illusion is in service of getting a smile out of us. No one could have done it better. We miss you, Jim.

I'm not sure I can express how unprepared I was in 2014 for the new Muppets movie to be one of the best of the series and frankly, one of the best comedies of the decade. The "Disneyfication" of the previous film is (thankfully) completely undone here and instead we get a movie that perfectly understands the comedy style that defines the Muppets: chaotic, high-energy, lightly transgressive, but never vulgar or mean-spirited. It's a nearly-impossible balance to achieve and this movie makes it look effortless. Muppets Most Wanted is a movie that gives me some small hope for our culture. In this century, they may not be able to give us a good Star Wars, James Bond, Mad Max, Godzilla, Terminator, Jurassic Park, Alien or Ninja Turtles movie, but at least the Muppets are still capable of delivering quality entertainment at the same standard as ever.

So there are no songs, get over it! After 20 years, trying something new was perfectly welcome. Making Gonzo the protagonist was one of the best ideas in the whole history of the Muppets and it's sad that the concept never caught on. This whole time we could have been getting stories centering on Fozzie or Animal or the Swedish Chef. Think of the possibilities! Anyway, it's strange that this has become the least appreciated Muppet movie, but I think it comes down to expectation. Muppets from Space doesn't play to the preschool audience; there are too many hippie jokes and instances of Animal lustfully shouting, "Woman!" for many moms to feel right showing it to their little ones. Still, let them get into their teens and suddenly there's a more provocative version of these characters for them to discover. It would be a shame to miss out on it.

This is the one with the most heart. So soon after Jim Henson's and Richard Hunt's deaths, the ideas of saying goodbye and gathering with loved ones were obviously in the air and this is exactly the kind of touching tribute their life's work deserved. The set pieces and character design are spectacular, the songs are quite good and Sir Michael Caine is a world-class Ebenezer Scrooge. For younger viewers, this is an excellent introduction to the characters and for all of us, it's a warm, reassuring hug of a movie. Pure Christmas magic.

Much of what I said about the Christmas Carol applies here. The sets are top-notch, the music is excellent and the choice of a spectacular talent like Tim Curry as the villain was inspired. He elevates an already quality movie. It's just that the tone of the jokes is very grade school, which I realize is a major portion of this series's audience, so it's not so much a complaint as a matter of preference. Special mention has to go to Sir Billy Connolly, living national treasure and another of the most unique talents of his generation.

Surprisingly, the original movie is also the one with the most absurdist sense of humor. I have to respect that. Very '70s sensibility and a tone that matches the original TV show well before the films would move on to other things. Not the absolute series highlight, but a great sign of things to come.

You know what it most reminds me of? One year earlier, Monty Python got together for one final film, The Meaning of Life. But by that time, all six of them had moved on to their subsequent careers and that really showed itself in the lack of focus. They just weren't a unit anymore and they knew it. Sometimes it's okay to move on. With this movie the same thing seems to be happening: Frank Oz is on the brink of his celebrated directing career and Jim Henson is becoming an impresario. They're not the scruffy kids of the previous decade and that giddiness is sadly mostly gone. Not that it has no highlights; it's a reasonably entertaining movie, but not the finest hour for anyone involved.

It's hard to quite pinpoint what I so dislike. Somehow the main human stars really take me out of it. Part of the magic of the Muppets is the "live" cast really believing in the characters, which Segel and Adams just don't pull off to my satisfaction. They're both clearly "in on the joke," which then means that there is no joke. Chris Cooper is also surprisingly lackluster, which leaves it without a memorable villain. Very disappointing and it's taken me several tries to watch the whole thing, which can't be said about any of the others on this list. Luckily, something much better was on the horizon.