The Muppet Movie-As Perfect of a Muppet Movie As You Can Get

The Muppet Movie remains as perfect of a Muppet Movie as you can get. It is a film of such unabashed heart and optimism. It feels like the Muppet Movie that most overtly reflects Jim Henson's overall philosophy regarding the Muppets, providing a group of characters whose shared dreams allow them to connect and who stick with each other through thick and thin. The relationship between all these characters makes them so effortlessly likable. Henson's puppetry makes them feel so real and expressive, making it easy to identify with these characters and root for them. 

It's a tonally perfect film. It's so honest in its characterization. These Muppets act a specific way, no matter how unconventional that may be, and the film's world, and by extension, the audience, accept that. It's a film with witty, incredibly meta-writing, but it never puts too much attention to itself. Characters talk directly to the audience, and characters even use the film's Screenplay as a plot device, but these meta-gags are never used to criticize or spoof anything. They are instead used as tools to have fun and entertain. The film's assortment of visual gags and witty puns similarly feel there so that everyone involved, from the writers to the prop designers to the filmmakers, can have fun so that the audience can also. 

And more than anything, that's what makes The Muppet Movie such a perfect film. It's a film that does everything it can to have fun with itself, which makes it an effortlessly entertaining film. It allows each Muppet to shine and allows moments to showcase the innate charm of every Muppet character. Each gag and sequence also showcases one moment of practical effects and puppetry after another. And with the innately likable and heartfelt story and the assortment of incredibly catchy songs, it remains as perfect of a Muppet Movie as you can get.

Now Streaming on Disney+ in the U.S