“The Muppet Show” special celebrates 50 years of The Muppet Show, and though it leaves a little to be desired, overall, it’s a wonderful return of characters generations of kids have loved.

Growing up, “Elmo’s World,” “Fraggle Rock,” “Labyrinth” and all things Muppets were constantly playing in my house, so when Disney first announced “The Muppet Show” special back in December, I was both excited and skeptical. 

I didn’t want this to be like other reboots Disney had done and dismantle everything that came before it, but I was so excited to see The Muppets back in action and to see Sabrina Carpenter as the guest star.

In my opinion, the special feels like a continuation of the original Muppet show, just a little updated for today. The jokes are just like they always have been: corny, punny and something you would find hilarious when you were little. But somehow, the jokes still work and made me and my family laugh. 

Miss Piggy is still the ultimate diva, Gonza is still on the verge of getting himself killed, Beaker is still on the receiving end of all Dr. Bunson’s crazy experiments and Kermit is still trying to hold everything together and make the show go off without a hitch. 

Though I did enjoy the show, especially when the chickens join Carpenter as she sings Manchild, there are a few things that needed a little work, the main one being Kermit’s voice. Matt Vogel makes Kermit sound like he either has a cold or finally hit puberty. He does not sound like Kermit at all. 

There were also a few too many big names that were given screen time and lines that didn’t really matter or further the plot at all. I must admit that Maya Rudolph’s throwaway bit, where she chokes on Beaker’s eye and ‘dies’ only to be brought back to life when a sandbag lands on her stomach backstage, is pretty funny. But the bits with Seth Rogen don’t really add anything to the show. I understand he is an executive producer who helped make the special happen, but none of his scenes really add anything.

While I do have a few complaints, overall I was very happy with how this special turned out. If this is a backdoor pilot like many have been theorizing, I would not be the least bit mad and would be very happy if this were only the first episode in a reboot of The Muppet Show. 

Categories: Arts & Entertainment