Still Mad for The Muppets -- and That's a Good Thing, Right?

Early on in the 2011 movie The Muppets, a network executive (played by Rashida Jones of Parks & Recreation fame) gave an audiovisual presentation that portrayed the Muppets as being shamelessly unfashionable. So it became fairly obvious at that point that the movie was taking place in an alternative universe.

But seriously, folks.

Apart from being a trifle unbelievable -- after all, Hollywood is full of celebrities whose careers have come and gone within all the years that the Muppets have existed -- the scene in question also defines the major challenge facing The Muppets: the idea that American culture is no longer capable of accepting of accepting the gentle, humanistic humor of the original Muppets.

Of course, I would like to believe that idea is wrong. After all, as I've noted, this franchise has outlasted quite a few rivals -- so much so that I find it a bit disconcerting to realize that this movie has fans whose parents were not even born when the Muppets were first introduced to American TV viewers. And quite frankly, I find it hard to believe that everyone is necessarily into the hard, cynical humor that is usually promoted as an alternative to the Muppets.

Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, this movie is my favorite movie of all the Muppet movies I have seen -- including the first one.

Granted, there are some parts I could have done without -- the farting shoes jokes, for example. And I must admit that I found it hard not to roll my eyes when the writers chose to have a wealthy character blow up his own workplace rather than help solve a problem that could have been fixed by the simple writing of a check. And what was so bad about the characters played by Amy Adams and Jason Segel that so many critics refused to give them their due?

Oh, well. At least the movie got made. And better yet, it produced a sequel.

But will we see yet another Muppet movie after the most recent one? That, alas, is a question that has yet to be answered.