The Muppets is a 2011 American musical comedy film[3] directed by James Bobin from a screenplay written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller.

[7] The film stars Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and Rashida Jones, as well as Muppet performers Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, and Peter Linz.

There, he overhears oil magnate Tex Richman and his henchmen, Uncle Deadly and Bobo the Bear, intending to buy the Muppet Theatre from Statler and Waldorf.

Walter informs Gary and Mary, and they visit Kermit in his mansion, who realizes the Muppets would have to reunite and throw a telethon to raise the money.

With time running out, a desperate Kermit tries to implore Richman to return the studio, but he refuses, revealing he will give the Muppets' trademarks to the Moopets.

The Muppets convince Kermit to participate in the telethon, which slowly gains both an audience and rising funds, thanks to telephone pledges from celebrity callers.

Richman, refusing to accept defeat, deliberately crashes Kermit's car into a telephone pole, cutting off the phone lines just short of the goal, and evicts the Muppets from the theatre.

Gary proposes to Mary, and Richman, after being struck in the head by Gonzo's bowling ball, laughs for the first time and willingly returns the theatre to the Muppets.

Archival recordings of Goelz, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, and Richard Hunt can be heard in the film through The Muppet Show segments in the opening flashbacks.

!, and an early leak of the script suggested that it would feature celebrity cameos by Adam Sandler, Bill Hader, Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Christian Bale, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Jack Black, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mel Brooks, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Rachael Ray, Bob Saget, Lisa Lampanelli, Jeff Ross, and Charles Grodin.

[38][39][40] In February 2010, additional details about the plot surfaced, indicating that the film would be about a villain that wanted to drill for oil underneath the old Muppet Theater, and that the only way to stop him would be to put on a show that draws ten million viewers.

[41][42] Reports from the summer of 2010 revealed that the production team had met with the creative heads at Pixar Animation Studios to fine tune the script.

[45][46][47] Over the next few months, several guest cameo announcements emerged, including, but not limited to Adam Sandler, Bill Hader, Emily Blunt, Ricky Gervais, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Crystal, Jack Black, Alan Arkin and Dave Grohl.

[48][49][50] However, Gervais, Crystal and several other cameos including Beth Broderick,[16] Kathy Griffin,[51] Ed Helms,[26] Sterling Knight,[52] Mila Kunis,[53] Ben Stiller,[54] Eric Stonestreet,[26] Wanda Sykes[17] Lady Gaga,[55] Katy Perry and Danny Trejo[16][26] were completely omitted from the film due to time constraints.

[60][61] During the summer of 2010, Flight of the Conchords co-star Bret McKenzie flew to Los Angeles to serve as the music supervisor for The Muppets.

[65][66] Hollywood Boulevard was closed for two nights in January 2011 to film a reprise of "Life's a Happy Song", the final musical number for the movie.

[14][67][68] According to /Film, the shoot involved Amy Adams, Jason Segel, and hundreds of extras performing an elaborate musical number outside the El Capitan Theatre.

[14] Other filming locations included Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, Pink Palace Mansion in Bel Air, the fictional "Kermit's Office" was filmed at Crossroads of the World, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and the City National Plaza in downtown Los Angeles (acting as the interior of Richman Oil's headquarters, although the Bank of America Center is represented on-screen in an establishing shot instead).

One of the film's five songs, "Pictures in My Head", was produced by McKenzie and written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis, and Chen Neeman.

In May 2011, Kermit attended the world premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at Disneyland to promote the upcoming Muppets release.

[92][93][94] A spoof romantic comedy trailer for the movie was attached to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and it was later released online under the faux name Green with Envy.

They also joined Olly Murs on stage during the UK version of The X Factor on November 27, 2011, to perform his new single "Dance With Me Tonight" and promote their new film.

The two-disc edition's supplementary features include bloopers, deleted and alternate scenes, "Muppet Intermission", "Scratching the Surface: A Hasty Examination of the Making of Disney's The Muppets", the fully intact version of "Let's Talk About Me", "A Little Screen Test on the Way to the Read Through," and an audio commentary with Jason Segel, James Bobin, and Nicholas Stoller.

The site's critical consensus reads: "Clever, charming, and heartfelt, The Muppets is a welcome big screen return for Jim Henson's lovable creations that will both win new fans and delight longtime devotees.

[120] Justin Chang of Variety called it "an unexpected treat", noting that the film effortlessly blends "wised-up, self-reflective humor with old-fashioned let's-put-on-a-show pizzazz.

"[121] Alonso Duralde of The Wrap agreed writing that, "The Muppets has the same brilliant absurdity, anarchic humor, subtle uplift and ensemble comedy that fans have come to expect over the years.

"[122] Both the Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Weekly praised the screenplay's self-referential humor, Segel and Adams' supporting roles, and the film's clever employment of cameos.

[123][124] Michael Phillips gave the film three out of four stars, positively summarizing that "those of us who've had Muppets in our memory since childhood will find ourselves in a state of contentment.

[126] The Boston Globe also gave it three out of four stars and said, "The result is refreshing on every level, a piece of nostalgia so old it's new again, and a breather from Hollywood's 3-D digital onslaught in favor of fur and fuzz.

In March 2012, after the critical and commercial success of the film, Disney secured a deal with Bobin and Stoller to direct and write, respectively, a new installment.