Day 193: "I'm staying! You hear that, New York? The frog is staying!"

How to follow up after Hostel II?  With the cuteness and innocent humor of the Muppets, of course!!  The Muppets Take Manhattan is the cameo filled second sequel to the magnificent Muppet Movie (the second being The Great Muppet Caper, thanks Branden).  Being a sequel, as we are aware, is a tenuous prospect.  Will it be as good as the original?  Will it carry over the same charm?  Will fame and riches have gone to Animal's head?  The answer to all of these, in both the good and bad, is not really.  It was very close though.  You could say it is unfair to judge this one based on the success of the original, but in reality, the formula, story, and even the structure of the cameos are all very similar.  The Muppets decide to take their chances, and following the decision of their ersatz leader, Kermit, make the pilgrimage to New York in order to produce the musical he has written.  Replace "New York" with "Hollywood, California", and "musical" with "movie," and you'll get my point.  Having said all of this, however, The Muppets Take Manhattan is a wonderful, fun movie. Now in my 40s, I still love the Muppets (specifically the Jim Henson era, since his untimely death, it's just been downhill) and their particular brand of humor and entertainment.

Manhattan does include the usual bevy of guest stars, this time including: Linda Lavin, Joan Rivers (pre-op), Gregory Hines, and a personal favorite, Dabney Coleman.  Jim Henson really knew how to utilize the guest cameo.  Each of the guest stars appears for the perfect amount of time to get their laugh, or show off their particular talent alongside the Muppets.  The best thing is, each of them plays off acting with a Muppet as if it was something that happened every day.

If you have kids, I definitely recommend The Muppets Take Manhattan.  If this is going to be their first exposure to the Muppets though, put The Muppet Movie in instead.  Its that much better, and the I still have the soundtrack on my IPod.  Yes, it does get playtime, especially "Movin' Right Along," one of the best driving songs ever (behind "Radar Love").  Lots of fun, but suffering from a bad case of sequelitis.  8/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!