Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The Muppets are back, and back in all their stupendous glory ... and quite frankly, the world is a better place for it. This Muppet extravaganza features an all-star cast including Jason Segal, Amy Adams, Jack Black, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones and a number of inspired cameos. The musical numbers are enormously catchy, the story is nothing short of fun, and most importantly, the Muppet’s are just as wild, witty and wonderful as they ever were before. There is cause for celebration indeed.

"THE MUPPETS" is written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, and while it would have been easy to modernize these fuzzy creatures and dirty things up a bit, both Segel and Stoller remain true to who the Muppets are. In this day and age where even children’s movies (or most comedies for that matter) suffer from being overtly crude and obnoxious (I'm talking to you Adam Sandler), the honest to goodness heart has not faded on these great characters. In fact, it is clearly referenced that Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang are too "goody-two-shoes" for today’s audiences. Not to me at all. Hopefully, that is as far from the truth as one could get. Never did a fresh breath of "familiar air" feel so good ... and "THE MUPPETS" is that "familiar air" that fans of these lovable characters wanted to breath in once again.

On a trip to Los Angeles, Gary (Jason Segel) and his Muppet brother Walter find that the legendary Muppets have gone their separate ways. Even more shocking is that a rich oilman has plans to tear down the old Muppet Studio to drill oil from underneath. Thus, Walter, Gary and his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) seek out Kermit the Frog to get him to raise money in order to save the old Muppet Theatre and bring his Muppet family together again.

You know what .... forget the story! This film is not about that. If you're going to see a movie titled "THE MUPPETS", what is the first thing you want to see? The Muppets of course! I had nothing short of a blast seeing this movie. In all seriousness, there are so many things this film done right, and in the end what this film will do, is revitalize adults past love for the Muppets, while simultaneously introducing them to the younger generation in quite the satisfying way.

Segel and company did practically every step right in reviving the Muppet franchise. First of all, they brought back the wit and humor that made it appeal to both kids and adults. A good example is seeing Animal in anger management. Kids enjoy his antics and trying to restrain his compulsive desire to play drums. Adults appreciate the irony of the situation and his celebrity sponsor. Later in the film three stars show up at the telethon to support the Muppets. Kermit greets them with, "It's Whoopi Goldberg and Selena Gomez and ... you!" Like most adults, you may vaguely recognize the young boy from a Disney Channel show ... and like Kermit, you probably can't name him while the children in the audience can. So it's another example where the kids get a laugh and so do the adults. Then there are more subtle jokes. In one scene, every time the camera cuts away, more and more Muppets inexplicably appear in the background. Nobody notes it and nobody even mentions it, even when there's an enormous blue Muppet suddenly there. The whole movie is filled with great moments like that.

The other good step they made was giving proper attention to the music. Bret McKenzie from "Flight of the Conchords" was music supervisor and his talent really shows in the writing. The tunes are funny and showcase both the talents of the Muppets and the human performers.

Most notable is "Life's A Happy Song" which begins and ends the film. Also fun is "Man or Muppet" which features a rather unexpected cameo by the human version of Walter. But McKenzie's crowning achievement is a hilarious rap that comes out of absolutely nowhere from Chris Cooper. "Let's Talk About Me" is probably the best villain song to come along since who knows what.

Also memorable is "Pictures in My Head" sung by Kermit and written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman. And while the movie is jam packed with original songs, there are a few familiar favorites here, too. We get "Me And Julio Down by the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon, "We Built This City" by Starship, a chicken version of "Forget You," and a barbershop quartet version of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." There is something guaranteed to get your toe tapping here no matter what your musical tastes are.

All of the Muppets return in top form. I'm still amazed at how closely Eric Jacobson mimics Frank Oz's version of Miss Piggy and Fozzie. Kermit is still Kermit, Animal is still Animal, and Gonzo is still Gonzo. As for the human performers, Jason Segel seems to be having the time of his life as Gary. He seems to have a perpetual grin on his face. And Amy Adams is excellent as Mary. She comes across as so sweet and innocent, then she'll come out of left field with some funny comment or seemingly out of character song. And then Chris Cooper makes a great villain as Tex Richman, especially with his previously-mentioned evil rap. Also, we have Peter Linz added to the cast as the new Muppet Walter. While it is a difficult task to integrate a new Muppet into the classic cast, they do a pretty good job of it. He's funny and his ultra-fanboy persona makes him endearing to audiences.

One final thing Segel and crew did right was keeping a few tips of the hat back to the original films. We get a duet version of "Rainbow Connection" between Miss Piggy and Kermit. We also get a great recreation of the opening to "The Muppet Show" seen from new angles. There are a few other surprises along the way. And one of the biggest treats of the original films was the cameos by a variety of stars. That is done again here with all sorts of recognizable faces from your favorite movies and TV shows. I don't want to spoil many surprises here, but there are hilarious cameos by stars from "Community," "Parks and Recreation," "The Big Bang Theory," "The Office" and more. Every one of them that appear on the screen are funny and none overstay their welcome.

It's easy to pick apart "The Muppets" because its only priority is to have fun. This film was made to rejuvenate everyone's past love of the Muppets, and reintroducing them to a new generation. It is a celebration of what Jim Henson created all those years ago. It is inspired and full of some of the biggest laughs I’ve seen in a long time. If the Muppets bring back memories of youth, imagine what it will do for a brand new, wide-eyed innocent crowd. This is a welcome return to what made "The Muppet Show" great. Piggy, Gonzo, Kermit, Beaker, Animal and a bunch of chickens singing Cee Lo Green’s "Forget You" add to what is one of the most awesomely entertaining movies of the year ... simply put, it you're a Muppets fan, watch this film immediately. You will surely not regret it.