MahnaMana!

For Friday, November 25, 2011

I grew up with muppets. First there were the ones I met on Sesame Street. Spending television time with Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, the Count, and Oscar the Grouch was fun and when newscaster Kermit-the-Frog began his own show as host of The Muppet Show, I was a loyal follower. The show was silly, innocent, and full of laughs but the characters on the show also were quite endearing.

The Muppets created a few movies over the years. I went to see The Muppet Movie with my sister Linda on one of our summer adventures and it was clear to me then that The Muppets were enjoyable for adults as well as children. When my first child was born, I instinctively chose a Bert and Ernie Christmas decoration as her first ornament and a few years later bought The Muppet Christmas Carol to watch with her and her siblings.

So, when I first saw the previews for the new Muppet movie, I wanted to go. But with my children grown, I knew getting the near 20 year old, 16 and 12 year old to the cinema to watch Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy Bear, The Swedish Chef, and Rolf might be a challenge. But as fate would have it, my nephew, his wife, and two young children planned a trip to our home today. “Might you like to go see The Muppet Movie?” I quickly asked them. YES! They were on board. The four of them and the five of us all decided to catch the 4:30pm matinee. My husband made a face but I was not dissuaded. We arrived at the theater and discovered much of our community had made the same decision. The nine of us looked into a very full theater and saw nine available seats in the front row. We took them without hesitation.

The next hour and a half I sat laughing in great competition with the children in the cinema. I loved the references to the old show, the old movies, and the array of characters introduced over the years. I loved the retention of the simplicity, sweetness, and innocence. I adored the faithfulness and loyalty to Jim Henson’s friends as they always were. Best of all, I was grateful to see my three children enjoying the movie too--the cameo celebrity appearances were especially fun for them. As the credits rolled to the tune of MahnaMana, I couldn’t stop smiling. It was just what I had needed this Thanksgiving weekend, a return to the past taken with the children and the muppets who continue to enrich my life today.