Muppets Now

By modernizing the characters, and the way that they get their jokes across, Disney has stumbled upon something charmingly old school. There might not be a stage or as many celebrity guests, but this could very well be the most lovable, uproariously funny the Muppets have been since the original Muppet Show. Light the lights. The Muppets are back.

It’s got wit, warmth and charm in abundance, and although it includes adults in its fun it doesn’t cater to them.

For The Muppets, putting on the show has always been as entertaining as the show itself (often more so), and this format loses much of that element. ... Luckily, the characters, even those that have been entertaining us for decades, are so fleshed out and timeless in their personalities and quirks and silliness that they can make a project like Muppets Now work for both old fans and, hopefully, a few new ones.

There’s something comforting in how the writers blend in the familiar beats and strike a nostalgic chord for those of us who grew up with these characters. Like any sketch comedy show, it’s a hit-and-miss proposition, but it hit way more for me than I expected it to.

Although there is plenty of entertainment along the way, Muppets Now! doesn’t quite hang together. The different Muppets don’t interact with each other as much as would be ideal. As ever, a lot rests on the gameness of the celebrities.

The rigid adherence to the recurring segments means Animal, Fozzie Bear and many other staples barely show up, while a lot of attention is paid to the rather unsettling "Okey Dokey Kookin," in which the turkey host gobbles excitedly over dishes featuring chicken and pork and the Swedish Chef wraps a Muppet mole (yes, the mammal) in a tortilla.

Painful. ... The concept – "What if the Muppets were YouTubers?" – is half-baked and lowbrow, assuming that the only way today's kids could possibly care about puppets is if they're influencers.