Muppets Party Supplies will soon be at Discount Party Supplies, inspired by the new Muppet movie that is currently in theaters. Muppets haven’t been around much in popular culture for the last few years, but now they are back in a big way.  There hasn’t been a Muppet movie in theaters for fifteen years, since Muppet Treasure Island was released in 1996. Disney bought The Muppets back in 2004, but they have only popped up occasionally since then, in celebrity cameos and guest-star spots. The new Muppet movie has been in the works for several years, as the brainchild of actor/writer Jason Segel, and his creative partner Nicholas Stoller.  It was released on November 23rd of this year, to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

My family and I have been so busy with the holidays that we hadn’t been able to get to the movie theater to see it, but we have all been looking forward to it. So when we found out that it was going to be playing at our little local movie house, we immediately made plans to go to an afternoon matinee. We made plans with local family friends, and four of our families all met up for the show.

We were delighted to see that everyone else in town was just as excited as we were about the movie. The line for tickets was already out the door at 1:30 for the 2:00 show. Parents, grandparents, and young children had all come out to enjoy an afternoon with the Muppets. We bought our tickets, spread out over a couple of rows in the theater, and got ready. I was a little nervous about the movie, because The Muppet Show was a huge part of my childhood, and like most childhood memories, I hold them very dear. When The Muppet Show came on every week, my sister and I would sit on the living room floor, completely enthralled with the furry creatures, and their guest star of the week. Whether it was Blondie sweetly singing a duet with Kermit the Frog, or Carol Burnett completely losing it and screeching at the Muppets, only to come onstage dressed as a giant asparagus moments later; The Muppet Show left an indelible impression on an entire generation of children from 1976-1981. The last thing I wanted was some kind of sly, winking, too clever parody of a beloved fixture from my formative years.

One thing became clear to me within moments of The Muppets playing; the people who have made this movie, love the Muppets. Not ironically, not in a “it’s cool because it’s retro,” and certainly not in a “let’s make fun of a childhood phenomenon” kind of way. No, this movie was made by true Muppets fans, who were devoted to the show. It is clearly a labor of love, and you don’t have to imagine that it’s much of a stretch for the actors in The Muppets to appear absolutely delighted, in the truest sense of the word, that they are actually talking to Miss Piggy, Gonzo the Great, and of course Kermit the Frog. The fun, funny, energetic spirit of the old show runs through this movie from start to finish.

The Muppets truly is an homage to Jim Henson, and the amazing world he created for families everywhere. Fozzie Bear still makes terrible jokes, Miss Piggy is as fabulous, and self-centered as ever, and the Swedish Chef is still merrily muttering nonsense to the audience. The self-referential humor, and catchy music (created by the the completely wonderful Bret McKenzie , of Flight of the Conchords fame) had me giggling the whole time.

As I watched the movie, I occasionally glanced over at my kids and their friends, to see if they were enjoying it. They have all grown up with Sesame Street, of course, but their exposure to the Muppets hasn’t been terribly extensive. They have seen The Muppet Movie, and we have a couple of DVDs with episodes of the old Muppet show, but that has been it. The Muppet phenomenon hasn’t been nearly as pervasive for their generation, as it was for mine. But every time I looked over at them, they were completely lost in the movie, cracking up at the creatures on the screen. So they loved it, which means that they are good children, who have been raised properly.

As much as all of the kids in the theater were into the movie, you know who loved it even more? Every single parent there, that’s who. Every parent in the theater was cackling at the jokes, grinning with delight at their old friends on the screen. And I saw more than a few adults surreptitiously wiping away tears, when Kermit started plucking his banjo, playing “The Rainbow Connection” during the movie’s final scenes. After the movie, I spent the rest of the day feeling unreasonably happy. I had no idea that paying a visit to my childhood pals would be so restorative for me.

The Muppets is still in theaters, so go see it if you can. It really is worth it to spend a few hours away from this “hard, cynical world” we live in, and hang out with some happy monsters who want nothing more than to play the music, light the lights, and put on the most “Sensantional, Inspirational, Celebrational, Muppet-ational” Muppet Show one more time.

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Tracy Maher is a party planning guru and director of marketing for DiscountPartySupplies.com. She has a husband, three children, and a cat that should be registered as a lethal weapon. She throws many parties, mainly as an excuse to cook (and eat) a lot of food!