Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Animal, Fozzie Bear and the other Muppets haven't been onscreen in ages. Their creator, Jim Henson, died in 1990. And Frank Oz, the immortal voice of Piggy and Fozzie, declined to participate. So the challenge Disney has with The Muppets is to show a new generation what the fuss was all about. Slam-dunk. Jason Segel, the full-frontal star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, co-wrote the script with Get Him to the Greek's Nicholas Stoller. And that's James Bobin of HBO's Flight of the Conchords in the director's chair. R-rated talent with their hands up the Muppets? Whaaat! Take a breath. The new movie never crosses its PG parameters. What it does, enchantingly, is to set a Muppet fan named Gary (Segel) on a journey from Smalltown USA to Hollywood to find out what happened to our felt friends. Gary brings along his girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), and his brother, Walter, who looks like Gary in Muppet form. They need to stop an oil baron (Chris Cooper) from destroying the Muppet studios. Solution? Televise a Muppet reunion. The setup works like a charm. So do the songs, with several new ones by Conchords star Bret McKenzie. Adams rocks out on "Me Party." And Segel's heartfelt ballad "Man or Muppet?" deserves Academy attention as the movie song of the year. But it's Kermie, Piggy and the gang who rightly steal the show. The Muppets slaps a smile on your face you won't want to wipe off.

Related
• Off the Cuff with Peter Travers: 'Muppets' Star Jason Segel Cried When He Met Kermit
• 'The Muppets' Music: How Muppetational Is It?

“More Than a Feeling”

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was as surprised by anyone when he sent his unsolicited demo to record labels and got back a positive response. Scholz said, “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody knew who we were, so I wouldn’t even say we were struggling. It was groveling.” Part of the credit for the interest must go to the anthemic rock number "More Than a Feeling." Inspired by the Left Banke's 1966 hit "Walk Away Renee," Scholz worked on the song for five years in his basement studio before it was released on this album.