The Muppets were once a force to be reckoned with across the mediums of TV and movies, but in the last couple of decades the Jim Henson-created puppet characters have failed to quite find their footing on TV. They have returned to the big screen in a couple of decent movies, tried their hand at their own version of The Office, and made numerous guest appearances on the likes of American Idol and The Masked Singer. However, it is only in the last couple of years that they have started to find their place in the world again, and The Muppets Mayhem has arrived on Disney+ to deliver their best work in a decade.
The Muppets Mayhem follows the former house band of the Muppets’ theater, The Electric Mayhem. Headed up by Dr. Teeth and featuring the eccentric group of Janice, Zoot, Floyd Pepper and of course drummer Animal, the series finds the band attempting to finally record their first album. Being a Muppet production, the show comes with the usual collection of big name cameos including Morgan Freeman, Lil Nas X, Kesha, Kevin Smith and “Weird Al” Yankovic.
Now the release of the series has seen the show gain a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is just below the 80% achieved by Muppets Most Wanted from 2014. The score also puts it in the same area as Muppets Christmas Carol, Muppets Take Manhattan and other classics. However, Muppets Mayhem has also managed to land a near perfect 97% approval rate from audiences, which would suggest that if you are a Muppet fan, then this latest adventure is going to be right up your fuzzy street.
The Muppets Mayhem is a Very Contained and Focused Story
While there have been some very elaborate Muppet productions that bring in every character possible, The Muppets Mayhem is not one of those projects. When discussing the way The Muppets Mayhem delivers a very focused story, series creator Adam F. Goldberg previously explained that for the first time, it is all about the band. He said:
“This is just about the band specifically. We don’t have that deep bench of characters like when you do The Wizard of Oz or Treasure Island or A Christmas Carol. You could tell this giant story with the hundreds of characters that they have. We’re telling a very small story about this band and where they’ve been and where they’re going. It is about the band and not the tone of a variety show.”
The Electric Mayhem has been an integral part of the Muppets since The Muppet Show first aired back in 1976. However it has taken almost fifty years for the grooving group to get their limelight in their own project. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the series has been so well received, and having been a constant throughout the history of the franchise, this is the first chance that fans have had to spend a reasonable amount of time getting to know the band a little better.
The Muppets Mayhem is available now on Disney+.
