5. The Muppets Makes Everything Meta; Claims Nothing Recent Happened
What made Jason Segel and James Bobins revitalisation of The Muppets work so well was that it played as well with new fans as those weaned on Kermit and Miss Piggy. Id never seen (or been interested) in the felt puppets that must never be called puppets before their latest outing, but put through the eyes of superfan Walter, I fell in love with the gang. The songs were catchy and the humour delightfully irreverent, leaving the fourth wall shattered. There was even more for fans. Although none of the previous Muppet outings were critical failures, die hards were increasingly let down by the silly, real world adventures. Although The Muppets never explicitly says it, the implication is that the later, less-adored movies never happened. Everything Muppet we've experienced since their classic show is all made by real "people", turning the whole franchise into one meta joke. The plot is kicked in motion by a love of the source show, and Kermit does make a reference to The Muppet Movie, but everything else is left ambiguous, meaning in the worst case the likes of Muppets In Space were ill advised in-world films that probably played a part in splitting up the gang.