Review: The Muppets – “A Tail of Two Piggies”

While walking the red carpet at a film premiere, Piggy’s tail pops out of the dress Deadly designed. This causes quite the scandal. She is on the front page of the newspaper and the subject of every talk show. You would think that all press is good press but the network and the sponsors aren’t happy.

As Piggy gets ready to give an apology speech on her show, she meets a teenage pig who tells her tail-popping story. Originally, she, like Piggy, was embarrassed that everyone saw her curly tail. But when she saw Piggy’s tail, she realized that it can happen to anypig. Even popular celebrity pigs. Inspired by the teenager, Piggy decided to embark on a #UnveilTheTail campaign. Again, the network and the sponsors aren’t happy. The network president tells Kermit that he has to stop Piggy from showing her tail on television or lose money from his budget. Everyone is torn. Do they give into the sponsors or do they go ahead with the plan? Kermit has a third option.

After a quick on-air game featuring Animal and Fozzy, Piggy introduces Kermit to the audience. He tells everyone how awesome it is to be yourself but Piggy can’t show her tail on television. But everyone else can! Every member of the cast and crew are wearing curly pig tails. They proudly wave their tails at the camera. Pig tails are handed out to the studio audience. Even the musical guest, Joan Jett, wears a pig tail as she sings “Bad Reputation.” They managed to get around the network and the sponsors yet still get their message of acceptance across. Definitely a mark in the win column.

The overall change in the show’s tone is interesting. Before, it seemed to always focus around bad things – Kermit’s work stress, Fozzy’s relationship troubles, Piggy’s ego. Now the show tries to focus on the positive. Well, at least until the network president and her muffins show up. I love that Piggy, who is always self-centered, wanted to do something that wasn’t completely selfish. Sure, she still benefited from the entire campaign but it also helped a lot of pigs feel better about themselves. The fact that Kermit and the entire crew helped make it happen only makes the show better. We can see that they aren’t just a bunch of individuals tossed together into a workplace. They are friends and they are family.