Our little movie-going trio consisted of a 9-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy, and a mom who doesn't suffer mindless, formulaic children's films gladly. All three of us had a rip-roaring time, and I think it's fair to say we had three different wonderful times. We all laughed at plenty of the same jokes, but Mama relished the countless Hollywood tributes, cameo star appearances, and inside jokes for the over-40 set; boy-tween giggled helplessly at maniacal bad guy and explosive puppet slapstick; and girl-tween named as the highlight of her experience finally getting to see Kermit and Miss Piggy kiss for real.

All of us left with the same estimate of what age would likely be too young for this film; we all felt it was for kids ages six and up, based purely on the level of stress and violence. Everyone ends up OK in the end, of course, but there is some pretty rough slapstick, including beloved Muppets being blown up, crushed, roughed up, smacked, and sinisterly threatened. We agreed that most 5-year-olds we knew would have been stressed past the enjoyment level.

For anyone ready to roll with the punches, however, this film offers a rollicking ride, with great musical numbers in the grand Hollywood style (right down to synchronized swimmers, chorus line dancers, and a tap-dancing Ricky Gervais), non-stop one-liners, classic Muppet capers, exotic locations, and the old bad guy / good guy twin routine that somehow never gets old. And - something else we've always been able to count on from the Muppets - there are more cameo appearances by mega-stars than anyone could possible count in one viewing. Keep your eyes peeled for Lady Gaga, Usher, Tony Bennet, Hugh Bonneville, Zach Galifianakis, Frank Langella, and Salma Hayek - to name but a few.

Finally, with the disclaimer of MILD SPOILER ALERT: near the end of the film, poor old Beaker gets blown up in a pretty startling manner that seems like it really must be the end of the poor guy. He does manage to survive, though; so if anyone sitting next to you becomes distraught, you can share the news that he will be fine.

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