Full disclosure: I love Jason Segel. From beginnings in cult show Freaks & Geeks to his break-out film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, he is a perpetually charming screen presence (not to mention the single-most redeeming factor of How I Met Your Mother). So when the news broke that Segel and long-time collaborator Nicolas Stoller were reviving The Muppets for a new film, I kept the faith while the sceptics balked. I ask you, how could a man famous for his frequent full-frontal nudity onscreen fail to make a crowd-pleasing children's film?

For the uninitiated, Jim Henson's The Muppet Show was an American childrens' show that later expanded into a string of films, like the superlative Dickens' adaptation, A Muppet Christmas Carol. Plot-wise, the new film doesn't need much explaining; it's a simple story that plays wittily off its own clichés. Meta-humour abounds as Kermit and the gang discuss their budget, address the audience and play on their '80s popularity.

There's even an evil businessman, brilliantly named Tex Richman, who plans to drill for oil under the Muppets' theatre. But despite all the winking and nodding, neither Segel nor the film are ever glib. More than nostalgia for the sake of it, The Muppets is clearly a labour of love.

Musical numbers have always been central to the Muppets' appeal and Flight of the Conchords’ Bret McKenzie has written some very funny songs for the film (I admit to still breaking into the Oscar-nominated 'Man or Muppet' in quiet moments). More disappointing however are the celebrity cameos, which put funny people like Zack Galifinakis or Neil Patrick Harris onscreen for the sole purpose of recognition. This is somewhat representative of the film's overall effect; very enjoyable in particular moments, but a bit forgettable on the whole.

Some may claim that a review of The Muppets aimed at a university audience is a) an exercise in wasting my own time and b) a misappropriation of internet real estate that could be better used for pornography or inflammatory views. I have no good comeback to this.

Chances are anyone reading this will only see the new Muppets film when their irritating younger sibling forces them to watch the DVD for the sixteenth time over Christmas. But with a lot of 'worthy' Oscar films floating around in the name of the season, The Muppets works as a very palatable antidote to pretension. I hereby torch my credibility.