LIFE’S A HAPPY SONG (THE
MUPPETS)
I never really thought the most aggravating category in the
Academy Awards would be Best Original Song, but within the space of five years
they’ve made two absolutely mind-numbing decisions (in my opinion, of course).
Firstly, not even nominating Bruce Springsteen’s title track from ‘The Wrestler’
in 2008 was a disgrace. But they followed it up spectacularly in 2012 by not
nominating what I thought was clearly the musical number of the year: Life’s a Happy Song from “The
Muppets”. (Sure, Man or Muppet from the same film won the
category, but there were only two songs nominated and Life’s a Happy Song still wasn’t one of them!)
The Oscars are often a crock, though, so let’s instead pay tribute
to the most joyful, brilliantly written and beautifully performed musical
number in my recent memory. Life’s a Happy
Song is written by Bret McKenzie from ‘Flight of the Conchords’ and is
pretty much a masterful exercise in tone, style and execution. One of the
hardest parts in any musical is establishing the world in which it takes place.
(Take, for example, Rock of Ages, which
has an opening number so hilariously confusing and tone-deaf it sinks the rest
of the film pretty much straight away.) Life’s
a Happy Song sets up everything the rest of the film delivers: witty
lyrics, a candy-coloured world, core relationships and the subverting of
musical conventions. It’s a great, funny, blisteringly entertaining scene and
all credit to Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller, James Bobin and Bret McKenzie for crafting it. It's not online, but here's Bret McKenzie and Kermit performing it.
Honourable Mention: The rest of The Muppets soundtrack is filled with
similar goodies, like the aforementioned Man
or Muppet, Me Party and Chris Cooper’s hilarious rap. It’s goofy as all get
out the first time you see it but when you listen to the lyrics, they’re
incredibly clever.
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