Is Jason Segel the next Jim Henson?

Before you answer that with a resounding "Hell to the no!" let me put forth the following theory: Segel's and director Nicholas Stoller’s resumes prove they're the only ones for the job.

Besides playing Marshall on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, Segel's most notable credits include supporting roles in Knocked Up, and the short-lived, beloved TV series, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. Stoller worked as a writer on Undeclared. Segel, who will be writing the script for the upcoming Muppet feature, wrote and stars in the upcoming Forgetting Sarah Marshall (I hear it's awesome), which Stoller directed. What do all of these movies and TV shows have in common, besides Segel and Stoller?

Could it be their perfect balance of irreverent humor and heart?

And wouldn't the phrase "a perfect blend of irreverent humor and heart" also be a fitting description for a children's movie that features both a loveable frog singing about rainbows and the insanity that is the Swedish Chef?

When you think about it, aren't Segel and his Judd Apatow-gang of cronies kind of like the Muppets for the 18-34 demographic, anyway? (Seth Rogen is Fozzie; James Franco is Gonzo; I could go on here...) Sure, their adventures tend to be more crass, but there's always a strong message about the power of friendship buried not so far beneath all the pot smoking and naughty jokes. Doesn't the way Segel and the rest of Seth Rogen's buddies show up at the hospital to witness the birth of Rogen's character's daughter in Knocked Up kind of remind you of how every Muppet in the land attended Kermit and Piggy’s wedding? And don’t the characters in Segel's movies learn a lot of important messages about growing up and becoming better men?

I think Kermit would approve.

And let's not forget that the Muppets aren't just for kids, either. Unlike a lot of other children's entertainment, the classic Muppet movies of the '70s and '80s are truly funny. I dare anyone of any age not to laugh at the scene in The Muppets Take Manhattan where Kermit and his rat pals invade Sardi's, or at Miss Piggy's makeover at the hands of Joan Rivers, or at any time Animal appears on screen.

Jason Segel was born in 1980, and is therefore the perfect age to have been greatly impacted by the Muppets as a child. I have great faith that whatever story he comes up with for Kermit, Piggy, and the gang, he and Stoller will treat these iconic characters with the reverence they deserve, while still managing to bring the funny.

I think Jim Henson would approve, too.

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