Simply titledThe Muppets,the movie stars and is co-written by Judd Apatow regular, Jason Segel.

The original songs are written by one half ofFlight Of The Conchords,Brett McKenzie.

So: are the Muppets getting a little edgier this time around?

If you look at the history of the Muppets, not really.

It was in a time when everything had to be safe for the whole family.

But he was targeting adults.

Jim Henson first introduced the Muppets (albeit under a different name) in 1955.

The early shows generally consisted of the Hensons puppets lip-syncing to popular hit songs of the day.

Not exactly parody tailormade for six-year-olds.

Sam And Friends ran until 1961.

The Ed Sullivan Showwas one of the highest-rated TV shows of its time.

It was a classic early TV variety format.

Instead, they had one show that featured something for everyone.

One of his clients, interestingly, was IBM.

Circa 1967, The Muppets appeared in a number of different IBM training and sales films.

IBM was launching the first electric typewriters, word processors and computers.

Some of the films featured The Muppets working as IBM sales reps. Was that supposed to appeal to kids?

What kid in 1967 would have been on the IBM sales staff?

I mean, today, sure, but never in 67.

For Henson,Sesame Streetwas both a blessing a curse.

The series was calledSaturday Night Live.

It made sense.Saturday Night Livewas, at the time, groundbreaking late night TV.

The Gorch sketches followed the story of some rather nasty looking mythical creatures on a far away planet.

The design of theSNLMuppets was more raw and intense than anything Henson had created up to that point.

Typical sketches dealt with issues like alcoholism, sex, and death.

All in all: a pretty big departure for the Muppets.

Unfortunately, The Land of Gorch sketches were something of a disaster.

Audiences didnt really know what to make of the sketches either.

They were too confused to laugh most of the time.

I always liked what they were doing.

The shows would be produced in Great Britain and syndicated internationally.

The ensuing 1976-81 series was, of course, a massive hit.

It firmly cemented the Muppets fame outside of theSesame Streetrealm.

It also became a cherished childhood icon for an entire generation.

There were many clever and, for the Muppets at the time, risque lines.

Yet there at the same time were talking animals and lots of physical comedy.

I cant believe the Muppets just said that!.

Generally, though, the the Muppet films appealed more to younger rather than older audiences.

He fared much with shows likeMuppet BabiesandFraggle Rock, which were aimed exclusively at children.

Sadly, Jim Henson died of pneumonia in the spring of 1990.

Hensons son Brian carried the Muppet torch after that.

He produced a series that the senior Henson had been developing before his death, calledDinosaurs.

Later, The Disney Channel picked up the series and ran nine more new episodes in the 1997-8 season.

Similar to the originalMuppet Show, Muppets Tonightfeatured the backstage antics of the Muppets attempting to produce a show.

Muppets Tonightwas hosted by a new Muppet, Clifford, the homey made of foamy.

In 2004, the rights to the Muppets characters were sold to the Walt Disney Company.

The Disney deal would certainly mean the end of any more adult or riskier material, right?

Um…maybe not.

James Bobin, who directed all 22 episodes of theConchordsseries, was hired to direct.

Presumably, all the interesting cameos fell into place after that.

So the question remains: is the new Muppets film merely kids stuff?

The answer, as ever, is definitely both.