NBC’s ‘Community’ season 4 spoilers: First video featuring Sara Bareilles

After this past episode of “Community,” we’re hoping that the series really has some momentum going for what should be a ridiculous fun episode airing Thursday night. Why? The answer is simple: there are puppets involved!

As you can see in the video box below, this episode is the long-awaited “puppet tribute” that you have heard so much about, and much like the claymation Christmas special was a tribute to the old-school “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” episodes with a twist, this one is going to be much more an of homage to “The Muppets,” complete with singing, assorted goofiness, and most of the characters trying to act sweet.

We reported recently that singer Sara Bareilles was stopping by for a guest spot during this episode, and the video below gives you an opportunity to see her character give an impromptu performance about a hot air balloon. We’re now particularly sure why, but Puppet Jeff’s comment about how he wishes he could use it to “fly to Vegas” made us laugh out loud. It’s just a cute scene, and if the entire episode ends up being like this, we definitely have a reason to be taken back to our childhood for just a few seconds (at least before one of the characters says something to remind us yet again that we’re adults).

What do you think about this sneak peek, and does this give you hope that the rest of this “Community” episode is going to be equally entertaining? Also, do you think that Bareilles is the perfect guest-star to contribute to this story? Be sure to share some more of your thoughts below, and you can read our review of this past episode over at the link here.

Photo: NBC, video via SpoilerTV