No compensation was received for this post. I attended a screening which facilitated the writing of this post.
After more than 10 years on hiatus from the big screen, Disney reintroduced audiences to The Muppets 3 years ago in a film that evoked nostalgia while bringing a fresh perspective to the classic puppet characters created by Jim Henson. The film, which merged music, comedy, and heart, was an overwhelming success and audiences like myself craved additional stories and adventures from the beloved Muppets. Starring a brilliant and talented cast, Disney will release Muppets Most Wanted today, a caper-style musical comedy film set in some of the most popular European locales.
Muppets Most Wanted begins just moments after the first film ends on the streets of Hollywood. It might seem unusual to begin a film with a song addressing what the Muppets will do next, but it is that self-referential style of humor these characters were known for that makes “We’re Doing a Sequel” so fitting. Led by Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), who we learn is the sidekick to the World’s Most Dangerous Frog Constantine, the Muppets go on a global tour to bring their show to the world. This is a guise meant to be a cover for a series of heists the two are planning to steal London’s Crown Jewels.
Just a few minutes into the film, we witness Constantine escape from a Siberian Gulag and his striking semblance to Kermit the Frog makes an amphibious switch-up inevitable. In a seriously comical frog-napping scene, Kermit is framed, captured, and locked up inside the Gulag, which happens to be headed up by Russian Prison Guard Nadya (Tina Fey) who has an affinity for frogs. With Kermit the Frog MIA, Constantine now has the perfect cover to continue enacting his criminal plan.
As the Muppets bring their sold-out tour to Berlin, Madrid, and London, they leave behind more than just a less-than-impressed audience. Each stop results in a crime scene which warrants the involvement of French Interpol Inspector Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell) and Sam the Eagle to investigate and stop this crime ring. Because the film at its heart is a musical, the songs are cleverly interspersed to further and develop the story. One of my favorites, the Interrogation Song, concludes with the realization that the Muppets are “incapable of being culpable.”
Having been reunited now for several years, one would think that a touch of green make-up and a makeshift Kermitesque accent wouldn’t be enough to beguile the Muppets. Fortunately, between Animal’s instincts and Walter’s increasing suspicions, Constantine’s identity is ascertained. What ensues is an action-packed, musical endeavor to stop the world’s most dangerous criminal…intermixed, of course, with the mayhem the Muppets are so well known for.
As a homage to 60’s-style caper films and The Great Muppet Caper, Muppets Most Wanted is an action-filled, comedic musical film that will delight audiences both young and old. Admittedly much of the humor will likely go right over the heads of young children, but as Producer Todd Lieerman stated that “we always set out to make a movie for everybody that kids also loved.” For small children like my son and daughter, it is the excitement of the story and the music that created their Rainbow Connection to these beloved characters.
See Muppets Most Wanted in theaters today!
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