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2011’s The Muppets did exactly what it was intended to do, revitalizing the beloved characters and reintroducing them to new and old fans alike. So now that the Muppets are, once again, considered “a viable franchise”, as the opening song of Muppets Most Wanted humorously notes, where do they go? On tour, of course!
This installment finds the group getting a new manager, Ricky Gervais’ Dominic Badguy (the last name is French, he insists, and not pronounced like you’d think), who brings them on that tour as part of his big new plans… Plans that secretly include replacing Kermit the Frog (performed by Steve Whitmire) with the master criminal, Constantine, a look-alike amphibian -- minus a mole, that is -- who manages to switch places with poor Kermit. With the rest of the Muppets thinking Constantine is their fearless leader, they travel from city to city, not realizing the tour is a cover for Dominic and Constantine’s crimes and a master plan to ultimately steal the Crown Jewels.
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Since I saw Muppets Most Wanted a few days ago, I keep being asked the go-to question for the sequel to a well-recieved movie: “Is it as good as the last one?” So let’s get it out of the way - The answer is no, not quite. The Muppets wasn’t just a funny, likable movie, it was a deeply heartfelt one. Writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin took the nostalgia so many of us feel for the Muppets and made it a focus of the movie, with a genuinely touching film that was very specifically about the Muppets meaning a lot to people and why it was time for them to come back.
It would be a mistake for Muppets Most Wanted to try for the same thing and it doesn’t. Now that the gang is back together, it’s much more of a classic, wacky Muppet adventure film, with some unmistakable echoes of The Great Muppet Caper, using a similar crime-based story. And on that front, while perhaps not hitting all the beats the last movie did, Muppets Most Wanted is another big success. I’ve already referenced the opening song from the film, “We’re Doing a Sequel,” and it’s absolutely terrific - a meta, oh-so catchy ode to franchises. One of the lyrics notes, “Everybody knows that the sequel's never quite as good,” which is indeed usually the case, yes. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t get satisfying, entertaining sequels, and Muppets Most Wanted is certainly one of those.
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The returning team of Stoller, Bobin and songwriter Bret McKenzie (Segel isn’t back this time, either onscreen or off) once more prove to be the perfect group to tell new Muppets stories, understanding the characters’ unique appeal, and how they combine an innate sweetness with truly funny, self-aware humor. There are a couple of very tongue-in-cheek references to the last film, and even certain fan criticisms of it, which are especially clever.
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The World Tour scenario works very well, bringing the Muppets to different countries where different stars cameo as guest hosts, with this film once more managing to include a taste of the classic Muppet Show scenario into its storyline. Constantine (Muppets performer Matt Vogel, who also does Floyd, Lew and several other characters) is a really funny inclusion, as the Russian-accented fiend attempts to emulate Kermit’s voice, instead sounding like a mixture between Steve Martin & Dan Akroyd’s Wild and Crazy Guys and the Man From Another Place from Twin Peaks. Dominic and Constantine are also a great comedic duo, as the frog loves to lord over his human lackey, as represented by their big song together, “I’m Number One.”
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Another terrific pairing is Ty Burrell as the Clouseau-like Jean Pierre Napoleon, who teams up with Sam the Eagle (Eric Jacobson, who also performs Miss Piggy, among others) to investigate the crimes Dominic and Constantine are actually behind. A purposely over the top portrayal of the uber-European and the uber-American, Jean Pierre and Sam constantly try to outdo the other, in a Muppet version of a mismatched buddy cop scenario.
The final Muppet/human team-up in the film is between Kermit and Tina Fey as Nadya, the warden at the Siberian prison Kermit is sent to, after Constantine switches their identities (via a fake mole). There’s a lot to like in this scenario and Fey is clearly having a ball doing a silly accent and showing Nadya’s increasing infatuation with Kermit. However, the prison sequences are one place Muppets Most Wanted falters a bit, with some of the scenes set there lacking energy and feeling a bit drawn out. Still, how can you not enjoy seeing Tina Fey do a song and dance number in a prison, with Ray Liotta, Danny Trejo, Jemaine Clement and the WWE’s Hornswoggle accompanying her and dancing behind her, as some very exuberant prisoners?
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Clement’s Flight of the Conchords’ partner, Bret McKenzie, who won an Oscar for The Muppets, has once again delivered an excellent batch of new songs, all in various styles. Besides “We’re Doing a Sequel,” my favorite of the new songs is “I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)”, a disco-fueled number Constantine (pretending to be Kermit) sings to Piggy, which is quite the amusing showstopper. Also, while this film doesn’t have as many direct musical callbacks to the Muppets past as the previous installment did, one notable song from a previous Muppet movie does get a big, much-appreciated reprisal here at the end.
THE VERDICT
Muppets Most Wanted is a fun, joyful film that once more reminds us why the Muppets are so wonderful. The human stars are clearly having a blast (and how could they not?), and with great jokes and incredibly catchy songs, Kermit and the gang again show why they are such enduringly lovable characters.
Samantha Pouls is an amateur filmmaker who dreams of making it big as a director and writer in Hollywood. Read more about the cinema on this Facebook page.
