Plot
While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick.
Filming Locations: Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Box Office Details
Budget: $50,000,000
(estimated)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
This is Ray Liotta's second appearance in a Muppet movie. The other was Muppets from Space. See more »
Quotes:
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User Review
Author:
Rating: 6/10
When I reviewed "The Muppets" (2011) upon its release, I was ecstatic
about it. I loved the story, the songs, and everything the Muppets
themselves did in the movie.
Most people who saw "The Muppets" who were not Muppet fans before
seeing it enjoyed the film. Muppet fans themselves, in addition to
loving the movie, could sense the heart and passion the filmmakers put
into every aspect, and felt no doubt everyone involved in making "The
Muppets" were Muppet fans themselves.
"Muppets Most Wanted" is the 8th Muppet movie, but the first one that
is technically a sequel because it acknowledges the events that took
place in its immediate predecessor. Many of those involved in "The
Muppets" return in this sequel, including director and co-writer James
Bobin, co-writer Nicholas Stoller, songwriter (and Oscar-winner) Bret
McKenzie, and all the Muppets including newcomer Walter . . . but
something was missing.
As I watched the film, I could see all the Muppets were there, and it
seemed like they were trying to perform "The Muppet Show" as well as
they did in their previous film. There was a coherent story about a
criminal mastermind who happened to look identical to Kermit the Frog,
and exploits this coincidence to help him escape from prison.
I wanted this movie to make me laugh. I want to tell everyone that the
Muppets are cool and funny again like I did back when I saw "The
Muppets" . . . but I can't.
The problem may have had to do with the story, or at least the
motivations of antagonist and Kermit-lookalike Constantine. With his
partner in crime Dominic Badguy (pronounced BA-jee, & played by Ricky
Gervais), he uses the Muppets' world tour as a front to rob European
museums of their precious diamonds.
"The Great Muppet Caper" had a similar plot, but that movie was more
clever because virtually all the Muppets in that movie parodied how
overdone such a plot was. This movie doesn't even want to acknowledge
the banality of that hackneyed plot line, or even consider why any
modern audience would care about a jewel heist.
Also, whereas the songs were a major strength in "The Muppets", the
song "We're Doing A Sequel" is the only one worth remembering. It's a
promising, tongue-in-cheek song that acknowledges the stigma and
symptoms of sequelitis, only to allow the whole film to fall victim to
its own diagnosis.
Many of the other songs are surprisingly mundane, considering McKenzie
wrote far more brilliant songs for "The Muppets". For example, the song
"I'll Get What You Want (Cockatoo In Malibu)" has lyrics that include
"I can give you anything you want/Give you anything you need/I'll make
your dreams come true/Give you anything you want".
You're waiting for a funny line, but McKenzie, for the first time in
his songwriting career, never delivers one. Considering the hilarious,
genre-bashing songs he made famous with Flight Of The Conchords, it
feels as if he didn't even try.
Last but not least, everything "The Muppets" did right with celebrity
cameos, "Muppets Most Wanted" did wrong. You see Christoph Waltz
dancing the waltz, Salma Hayek getting on and off stage, Danny Trejo in
prison, and Celine Dion just singing.
You don't see Gonzo doing a crazy stunt (you only hear him talking
about it), Fozzie Bear telling a joke, or most of the Muppets doing
what they do best. Even Lew Zealand forgets to throw a fish.
Of the human stars who actually have relevant roles, Tina Fey and Ty
Burrell actually look like they're having fun. Ricky Gervais is
surprisingly dull, being both unfunny enough to stand alongside the
Muppets, and not menacing enough to be a villain.
The Muppets are the stars of this movie, not the humans. Somewhere in
the making of this movie, the filmmakers left their love of the
Muppets, and their desire to make them intriguing characters, by the
door, and it shows by what you don't see the Muppets do.
"Muppets Most Wanted" has some laughs, but they are more like light
chuckles with no feelings of joy or poignancy. The Muppets have already
proved they can make a comeback, but this is not the movie that proves
their staying power.
"Muppets Most Wanted" is by no means a terrible movie, but I hope the
Muppets prove their worth in their next movie. I hope there is a next
movie.
One last note: The Walt Disney Company has not yet released "The Muppet
Show" Seasons 4 & 5 on DVD in addition to many other long-unavailable
Muppet TV specials (e.g. "A Muppet Family Christmas" (1987)), yet has
purchased Marvel Comics and the Star Wars franchise. Maybe the problem
lies with Disney not caring enough about the Muppets.
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