Movie Review – Muppets Most Wanted

My affection for these characters may be clouding my judgment, but overall I found this film to be really dissatisfying.

⭐ ⭐

Muppets Most Wanted picks up exactly where the last muppet movie left off, only this time without Jason Segel and Amy Adams. Instead, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell (Modern Family) join Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of the muppet gang in this disappointing sequel. Now that the muppet theatre has been saved, the muppets go on a world tour during which Kermit is mistaken for the world’s most wanted criminal, “the evil frog,” also known as Constantine. This criminal frog poorly hides his distinctive mole and his Russian accent as he takes over the muppet show and uses it as a cover-up for his biggest heist of all.

I am a serious muppet enthusiast; I still own two VHS tapes of the “best of the muppet show” that I used to watch over and over again as a child. These characters are very close to my heart and even though I was not overly impressed by the 2011 muppet movie I figured it was a little like the first Hunger Games film. Jason Segel was introducing an entirely new generation to Kermit The Frog and so the whole film was kind of testing the waters to see if the muppets were still relevant, sort of like the half-assed effort put into the first Hunger Games film as studios weren’t sure of how it would be received. When its success became clear the studios made sure the second installment, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was a much better film. Considering this and how much I enjoyed the Muppet Most Wanted trailer, I honestly thought this film would be a knock-out. I was wrong.

For me what was significantly lacking was the witty and sardonic humour that Jim Henson (the creator of the The Muppet Show which aired on television in the 1970s) used to bring to the muppets. Writer and director James Bobin (who also directed the 2011 film) seems to have completely forgotten that the muppets are a comedy act, and has instead filled the film with musical numbers. Yes, the muppets are also known for their music, but even in song they never used to waste a comedic opportunity. Most of the musical productions in this film are cheesy and childish and tend to not-so-subtly preach themes of family and belonging.

The success of The Muppet Show stemmed from its ability to appeal equally to adults as well as children. Sure, this film has a few references to other movies (e.g. Gone With The Wind, The Shawshank Redemption) that the younger members of the audience probably won’t appreciate, and also has the occasional ironic line about the film itself or its predecessor, but as a whole it is really a kid’s film.

The most engaging scenes are the ones set in the Siberian prison that Kermit is forced to endure when he is mistaken for Constantine. There is a fun re-enactment of the “I Hope I Get It” musical scene from A Chorus Line which involves Danny Trejo, Ray Liotta, and Tina Fey, who plays prison guard Nadya, and does the best she can with the material she has been given.

Even though I did not particularly enjoy the film, I have to applaud the puppeteers / special effects team. Normally the muppets are always shot from the waist up and if their legs are shown on screen they are usually obscured by clothing. There are a few examples I can think of throughout the many muppet movies where we have glimpsed the legs of the muppet characters as they have moved in some way, but this film shows leg movement multiple times. The movements shown are also quite complex, most notably in an early musical scene between Constantine and his accomplice Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), so kudos to the talented team responsible for this.

My affection and knowledge of the muppet characters may be clouding my judgment, but overall I found this film really dissatisfying. I understand that it is difficult to give each character their moment in the spotlight when there are just so many of them, but I definitely missed the Swedish Chef, and Gonzo does not get a lot of screen time. Lew Zealand, Scooter and Sam the Eagle get a bit more of a chance to shine than they did in the last film, but Walter still gets more of a focus than he should, which thankfully Rizzo the Rat and Rowlf the Dog point out. The old hecklers Waldorf and Statler appear a few times, but they aren’t even remotely funny. They used to have such sharp and cynical lines of dialogue, now they just seem senile.

Miss Piggy’s dog Foo Foo, who was absent from the last muppet movie, appears in this one, but doesn’t really do anything. There could have at least been a quick mention of Kermit’s dislike for the dog, or even a reference to the irrational tensions between her and Sergeant Floyd Pepper (one of the musicians). I’m also pretty bummed that Miss Piggy didn’t get a single “hiiiiiiyaaahhhh!” into the film.

I think I still prefer the 2011 movie The Muppets to this one and I would really only recommend you see this film if you are doing so in the company of someone under the age of nine.

Images courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures