Review of Muppets Most Wanted (2014) by Peter L — 19 May 2014

Critics seem to enjoy being particularly hard on The Muppets, often loving and hating them for the same reasons - but Muppets Most Wanted accomplished what it set out to do - and that was to RE-reintroduce the Muppets to a new audience while still managing to please the long-time fans with all those qualities they've come to expect from their old felt-covered friends.

Ricky Gervais and Constantine (the evil Kermit) get way too much screen time for my liking, and poor Kermit himself spends much of his time on-screen separated from the rest - but you'd be hard pressed to find a Muppets movie with catchier tunes than this one - and the jokes and sight gags flow at an almost dizzying pace.

It's impossible, however, not to draw comparisons to The Muppets (2011) and it's tug at your heart strings warmth. Muppets Most Wanted derives most of it's yucks from the rest of Kermit's troupe who are, unbeknownst to themselves, let to do whatever they want - without the measured guidance of their beloved Kermit.

Unchecked Gonzo is allowed to do "the indoor running of the bulls", Animal does a three hour drum solo and Miss Piggy sings a marathon duet with Celine Dion - all things the REAL Kermit would never allow - and yet no one seems to notice, aside from Animal - who has his doubts.

The rest of the human actors, most notably Ty Burrell and Tina Fey - do suitable jobs adding some interesting interactions with the Muppets, but the movie does get bogged down somewhat with a plethora of details involving the heists perpetrated by Constatine and his number 2 companion in crime, Dominic Badguy (Gervais), who's big lament is that he wishes to be #1.

When at the end of the movie, when the real Kermit is brought back with his friends - even thwarting a wedding between Piggy and Constatine - it feels somewhat anti-climatic. The movie ends on Kermit's promise to put on a show for the Siberian Gulag he was imprisoned at - and then for the last few moments manages not to feel like a Muppet movie at all - when it ends on a very Disney-like vibe - complete with a fireworks display that feels more like an evening at Epcot.

I was waiting for Animal to interrupt, like he did in the original Muppet Movie (1979) and tell everyone to "go home!" Overall - a very good Muppets adventure. Not as engaging emotionally as The Muppets (2011) - but a feel-good "romp" just the same, as critics love to write.

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