Muppets Most Wanted – Film Review
Director: James Bobin
Starring: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell
Release Date: Mar 28
After a successful reunion, The Muppets embark on a world tour to maintain their popularity, however their new publicist Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) secretly replaces Kermit with a dastardly lookalike as part of a plot to rob the world’s treasures in Muppets Most Wanted.
Also starring Tina Fey, Ty Burrell and of course The Muppets, along with an entire world of cameos, Muppets Most Wanted is a sequel to The Muppets, written by James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller and directed by James Bobin.
Who doesn’t love the Muppets? Really my point is that, the Muppets are kind of bullet proof, or more importantly, critic proof. When Jim Henson created the band of characters, his stroke of genius was his absolute dedication to having us believe that these characters really do exist, and many of us happily believe that (to a degree).
This has resonated even now, 24 years after Jim Henson’s untimely death in 1990. For a time the Muppets franchise continued through associates and family members of Henson but now it seems that its life in Disney has now been handed to a generation of filmmakers that entered purely as fans.
There are still performers and other individuals that go way back with the Muppets but really it’s a property that has very much changed hands, especially with this new rebooted/revived franchise.
The problem in reviewing a Muppet movie is that it’s almost impossible to not sound cynical in criticising anything about it but the truth is, there are a few things to say. Ultimately this new Muppet movie comes out alright, but for this group of characters, that’s kind of disappointing.
Inevitably we have to admit that, as good as the last film was and as well as this one holds together, these new movies will never be the same as the original TV shows and movies. And that’s ok.
The first film The Muppets knew that very well and admitted to that fact by being a movie about two Muppet fans that seek to revive The Muppet Show itself. Weirdly, I feel like you can compare it to the 2009 Star Trek reboot, a film that works perfectly as a reboot and respectful homage to the source material. Unfortunately Muppets Most Wanted feels more like Star Trek Into Darkness.
It just doesn’t have the same charm and care that its predecessor had, but it’s still an enjoyable film.
There’s nothing bad to be said about the cast. Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and Ty Burrell, who are the “human” performances that feature the most, are all wonderful.
The cameos are good but overabundant and often feel like they’re done, purely for the sake of it, with no real comedic context to justify the appearance of the familiar faces. Its cute, but its superficial and that’s a recurring issue this time around.
The jokes are funny but not too funny (although admittedly there are one or two absolutely brilliant ones) and the pace feels very rushed. There’s a real lack of focus on the story too, which might seem like a less important element.
However, it has always been things like a genuine care for Michael Caine’s Ebeneezer Scrooge in Muppet Christmas Carol or the relationship between Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins in Muppet Treasure Island that has held previous films together.
The previous film The Muppets had a similar superficial sense of itself, as mentioned, it was a film about The Muppets themselves which worked as a celebration.
One thing that has not faltered since the other film is Bret McKenzie’s contribution as songwriter. Each time the character’s break into song, the film is somewhat more wholesome in the duration of each musical number, but there’s a sort of comedown after, each time.
When The Muppets was released, the franchise had become a series of somewhat gimmicky straight-to-DVD movies, typical of Disney’s distribution system, but the former movie gave a reason to put them back on the big screen. This new film, while fun and cute, feels like a turn back in the direction of straight-to-DVD movies.
In terms of respect and representation to the franchise, there’s no real cardinal sin but there’s nothing classic or hugely memorable in the end.
Two things however that don’t lend themselves well to the franchise are the inclusion of more post effects, which are a necessity but the amount in this film feels a little lazy.
The other is the appearance of Subway product placement and while it’s reasonably subtle it’s still there, and there isn’t a single joke made about it which just frankly feels wrong.
Before I sound too cynical, I will say that kids will love it, and it is fun but just not very wholesome.
It is a Muppet movie we will like, but not remember.
Score: 3/5
Written by Sèamus Hanly
