Muppets Most Wanted

Director: James Bobin

Writers: James Bobin, Nicholas Stoller

Starring: Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Steven Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman

Runtime: 107 minutes

Certification: U

Rating: 3⁄5

_Muppets Most Wanted_’s opening song, “We’re Doing a Sequel” successfully nails almost every criticism that could be thrown at it from a “ugh, the sequel’s not as good as the original” point of view (even if – as it points out – the “original” in question isn’t even the actual “original” Muppet movie) which makes reviewing it slightly difficult. Not impossible, mind. It’s just that the Muppets have – in their traditionally self-aware (and gloriously charming) way – managed to successfully knock out most of the bad points of the film. It’s not as heart-warming as the original (at times it gets the closest to being borderline nasty that the Muppets have been, before quickly finding its feet again), the songs aren’t as memorable (“We’re Doing a Sequel” is easily the best), and the plot is inherently more contrived to justify making the sequel bigger and better.

And almost none of that matters. The absurdities of the plot are ripped apart with grace within the opening number alone (yeah, a lot seems to hinge on that song, including this review), and while the songs aren’t as good they remain one of the best things about the film, helping to drive the whole thing forwards when the plot threatens to sag (which it does – disappointingly often).

There are a few issues unrelated to the nature of sequel-itis, most notably the increased number of times the Muppets are seen full-bodied, with no strings or puppeteers in sight. The Muppets are technically puppets, but they’re so full of life that it’s almost impossible not to treat them as real. Which should, in theory, validate the idea of seeing them move independently via the medium of CGI, but it just doesn’t. If anything, seeing Constantine the frog leap and jump around (in multiple scenes) threatens to kill the illusion. It probably doesn’t help that the CGI is a bit iffy and obviously fake.

The idea of the Muppets being ‘real’ brings us neatly on to the question of the cast, and the standard Muppet trend of celebrity cameos, often in the weirdest of places. The main non-Muppet cast are all sound – Ty Burrell probably wins here, having a whale of a time lampooning European (mostly French) stereotypes, while Tina Fey manages to imbue her admittedly weaker material and sub-plot with heart and comedy. The cameos range from hilarious to shoe-horned in, but even then it’s forgivable as part of the general Muppets heritage.

Ultimately, it might be fair to say that Muppets Most Wanted relies heavily on the goodwill of the fact this is another Muppet movie to help you overlook its flaws. But to just dismiss it like that would be unfair – this is a deserving entry into the series, and it’s a lot better than some of the previous entries, as well as other family-friendly fare currently floating around in cinemas (Escape from Planet Earth, I’m looking at you). Throw in the fantastic Monsters Uni short that plays before the film (one of the advantages of Disney owning the Muppets, I suppose), and it’s worthy of the price of admission, not just the Muppet name.