ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Muppets Most Wanted: The Muppets Will Not Go Quietly Into the Night

Updated on April 16, 2014

Sometimes it seems like the Muppets are like chocolate, feijoada, or (for me at least) Star Trek. Even the bad ones are better than none at all. Muppets Most Wanted is not the best Muppet movie, but it is very far from the worst.

Very far.

I very much enjoyed Muppets Most Wanted, though not to quite the same level as The Muppets. That isn't a dig against the movie. Everything simply can't be at exactly the same level. Muppets Most Wanted is still a great and, maybe even more importantly, truly fun, funny and entertaining movie.

Very entertaining.

Like a batch of feijoada that may not be the best you've ever tasted but still very much hits the spot.

Oh, man, now I really want a plate of feijoada. You happy now?

But first, the story

We start at the end. Or, more specifically, we join the gang just as they've finished filming The Muppets, and they decide—as all life decisions should be made: in a large production number—to film a sequel. They're approached by a man named Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) who wishes to co-manage the Muppets on a European tour.

Meanwhile, in a Siberian gulag, we're treated to a daring breakout scene involving one dangerous silhouette that looks surprisingly like a certain famous green guy whose name rhymes with Hermit the Hog.

Anyway, good old Dermit the Dog (Steve Whitmire), is having a tough time when it looks like the rest of the gang seems to prefer Dominic's advice over his. But after a run-in with the hooded silhouette from earlier, his day goes from bad to worse. And then worser.

Then worsest.

The bad guys run the show, both literally and figuratively, while CIA agent Sam the Eagle (Eric Jacobson) and Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell) begrudgingly team up to solve a series of thefts that seems to be mysteriously following the Muppets' tour; and gulag guard Nadya (Tina Fey) does whatever the Russian version of her darndest is to keep Kermit from making his way back to his pals.

Dot dot dot

For a bunch of felt, fur, and feathers, there's ironically plenty of life left in the Muppets. Not every movie can hit the same level of quality, but Muppets Most Wanted proves that they're still serious contenders.

The humor is constant and varied. The story is simple but nuanced. And while not all the songs (once again by Flight of the Conchords' Oscar winning [you read that right] Bret McKenzie) are as instantly classic and hum-able as those from The Muppets, they work just fine, have plenty of funny moments, and there are a couple which I did very much like and will probably buy the soundtrack for. (Yeah, that was a preposition I ended that sentence with. You wanna make something about it in?)

Muppets Most Wanted trailer

One thing that Muppets Most Wanted definitely has over The Muppets is the story. There was nothing wrong with the story last time. In fact, all things considered, the story was actually pretty great. But the movie was made with an obvious and clear agenda. The Muppets hadn't been in the theaters for years, and the filmmakers designed a movie specifically to address the re-introduction of the gang to the public.

This time around, it's refreshing to see them simply tell a fun and interesting story without the Agenda of Damocles hanging over their head. The "let's remind everyone who the Muppets are" story was a great way to appeal even to those who weren't already Muppet fans, but this one is definitely for the fans.

And I dare you to count all of the celebrity cameos. Several are blink-and-you-miss-it (like Tom Hiddleston as The Great Escapo or Mackenzie Crook as a museum guard) and some, like in most Muppet movies, play caricatured versions of themselves (like Lady Gaga or Salma Hayek). But the Muppets always seem to pull celebrities out of the woodwork.

My theory is that the Muppets just set up shop outside other movie studios and have any celebrity who's interested come out on their lunch break and film a hilarious gag or give the camera a sly, knowing look and a smile.

But what do you think of the movie?

4.5 out of 5 stars from 2 ratings of Muppets Most Wanted

Bottom line, you should go see Muppets Most Wanted if you have kids, or are just a kid at heart ... or maybe a kid at brain ... or maybe just have kidneys? I think I went off track there, but you should still go see it.

For me, this one gets a strong, solid 7 / 10.

Muppets Most Wanted is rated PG for a few sequences of mild action.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)