After all the many previews over the months (years?) leading up to the theatrical release of Muppets Most Wanted, it’d be pretty hard to write a review that contains many, if any, spoilers. All the previews pretty much show what the movie is all about. I couldn’t wait to see it anyway. So we caught a Sunday matinee – The Fam plus Meg’s boyfriend, Grant. Personally, the movie was what I expected. No more, no less. A little longer than necessary with a superfluous musical number thrown in here and there, Muppets Most Wanted was exactly as promised – a sequel maybe not as good as the first. IF the “first” we’re talking about is the original movie debut of the Muppets way back in the 70’s and not the gang’s 2011 picture.
The original (epic, fantastic, classic), 1979 The Muppet Movie, created the perfect mix of humor, sentimentality, music, and the very best in cameo appearances – all in precise balance 
between Muppet and human characters. At 95 minutes, The Muppet Movie told a very basic story about how the actual movie itself came into existence. By contrast, Muppets Most Wanted, which also tells an excellent story and makes even better use (to me) of cameo appearances, is a little less precise in accomplishing the same goal – using humor, sentimentality, and music less effectively during its 112 minute runtime. The balance between Muppet and human characters is as perfect as can be, though.
The plot involving the double characters of Kermit and Constantine works very well – Constantine’s selfishness and ego are in perfect opposition to Kermit’s generosity and humility. The heart of each character from Piggy to Scooter, Walter, and Gonzo (and the rest) remains true to previous movies and TV shows. They act the way we expect them to in the manner we’ve grown to love over the years. Surprisingly, many of the original, early Muppets are nearly left out completely, which I found disappointing. Perhaps this was necessary in order to beef up the cameos – in that case, it was worth it.
To sum it all up – I thought Muppets Most Wanted was entertaining and true to the heart and soul of previous Muppet movies. I liked it a little more than The Muppets (2011) and a lot less than The Muppet Movie (1979). There are some clever, wonderfully unforgettable scenes in this newest installment in the Muppet movie lineup. I can’t help but feel that if the director had tightened it up by dropping a couple of unnecessary scenes and musical numbers, it would have been perfection. No, it’s not doing well at the box office, but I don’t care. I’m a Muppet fan like I’m a Disney fan and that means I’m loyal no matter what.
Did you see Muppets Most Wanted this weekend? What did you think?
First, I’m really sad it’s not doing well at the box office – and surprised. I wonder if it’s because there’s so much advertising out there for it that it’s driven people away or something, or if it was just the timing of release? IDK. I thought it was way better than the 2011 movie! And I *liked* the 2011 movie, I genuinely did. It was missing some things, though, and I think this one rediscovered them. Since the previous movie did pretty well, I wonder what’s the deal? Is it the time of year? Were people so dissatisfied with the last film that they wrote this one off? I’d like to see more Muppets so I hope this isn’t “it”. They went through a HUGE slump for like a decade or so, so I don’t want a return to that…
Second though… I think I agree with pretty much everything you say, except that I thought the cameos got distracting. It got to the point where every human was a cameo and I started thinking “Wait, I wonder who that guy was?” And I don’t know a lot of current actors so that slowed me down. 😉 But, even though I actually loved almost all of the songs, I agree with you regardless about the number of them. It slowed the film down to have two in like, 5-10 minutes. (I had the same issue with “Frozen”, though. Too many songs clumped together in about a 30 minute period.) And not surprisingly I’m with you about the superiority of “The Muppet Movie”. I think this is the best Muppet film since… definitely “Christmas Carol” and possibly since any of the Jim Henson era, but it’s not actually reaching that height yet. But I forgive it. It’s coming closer than it has in years. So that’s worth a lot to me. 🙂
Loved your review! Yay! 😀
Thanks, Rebecca! I was able to basically ignore people I didn’t recognize, so it didn’t matter if they were a cameo or not…Haha. I found myself getting sleepy at one point and started thinking then about what needed to be done to make the movie shorter/ cleaner. Overall, though, we all liked it (pretty sure I speak for everyone) better than the 2011 movie.