Movie Review: Muppets Most Wanted
A couple of years ago, Disney revitalized the Muppet movie franchise by hiring Jason Segal to write and star and Flight of the Conchords co-creator James Bobin to handle the music. The result was the best Muppet movie in years, and the best music in since the original The Muppet Show that aired in 1976. But with all the hype of 2011s The Muppets, I was a bit disappointed. Pixar has managed to create movies that are great for kids, but equally as funny and appealing to adults as well. The Muppetsfelt like too much of a “kids” movie for me, without enough laughs for the older crowd to enjoy.
Muppets Most Wanted is everything I was hoping The Muppets would be. I watched it with my three-year-old last week and he loved it, but I laughed and loved it just as much. James Bobin is back as the director, and he also composed the music and lyrics along with Nicholas Stoller and fellowFlight of the Concords creator Bret McKenzie.
As great as the celebrity cast was (featuring Ricky Gervais, Modern Family’s Ty Burrell, Tina Fey, and many others), it was the Muppets who stole the show. There were so many funny moments that it reminded me of a classicSimpson’sepisode at times. I was happy to see that they found room for all of the Muppets to share some screen-time, and the celebrities were not the center of the story-line this time around.
This is a movie that is worth your time, and I would highly recommend it to all ages. If 2011s The Muppets brought the franchise back into the main stream, Muppets Most Wanted upped the ante, proving that the Muppets are a force to be reckoned with and well-deserving of the attention.
Grade: B+