Your Thoughts: "Muppets Most Wanted" Theatrical Film

How would you rate Muppets Most Wanted?

  • 5 Stars - Perfect

    Votes: 84 46.4%
  • 4 Stars - Great

    Votes: 68 37.6%
  • 3 Stars - Good

    Votes: 18 9.9%
  • 2 Stars - Fair

    Votes: 7 3.9%
  • 1 Star - Poor

    Votes: 4 2.2%

  • Total voters
    181

Ruahnna

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Just got back from a late-night showing after 12 hours of teaching and here I am....

I have lots to say, and I'm not sure what order things are going to come out in, but here goes.

SPOILERS * SPOILERS *
Let me say--as gently as possible, and right up front--that they would have had a better movie if they had had a better story. What I loved in this movie were the moments--the little moments between characters--but there was not really an over-arching story idea that tied everything neatly together. At the end, they took a page from KSY and made everything okay with a scape-graced apology--but at least SOMEBODY finally said something nice to Kermit. Let me do things I liked first--that will be better.

Kermit and Piggy have a very very realistic Kermit and Piggy fight at first, so bravo to that. And Kermit feels bad about it, and apologizes. True, Piggy doesn't hear him, but we do. Do you have any idea how RARE it is when the amphibian apologizes for being a jerk? Pretty rare. So he gets points for recognizing right away and feeling bad afterward. After all, he JUST got her to agree to stay and not go back home to Paris. (Speaking of...did anyone else wonder why Piggy wasn't ho-hum about being back in Europe?)

Walk near the deserted street near the canal? Kermit isn't really this dumb.

I think I thought--from the previews--that Constantine changing places with Kermit was supposed to be an opportunistic sort of maneuver. "Oh, look! I'm being chased by the police and here in front of me in a lookalike--what are the odds!" IMNTOBHO, that would have been more believable than what we got.

It pained me a great deal that nobody actually noticed that Kermit was gone. Much has been made over the fact that Kermit is the one who kept the Muppets together, and Piggy is the one who kept Kermit together but they seemed to have forgotten this. This also paints all of Kermit's friends and cast and crew members as amazingly self-absorbed and selfish. Didn't they all work their tails off to come when he needed them in the last movie? How can you love someone if you don't know them?

Which segues nicely into the whole Constantine woos Piggy stuff. He was both too aggressive and too uninterested, in turns. He vacillates between being too mean and being too slobbery and slimy/sexy. I don't see Piggy falling for it, no matter how much she wanted to get married. One of the funniest moments for me was when Kermit enlists the help of ALL the Muppets to get the ring off Piggy's finger. There was a cruel irony in that, to be sure.

Scooter's role as right-hand-man to Kermit was usurped by Walter. It would have been more effective for Walter to have gone to the muppets who knew Kermit better and say, "Gosh, guys--I know I don't really know Kermit that well yet, but he always seemed so nice and, um, tightly wound. Have any of YOU noticed that he's, um, very apathetic about the show--verbally as well as action-wise?" Then they could have described what Kermit is REALLY like and realized--all together now--that Kermit had been replaced.

I don't like Tina Fey. At all. In anything. I hoped this would be the exception, but it is not. Ty Burrell, on the other hand, is absolutely AWESOME. Sam looked particularly wonderful, too--plushy and fluffy and handsome.

Piggy's clothes were fab, but what on earth happened to her hair. Can you SERIOUSLY see Piggy getting married with dish-water blond hair? Her hair was bad in every scene except the scenes where she wore it down in platinum blond curls. The rest looked like mail-order wigs. Sorry, Piggy--fire your hairdresser. You do not--under any circumstances--need hair that restrained. You need wild riots of curls that vibrate with passion when you are angry.

Kermit adapting to the gulag was believable, even if him being there was not. Him making all the funny escapes was goods. The hole behind the Miss Piggy poster--for those of you who don't know--is a nod to "Rita Moreno and the Shawshank Redemption," the Steven King novella upon which "The Shawshank Redemption" was based. The poster of her was wonderful, and Kermit's sadness at thinking that she, too, had forgotten about him was very moving.

I wasn't wild about the idea that the Muppets only care about their own personal artistic freedom--The Muppet Show has always been a group effort.

Kermit was very warm with the prisoners who were trying to be in the show. Ironically, the REAL Kermit usually isn't that nice. On TMS, Kermit could be incredibly snarky, and he had no trouble nixing acts he thought were terrible--be they Piggy's, Scooter's, Fozzie's, Animal's or Lew's. While it was funny to have Kermit say, "If any of you have a problem with that, well--my door is always open!" Actually, Kermit would have told them all to shape up and audition. Also, about the "my door is always open" line....Um...no it's not. You're in prison, Sweet Pea.

Ty and Sam were awesome. A great comedic duo. The comments about the talent and brain power of the other performers were pretty much dead-on.

To me, one of the funniest lines in the movie was Constantine's "The bear, the leetle girl and the dog have run away" (meaning Fozzie, Walter and Animal) was one of the funniest things in the movie. I giggled like a mad fiend.

Bobo and Deadly arguing was great. Foo Foo's return was very welcome! (Although I wanted her to bite Kermit. That could have been a great subplot, that Foo Foo kept biting Constantine, and he was forced to go along with it an laugh it off.

Like Slackbot, I, too, wondered why Piggy didn't kick Celine Dion out of HER song--at one point, there are TWO of Celine singing. Why? Why, exactly? Piggy's introspection was good, but perhaps too little, too late.

Kermit realizing Piggy is in danger--not just physical danger, but in danger romantically--was a good catalyst for action.

Um...the escape scene. Maybe Kermit could get out of the prison the same way Walter and Fozzie and Animal did. THEY came into the prison unnoticed, and left the prison unnoticed--THAT would have worked.

I wanted Kermit to spoil the wedding. Well, I WANTED Kermit to turn into an arm-waving, frog-testosterone-producing jealous fiend who demanded Piggy come back to him and tell Constantine to take a hike. He is is usually diffident self. And poor Piggy--even the man (er, frog) who wants to marry her can't just think "Hubba hubba." Even to Constantine, Piggy is a nuisance. What a shame, since she is an incredible, lovely, wonderful pig who would be fantastic to grow old with--right? RIGHT? THAT sequence was truly lovey--especially the bags under Kermit's eyes as he ages. For that scene alone, I like this movie.

And yes, I did enjoy it.

Kermit charging to Piggy's rescue was lovely. He was very heroic. And, after he had stormed the helicopter, to get to see his pig thrash Constantine...priceless. It was nice to see Constantine finally (FINALLY) acknowledge how wonderful she was...yeah. That.

The kiss Kermit and Piggy shared then--Kermit kissing Piggy--was worth the price of admission alone. It wasn't what I wanted, but it wasn't bad.

If they had worked on having a good story first, then the whole thing would have been better. As it was, it was an enjoyable romp.

Hope I've not spoiled any of the fun for any one--I tried really hard to be both honest and fair.
 

Derek Thompson

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I just got back from opening night at the El Capitan in Hollywood. I took my wife, Daughter and My Elmo replica in full 18 month tuxedo. They have a live stage show part at the beginning with Miss piggy and Kermit. Needless to say my daughter was beside herself to see the REAL Kermit and Piggy. The Director and the writer of the last movie and this one showed up and talked to the audience. There was also one of the puppeteers but I am sorry I don't remember his name. In the basement of the theater they have a whole display of a bunch of the costumes and props. Upstairs as you come in they have Miss Piggy's (no spoilers) dress. they also had the detectives micro-mini car. The movie was very well received and my daughter was laughing at many of the right parts. Pictures to follow maybe tomorrow.
Also for anyone who is a puppet builder, I got the best gift that made making my Elmo replica completely worth it for me. I had him acting funny and talking to the kids when an old lady came up to me and said there was a young boy in a wheelchair that was a big fan of Elmo. I followed her and had Elmo give him a high five and talk to him and get a picture. The joy on his face when he Met "Elmo" was so precious to me I had to fight back tears. If some one ever asks me why i would want to build a replica i would site two reasons. One was my daughter seeing him for the first time and tonight with the way that little boy lit up. Many of my friends showed up with their puppets and just made this a really special evening. I am so glad we were able to go and be a part of it.
DLT
 

MrsPepper

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Piggy's clothes were fab, but what on earth happened to her hair. Can you SERIOUSLY see Piggy getting married with dish-water blond hair? Her hair was bad in every scene except the scenes where she wore it down in platinum blond curls. The rest looked like mail-order wigs. Sorry, Piggy--fire your hairdresser. You do not--under any circumstances--need hair that restrained. You need wild riots of curls that vibrate with passion when you are angry.
Haha it's true. I love it. Did you notice her brown tweed outfit when she was singing outside? My favourite one. It was a true and appropriate European feel, which is of course authentic to Piggy.
 

Plaid Fraggle

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I really liked reading your diverging review, Ruahnna, so I kinda wanted to respond if that's all right!

SPOILERS * SPOILERS *
Let me say--as gently as possible, and right up front--that they would have had a better movie if they had had a better story. [...]
I could totally get behind this!

Walk near the deserted street near the canal? Kermit isn't really this dumb.
Totally agreed :big_grin: I guess I liked going along with the silliness of it for the sake of plot development. I laughed pretty hard at Dominic Badguy's suggestion, honestly. To be fair and critical, the plot was absolutely thin, but that added to the malleability and fun of the film IMO. The previous film was a bit too sentimental for my liking so I am glad they dodged that in this one, even if they overshot.

It pained me a great deal that nobody actually noticed that Kermit was gone.
Very good point. It was sad, but then again, it's a great joke of the film that Constantine's ridiculous impersonation largely went unnoticed and unchecked. And I think it adds to Constantine's success as a character the way they've written him. If he were dodging all kinds of questioning, he wouldn't have been able to stick around for very long, and the joke wouldn't have run as long as they made it. I see both sides of this.

If they had worked on having a good story first, then the whole thing would have been better. As it was, it was an enjoyable romp.

Hope I've not spoiled any of the fun for any one--I tried really hard to be both honest and fair.
I really respect reviews like this! I found it a lackluster film, but I still enjoyed it! And your review covers things I didn't think about immediately, so I wanted to thank you :smile:
 

ploobis

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I really enjoyed MMW! :smile:

One of the main things I love about this movie is that the Muppets are the stars and not so much the human actors. In the 2011 movie it seemed to me that they gave too much screen time to Jason Segel & Amy Adams.

It's also great that Gonzo got more screen time than he got in the last film! :concern:
 

MrsPepper

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The previous film was a bit too sentimental for my liking so I am glad they dodged that in this one, even if they overshot.
That's a pretty accurate one-line summary of both films. It's nice that there's room for both in the Muppet universe. It makes me wonder which one will be more rewatchable in the long run... will all the feels in the Muppets be seen as corny or over-the-top, or will all the slapstick in MMW be seen as silly?
 

The Count

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*Reads through Ruahnna's review, that's what I've been waiting for all night.
Thanks for your inciteful opinions on this latest film.

We'll have to disagree on Tina, her song and Kermit-crush along with her running of the gulag were highlights for me.

The only thing I truly loathed was the opening song in the Madrid show. Why won't they let that ruddy song die!
Also... I'm okay with Piggy singing the theme from Titanic, but I still refuse to like that song and movie for the sheer overhypedness it received. C'mon people, it's a three-hour movie about a boat that hits an ice cube so large that it sinks. Three hours? You need three hours for that as a movie?
*Rant over.

My friend was taken aback when the figs appeared. The green pig, was that a fig or more of a slithy tove?, made him think it was one of Shreck's babies.

Another fun little line is when the Leprechauns say that at least the bankrobbers in Ireland didn't get their gold. That's right, they're always after your Lucky Charms!

The Sean Combs cameo was non-essential for me, but because the Usher cameo served an actual joke I'm much more okay with that one.

Would have prefered Fleet Scribbler as the Irish journalist Dominick bribes instead of a human actor though.

All in all, I gave this movie a 4 out of 5 :smile:'s. Loved it and I'm now expecting Disney or Muppet Studios to complete the trilogy with the next movie in 2017.
 

MrsPepper

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The more I think about it, the more this movie seems very reminiscient of old TMS. I don't mean overt references like the Ballroom Dance scene, though it was cool to see those as well. I'm talking more about tone.

For example... Ty Burrell's very strange and over the top Interpol agent reminds me of Peter Sellers on TMS... just very intense and in character 24/7. This is different that Ricky Gervais, who essentially played a version of himself as he often does, played it very straight and serious. Though a completely different personality, Julie Andrews was like that - just honest and totally herself and played it sincere. I'm sure there are more examples. And Tina Fey played it like the audience knew this was all a huge joke and that she was in on it the whole time, similar to bombastic guests like Dom DeLuise or Alice Cooper.

I think it's cool that the human characters were able to play up the style of the Muppets like this.
 

Plaid Fraggle

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The more I think about it, the more this movie seems very reminiscient of old TMS. I don't mean overt references like the Ballroom Dance scene, though it was cool to see those as well. I'm talking more about tone. [...] I think it's cool that the human characters were able to play up the style of the Muppets like this.
Very nice comparisons! Spot-on!
 

The Count

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If the green boy piglike fig makes me think it would be more accurate to call it a Slithy Tove from the Muppets in Wonderland episode of TMS, the pink girl frog reminds me of the princess who kissed Kermit thinking he'd turn into a prince but turned herself into an amphibian from an SST News Flash sketch.
Also, I find the thought of that pink girl frog child of Kermit and Piggy's being named Daphne adorable.
 
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