Starring The Muppets, Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, and Tiny Fey
Directed by James Bobin
Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie and others
The Muppets were riding high after the enormous success of The Muppets. All of a sudden, they were back, seen everywhere from YouTube to the Disney Parks. Trouble was, they couldn't seem to hang on to that momentum. It took three years for Disney to develop another script for them, and when it came out, though it got some critical praise, it didn't do quite as well at the box office as the first film. Did it deserve that fate, or is there more to this goofy crime caper than meets the eye? Let's begin with the Muppets declaring that what we're about to see is a sequel and find out...
The Story: After their successes in The Muppets, the Muppets really don't know what to do next. Enter theatrical manager Dominic Badguy (Gervais), who convinces them to go on a world tour. Turns out he has more in mind for this than sampling the local customs and cuisine. Kermit is ambushed by Constantine, who is his exact double with a spot on his chin. Constantine glues a spot on Kermit's chin and has him arrested and sent to a prison camp in Russia. Nadya (Fey), the head of the camp, insists on him running the prison talent show.
Meanwhile, Walter, Fozzie, and Animal start to get suspicious when "Kermit" lets the Muppets do whatever act they want, turning their shows into even more chaos than usual. Not to mention, they keep playing shows next to museums that are robbed the next day. Constantine and Dominic have been using their shows to rob artworks from museums, including one that could lead them to the British Crown Jewels. Constantine has also proposed to Miss Piggy...but she's beginning to wonder if this is really her frog. Not to mention, FBI agents Sam the Eagle and Napoleon (Burrell) think the Muppets are involved with the thefts and are after them as well.
The Song and Dance: I give them credit for not only going with a more original story this time, but putting more focus on the Muppets themselves. One of my biggest problems with the first movie was it focused a little too much on the humans and not enough on the Muppets. Here, though Gervais, Burrell, and especially Fey are having a lot of fun as the art thief, not-so-super spy, and devoted Russian prison guard, it's the Muppets who really take center stage. Some great costumes and cinematography, too, especially the actual shots at the real Tower of London.
The Numbers: Though we do get a bit of the previous film's "Life's a Happy Song" in the opening, this segways into the massive spoof of sequels and opening numbers in movies, appropriately titled "Let's Do a Sequel." Constantine and Dominic both claim "I'm Number One" as they relate their complicated art theft plot. We get a bit of "The Muppet Show Theme" at each stop, re-written and staged in the appropriate language. "The Big House" is Kermit's big chorus number for the talent show at the Gulag. "I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo In Malibu)" is Constantine and Dominic telling the Muppets that they'll give them everything they ever wanted...for a price.
"Macarena" is Piggy's big, outrageous Spanish number, complete with her in a lacy mantilla. "Interrogation Song" begins with Napoleon and Sam questioning the Muppets, and ends with them concluding that they're all too dumb to mastermind anything more complicated than their numbers for the show. "End of the Road" is an attempt at a big, dramatic number for the prisoners at the Gulag. It's a bit...off-putting, to say the least. Their "I Hope I Get It" is only slightly less weird. The Penguins think they have the "Moves Like Jagger." Piggy's "My Heart Will Go On" at the piano is disrupted by Constantine's sudden proposal of marriage. Piggy and the other Muppets wonder in London how "Something So Right" can feel so off.
Kermit finally escapes the Gulag via the number "Working On the Coal Mine." The finale at the Gulag gives us a slightly re-written "Together Again" from Muppets Take Manhattan, this time with the Muppets and prisoners joining in.
What I Don't Like: Ok, this is weird even by Muppet standards. It feels like they're throwing together bits and pieces of everything from Muppets Take Manhattan to The Pink Panther and seeing if they'll stick. The new music, while not bad, isn't quite as catchy as the previous movie...and the wacky caper plot lacks the sheer heart of the relationship between Walter and his brother in the previous movie as well. Plus, see the previous movie's complaint about every Muppet project after Jim Henson's death being scrutinized for how it treats the characters.
The Big Finale: While not quite at the heights of the previous film, it's certainly far from terrible, and deserved better than it got at the box office in 2014. Fun for families, older kids, Muppet fans, and fans of the previous film.
Home Media: Easily found on all formats, including Disney Plus with a subscription.
No comments:
Post a Comment