‘Muppets: Most Wanted’ has kept up the Muppet tradition of bringing a legitimately funny movie to the screen in a family friendly package. ‘Muppets: Most Wanted’ does not have songs as immediately catchy as ‘Life’s a Happy Song’ from the first film , but in all other aspects ‘Most Wanted’ builds well off of the first ‘Muppet’ movie and makes for an excellent sequel.

‘Muppets: Most Wanted’ begins immediately after the first film with The Muppets taking their stage show on a worldwide tour with newly hired tour manager Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais). Blinded by Badguy’s promises of fame and luxury, Kermit the Frog’s (Steve Whitmire) objections are ignored and they begin their tour unprepared. Soon after, with the help of Badguy, Constantine, world’s deadliest frog and Kermit’s splitting image, replaces Kermit, using the Muppets as cover for his plot to steal the crown jewels.

One thing the Muppet films have always been known for is the cameos, and this film has definitely upped the ante since the 2011 film. The supporting cast was also very well used, especially the team up of Ty Burrells ‘Jean Pierre Napoleon’ and Eric Jacobson’s ‘Sam Eagle’. I also thought Tina Fey as gulag prison guard ‘Nadya’ was a perfect choice, even if she did not get the solo performance she was promised.

The music was again done by Bret McKenzie, and although I thought the first Muppet film had better songs ‘Most Wanted’ is still pretty great when it comes to music. McKenzie has proven that he knows how to combine a catchy melody with funny lyrics. He and fellow ‘Most Wanted’ cast member Jemaine Celment’s band Flight of the Conchords, and the lyrics of ““I’ll Get You What You Want” show he still has it.

My only complaint with ‘The Muppets: Most Wanted’ is its length. The finale wedding between Kermit and Miss Piggy felt drawn out, and at almost two hours it runs a little long. It may have felt longer because of the Monster’s Inc. short before the film, but even so it could have used better editing at times.

Overall, i really enjoyed ‘Muppets: Most Wanted.” It was fun, the jokes were generally funny even for an older audience, and the cast was all around entertaining to watch. Even though this is technically the 8th sequel to the original ‘Muppet’ movie in 1979, I would not mind seeing this franchise continue for thirty more years.

4/5