Film Reviews: Muppets: Most Wanted

It’s not easy being mean. Muppets Most Wanted (G) finds Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzy Bear & Co on tour in Europe following their most recent success. Unfortunately, his so-called friends are largely unaware that Kermit has been replaced by his doppelganger, the evil master-criminal Constantine, aka ‘the World’s Most Dangerous Frog’, who has broken out of a Siberian prison with the help of his sidekick Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais). Can Kermit escape the attentions of the love-struck prison guard Nadya (Tina Fey) and prevent the greatest jewel heist in history? Directed by James Bobin, Muppets Most Wanted is a joy from start to finish, chock-a-block with hilarious gags. A whistle-stop tour of Europe’s capitals takes the Muppets from Berlin (“The world capital of comedy!”) to Madrid and on to Dublin and London, with famous faces — Lady Gaga, Hugh Bonneville, Tony Bennett, Céline Dion and Saoirse Ronan, to name but a few — popping up in cameos along the way. Fey and Gervais are in terrific form, happy to send themselves up in all manner of embarrassing ways, while Ray Liotta puts in a brilliant turn as a hard-boiled prisoner who terrorises Kermit. Those adults who drag children along as an excuse to see the Muppets in action should be aware that many of the jokes will very probably sail over younger kids’ heads, although it’s very likely the adults will be laughing too hard to care — and besides, there’s plenty of slapstick fun and games for the youngsters.