Muppets Most Wanted (Review)

Muppets Most Wanted

Muppets Most Wanted
2014
Written by James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller
Directed by James Bobin

Muppets Most Wanted
The Muppets return again with a new adventure that feels strangely familiar. While it is great to see the Muppets actually being the stars of their movies again, Muppets Most Wanted lacks the emotional depth of some of the prior films to focus instead on a heist caper that features an evil twin and Muppets running wild under no supervision. The center core is buried a bit deeper, showing the Muppets can’t really survive on their own as they need Kermit’s guidance to keep them from drowning in their own excess.

In Muppets Most Wanted a new manager – Dominic Badguy – signs with the group and gets them to go on a world tour that suspiciously is happening in towns needed to get pieces for a jewel heist. More importantly, Constantine, the world’s most dangerous frog, has escaped from his Russian gulag and managed to switch places with Kermit, who finds himself incarcerated while Constantine takes the place of our main frog. Hijinks then ensue.
Muppets Most Wanted
Muppets Most Wanted shines when it’s doing meta-commentary and breaking the never-present fourth wall. It continues literally from the final seconds of The Muppets, complete with Muppet confusion on what to do next. The opening song will go on to be touted as a manifesto for the film itself, and I particularly like the song Constantine sings as an apology to Miss Piggy, because it summarizes his entire allure to the group and why no one seems to notice anything is wrong. Constantine becomes a Satan character, promising the Muppets whatever they want to keep them happy while he and Dominic Badguy plot to steal the crown jewels of England. The various characters take this to extremes, resulting in increasingly bizarre and disastrous acts. Both Constantine and Dominic use unbridled freedom as a weapon and a distraction, but it soon becomes apparent just why oversight and control is needed. At times Muppets Most Wanted turns into Muppets Needful Things, but luckily things get solved for they start getting Stephen King disturbing.
Muppets Most Wanted

Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmire) – Kermit is the leader of the Muppets and totally is not a dangerous criminal mastermind with a mole.
Miss Piggy (Eric Jacobson) – The fabulous Miss Piggy may have finally convinced Kermit to marry her. But why does she feel weird about it?
Fozzie Bear (Eric Jacobson) – No he’s a-not, he’s a-wearin’ a neck tie!
Constantine (Matt Vogel) – The world’s most dangerous frog has escaped from Siberia and has a plan to go down in history as a master criminal. And it involves the Muppets! Posing as Kermit, Constantine lets the Muppets do whatever they want to distract them from the truth.
Walter (Peter Linz) – Walter is back and on tour with his new family, the Muppets. Only something is wrong….
Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) – The French-named new manager of the Muppets who leads them on the world tour that’s just an excuse to get the items needed for a heist.
Nadya (Tina Fey) – Runs the Siberian gulag that Constantine escaped from and Kermit is now held at. Like everyone there, they know Kermit isn’t Constantine but does nothing because she’s obsessed with Kermit and won’t let him go.

Muppets Most Wanted
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Teen Beach Movie parties on Disney Channel, bring your wrenches!

Disney Teen Beach Movie
[adrotate banner=”1″]Friday, July 19, brings us the world premiere of the newest Disney Original Movie, Teen Beach Movie, which is a mish-mash of those Frankie and Annette beach movies, Grease, High School Musical, and Pleasantville. Two teens get sucked into a classic 1960s beach party movie, but their addition changes the plot of the film. They got to make things right or they’re stuck forever in a musical world.

The most exciting thing about Disney’s Teen Beach Movie is the Official Disney’s Teen Beach Movie Origami Wrench pdf that you can download from the Disney’s Teen Beach Movie site.

The plot:

Brady and McKenzie are both high school friends. They both enjoy surfing and watching their favorite beach musical film, Wet Side Story, set in the 1960’s era of rock ‘n roll, bikers, beach and surfing. They’ve talked so much about how they would love to be in their favorite movie to live that era. After the death of her mother, McKenzie promised her aunt she would focus on her future, including college, and has to move away with her, putting her relationship with Brady in trouble. After Brady insists on McKenzie having one last wave with him, they both fall off their boards. As they wake up, they realize they have been transported into Wet Side Story and decide to play along with the plot and try to fit in. But after their film’s lead man falls for McKenzie, as well as their film’s lead girl falls for Brady, the film’s plot changes completely, starting a whole new plot and slowly causing Brady and McKenzie to become part of the movie itself. It’s up to Brady and McKenzie to make sure the film’s plot goes as it originally is to get out of it as well and enjoy one more day together.

Jeffrey Hornaday directs, and Maia Mitchell, Ross Lynch, Garrett Clayton, Grace Phipps, John DeLuca, Chrissie Fit, Kevin Chamberlin, and Steve Valentine star. Teen Beach Movie has the potential to become yet another Disney Channel Classic, combining the singing things from High School Musical with love squares and retro-cool. So check it out if you haven’t ditched your cable, or just buy it on iTunes the next day.

Garret Clayton Teen Beach Movie