Mo’ Muppets, mo’ problems.  Fresh off of their success in The Muppets, Kermit and Co. find themselves in the middle of an international burglary caper so crazy it could only be done by The World’s Most Dangerous Frog.  Who just so happens to look exactly like Kermit, if Kermit had a mole above his lip.  When green pancake makeup is applied…all crazy breaks loose.  With a madcap trip around to some of the world’s most beautiful cities, and an all-expenses paid visit to Siberia for our beloved green hero? Well, if you thought that the first new-generation Muppet movie was a hoot, this one’ll blow you away.

Is the story a bit thin, and the plotting iffy at best?  Sure.  But the same thing can be said about any of the other Muppet movies.  But just like the ones that have come before, they manage to suck the audience in and give ‘em one heck of a show.  Kudos to James Bobin (The Muppets, Flight of the Conchords) for being able to combine just enough slapstick with just enough goofy.  Hiring game-for-anything comedic actors goes a long way too, and in MMW Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell give great giggles without taking things too far.  They know they’re supporting staff here, and they let the felt folks get the spotlight (while still being totally entertaining in their own right.  Nice balancing act there, humans.)

As with The Muppets, Bret McKenzie handles the songwriting and there are several cool songs you may find yourself humming long after the film.  “We’re Doing A Sequel” starts the film off, and I loved how this film quite literally picks up from the close of the last one, and takes a jab at sequels in general.  Tina Fey does the heavy lifting voice-wise in “The Big House”, and though she tries to hide it with her character’s Russian accent, she’s got chops.  McKenzie shows his Flight of the Conchords roots with “I’ll Get What You Want (Cockatoo In Malibu)”, something I could easily see New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo performing on tour.  Any one of these songs could be nominated for an Oscar this year, and as Bret won for his “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, I’d start making notes for my yearly Oscar pool if I were you.

Then there’s the cameos.  Oh, the cameos!  For adults that are only going to MMW for their kids (and to you people?  Wake up; hello, Muppets are awesome), there are tons of star cameos to keep an eye out for.  Lady Gaga!  Tony Bennett!  Celine Dion!  Tom Hiddleston!  Stanley Tucci!  Christoph Waltz!  And my personal favorite, Danny Trejo!  There are tons more, but if I listed ‘em all, 1) what’s the fun in being surprised, and 2) I’m afraid I’d hear the “get off stage” music from the Oscars in my head.

The Muppet effects are the usual campy but super-effective angled shots and green-screen edit-in-post thingies, and who needs more than that?  The best part?  There are TONS of Muppets in Muppets Most Wanted, from newbie Walter to old friends like Sweetums, Beauregard, The Newsman, and fan favorites like Animal, Beaker, Pepe the King Prawn, and Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mahyem.  (Psst: keep an eye out for Kermit’s nephew Robin, who makes an appearance in the film too.  Yaaaay!  *flails arms like Kermit*)

This is what they call The Muppet Show Muppets Most Wanted…. And it totally works.

I’d give Muppets Most Wanted an A. It’s not perfect, but it’s so much fun you’ll never notice.