Muppets Most Wanted in Theaters Now
Last weekend, our family was invited to a complimentary sneak peek of Muppets Most Wanted. So as a family, we watched our first Muppets movie together. Certainly as adults, my husband and I were pretty excited for the movie. Gavin, who is immersed in animated lands for which he’d prefer Paw Patrol puppies and Handy Manny, was skeptical. However, he loves going to the movies for popcorn and Raisinets, so that always overpowers his preferences of what is actually being featured on the screen.
On the way in to Boston we asked him if he was excited for Ms. Piggy and Kermit? He had no clue who they were. Duh. Guess we should have known better on that one and not the first time as parents we’ve assumed that he’d love it because we did 30 years ago.
Muppets Most Wanted features the re-united Muppets on a European World Tour. However, Kermit the Frog gets kidnapped by Constantine the Frog, the World’s Number One Killer, and sent back to the Siberian camp where Constantine was previously imprisoned. Dominic Badguy (played by Ricky Gervais) is the Muppets manager who is working secretly with Constantine in jewel heists and robberies. The Muppets eventually figure out that Constantine isn’t Kermit and focus their attention on rescuing Kermit.
I thought Muppets Most Wanted was far better than the 2011 Muppets movie. Derek and I found a lot of familiar Muppet humor in this movie and way more singing and dancing muppet interactions than were in its predecessor. Together we could reminisce about our lifelong love for the Muppets.
Gavin on the other hand, firmly asked me multiple times during the movie that he “needed to speak to me in the bathroom.” There were certainly some pretty scary undertones through the eyes of my 4 year old. Tina Fey who I personally love and was wonderful in this role, plays Nadya, a Russian prison warden in charge of guarding who she thinks is Constantine but is really Kermit the Frog. In the beginning of the movie there were several characters with rather large guns in a gloomy Siberian prison camp. Gavin’s review of the movie is summed up in one line, “Mom I don’t like this muffet movie, it’s way to scary.” I’m kind of disappointed that the Muppets had to compete in a story line against a prison camp, because all my 4 year old could do was have anxiety over the scariness rather than truly appreciate the Muppets for what they really are.
So while I do think it was a great movie as an adult, you know your children and if they are in the 4 year old age range, I’d be cautious about running to the theater with them. Waiting for it to come out on DVD may give them a little more time to mature so as a family you can enjoy it together and experience the Muppets for the fun-loving puppets they are, rather than delving into a discussion of bad guy prison fears.
For older kids, they have some neat “How to draw” activities I wanted to share. I also recently posted a feature on About.com toys highlighting a few Muppets Most Wanted toys.
I was provided with complimentary passes to see Muppets Most Wanted, any opinions are my own.