Muppets Most Wanted

Muppets Most Wanted is a 2014 American musical comedy film, and is the sequel to the 2011 film "The Muppets". It was announced in March 2012 that Disney was moving forward on the project with James Bobin (director of The Muppets) and Nicholas Stoller (co-writer of The Muppets) writing the screenplay. Bobin also returned to direct the film.

Filming began in late January 2013 at Pinewood Studios in London. Principal photography in London wrapped on April 16, 2013 and filming moved to Los Angeles in May 2013.

The film, a "comedy caper" set in Europe, was released on March 21, 2014 to generally positive reviews and modest commercial success.

Plot
Following on from the ending of their last film, the Muppets find themselves at a loss as to what to do next ("We're Doing a Sequel"). Per the suggestion of their new tour manager Dominic Badguy, the Muppets decide to embark on a world tour. Meanwhile, Constantine, the world's number one criminal and a complete dead ringer for Kermit, escapes from Siberian Gulag 38B, before making contact with Badguy, who turns out to be Constantine's subordinate; a position Constantine frequently reminds him of.

Arriving in Berlin, the Muppets intend to play a shabby venue, but Badguy secures them a show at a more prestigious location. Becoming increasingly frustrated with the rest of the Muppets' ludicrous requests for the show and Miss Piggy's insistent hints at marriage, Kermit takes a stroll to calm down at the suggestion of Badguy. However, he is ambushed by a hooded Constantine, who slaps a fake mole on Kermit's right cheek, making him resemble Constantine. Constantine escapes and Kermit is arrested and taken to the Gulag in his place.

Constantine meets up with the rest of the Muppets, all believing him to be Kermit, except Animal, who bites him. Constantine and Badguy review their plans ("I'm Number One"). The Berlin performance opens with Constantine freezing at the sight of the large audience and Scooter has to introduce the show. Later, Constantine and Badguy sneak off to steal a selection of paintings from a nearby museum. Meanwhile, after being locked in the Gulag  (" The Big House "), Kermit makes multiple escape attempts, all of which are thwarted by Gulag prison guard Nadya, who  then orders Kermit to help organize the annual prison talent show. Reflecting on his time with the Muppets, Kermit gains the inmates' respect. Meanwhile, on the train, Constantine wins over Miss Piggy (" I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu) ").

The morning after the burglary, Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon and CIA agent Sam the Eagle begrudgingly form an alliance to apprehend the culprit, who Napoleon identifies as his nemesis "the Lemur", after discovering a coin-based calling card. Following instructions hidden behind one of the stolen paintings, Constantine and Badguy divert the course of the Muppet tour to Madrid as part of a plot to steal the crown jewels of Great Britain. Constantine informs the rest of the Muppets that they are permitted to perform any act they wish, much to the suspicion of Walter.

The Muppets perform in Madrid whilst Constantine and Badguy steal the next set of instructions to steal the crown jewels, destroying many busts in the process. In spite of a disastrous performance ("Macarena", a prolonged Electric Mayhem drum set) that puts the audience to sleep, the Muppets' performance receives critical acclaim. Sam and Napoleon deduce that the connection between the crimes in Berlin and Madrid is the Muppet tour, and the pair interrogate the Muppets - to little success ("Interrogation Song"). As the tour reaches Dublin, Walter discovers Badguy to be paying critics to write positive reviews, and Fozzie Bear realizes the resemblance between Kermit and Constantine. Fozzie and Walter discover that Constantine is on the train posing as Kermit, and that Badguy is in on the scheme. Constantine sees that they have found him out, and attacks them, but Animal fends him off, and the three of them manage to escape by hopping on another train. They then figure that the best course of action is to go to Siberia and rescue Kermit.

At the climax of their Dublin performance ("My Heart Will Go On"), Constantine proposes to Miss Piggy, who accepts with the pair intending to marry at the Tower of London. Arriving in London, Constantine and Badguy conspire to use the wedding as a distraction while Badguy uses a locket stolen in Dublin, with the assistance of Bobby Benson's Baby Band, to steal the crown jewels. Before the wedding, Piggy contemplates her impending marriage and future with whom she assumes is her true love, Kermit ("Something So Right"). Fozzie, Walter, and Animal arrive at the Gulag and inform Kermit of Constantine's plot. The four use the prison show ("Working in the Coal Mine") as a front to escape along with the rest of the prisoners, and they head to London, much to Nadya's dismay.

The wedding gets underway and Badguy disables the security systems to the crown jewels, successfully stealing them. Kermit interrupts the wedding ceremony, revealing Constantine to be nothing more than an impostor. Constantine escapes with Piggy as his hostage. Arriving at their helicopter, Constantine comes across Badguy (revealed to be the world's number two criminal "the Lemur" while donning a lemur costume) with the Imperial State Crown, before Badguy announces his intent to double-cross Constantine. Constantine responds by ejecting Badguy from the helicopter and taking flight with Piggy. Kermit intercepts and the rest of the Muppets use a "Muppet ladder" to stop the helicopter in its tracks, with the help of an irate Piggy.

Constantine and Badguy are arrested. After arriving in London, Nadya attempts to arrest Kermit once more for initiating the prison escape and "breaking her heart." The rest of the Muppets express to Nadya that if Kermit is arrested. Then so shall they be. Nadya relents, deciding Kermit belongs with them and drops the charges. The Muppet tour concludes at the Gulag where Constantine and Badguy are part of the prison show ("Together Again (Again)"). Nadya, apparently having been promised a solo by Kermit, prepares to sing but is cut off by the film's "The End" logo.

Development
In March 2012, after the critical and commercial success of the The Muppets, Walt Disney Studios negotiated a deal with James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller to direct and write, respectively, an eighth installment.[5 ] Disney green-lit the film on April 24, 2012.[30 ] Along with Brian Henson, Bobin is the only other person to have directed two Muppet films.[31 ]

Writing began in April 2012 after a couple of weeks of outlining.[32 ] Jason Segel, co-writer and star of the previous film, declined any involvement with the eighth entry, citing that he had accomplished his ambition of bringing the characters to the forefront with the 2011 film.[33 ] Despite this, Bobin and Stoller quickly began work on the film based on Disney's demand. Taking on the form of a caper, the film was inspired by both The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan as well as The Pink Panther and The Thomas Crown Affair.[31 ] [32 ] Bobin said that the film was "a tip of the hat to the old-school crime capers of the '60s, but featuring a frog, a pig, a bear, and a dog—no panthers, even pink ones—along with the usual Muppet-y mix of mayhem, music and laughs".[11 ] [34 ]

The first actor to be attached to the film was Christoph Waltz in the role of an Interpol inspector. Waltz dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Ty Burrell.[35 ] In December 2012, Ricky Gervais confirmed his casting.[36 ] Tina Fey was later confirmed in January of the following year.[37 ]

Filming
Originally commissioned under the title The Muppets... Again!,[4 ] principal photography began in January 2013, at London's Pinewood Studios in Iver, Buckinghamshire.[10 ] [38 ] Filming also took place at the Tower of London, where Kermit and Miss Piggy get married again.[39 ] Additional filming locations in London included Leicester Square, Tower Hill, the Richmond Theatre, Wilton's Music Hall, and Freemasons' Hall.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40">[40 ] In addition to the United Kingdom, scenes were also shot at Union Station and on Hollywood Boulevard (to recreate the previous film's ending) in Los Angeles.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41">[41 ] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-42">[42 ] On June 13, 2013, the title of the film was changed from ''The Muppets... Again! to Muppets Most Wanted''.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-EW2_43-0">[43 ] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44">[44 ] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45">[45 ]

The production design was done by Eve Stewart, who took a tongue-in-cheek approach to each country setting while also being influenced by the retro style of "crime capers of the '60s and '70s".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46">[46 ] Rahel Afiley returned as the costume designer, compiling the wardrobe for both Muppet and human characters. In addition to Afiley's own creations, English fashion designer Vivienne Westwood also contributed four outfits for Miss Piggy while United States retailer Brooks Brothers created more than 200 items for the male cast.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-47">[47 ] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48">[48 ] Discussing Miss Piggy's wedding gown, Westwood said, "It's called the Court dress and is inspired by 17th-century English royalty and the court of King Charles II. It has been designed [...] in a white pearl sequin fabric made from recycled water bottles."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49">[49 ]

Post-production
Visual effects were done primarily by The Senate Visual Effects. The effects studio worked on 425 shots that included CG builds and set extensions, matte paintings, particle and laser effects, animation, and rod removals.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51">[51 ] Additional visual effects work was done by Double Negative, Factory VFX, and Nvizible.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52">[52 ] As with the previous installment, the film required blue screen for scenes that required digital compositing. While green screen is more traditional for color keying, the screen's shade of green would clash with Kermit and therefore be unusable; Sam Eagle's shade of blue is suitable on blue screen.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53">[53 ]

Audio mixing and editorial services were done by Todd Soundelux and 424 Post. Based out of Todd-AO's Santa Monica facility,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54">[54 ] Kevin O'Connell and Beau Borders worked on the film as re-recording mixers alongside 424 Post's supervising sound editors Kami Asgar and Sean McCormack.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55">[55 ]

The first assembly cut of the film ran around two and a half hours.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56">[56 ]

Music
Main article: Muppets Most Wanted (soundtrack)The musical score for Muppets Most Wanted was composed by Christophe Beck, with additional songs by Bret McKenzie. A soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on March 18, 2014.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57">[57 ] It features six original songs by McKenzie as well as re-recordings of contemporary music and past Muppet songs, including "Together Again" from The Muppets Take Manhattan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58">[58 ] A separate album entirely containing Beck's score (paired with the score for The Muppets, also composed by Beck) was released by Walt Disney Records and Intrada Records on April 15, 2014.

Release[edit]
Muppets Most Wanted held its world premiere on March 11, 2014, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-premiere_60-0">[60 ] The film was released in the United States on March 21 and in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2014.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61">[61 ] Theatrically, the film was accompanied by Pixar's Monsters University short Party Central.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62">[62 ]

Marketing
A teaser trailer was released on August 6, 2013, and was attached theatrically to screenings of Planes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63">[63 ] On November 20, 2013, two different trailers were released, one for the United States and one for the United Kingdom.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64">[64 ] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65">[65 ]

In February 2014, the Muppets starred alongside Terry Crews in a commercial for Toyota that aired during the Super Bowl.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66">[66 ] Later that month, Disney partnered with Subway to promote healthy eating through an advertisement featuring the Muppets.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67">[67 ] In early March, the restaurant chain started giving away free Muppet-themed bags with kids meals.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68">[68 ] Spoof posters were released for the film, parodying Skyfall (called Frogfall), The World Is Not Enough (called The Pig Is Not Enough), Face/Off (called Fraud/Frog), and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (called Animal Piggy Frog Spy).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69">[69 ]

In February, the Android and iOS game My Muppets Show added content from the film, including a Big House stage, various props from the movie, and Constantine as a discoverable/purchasable character.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-70">[70 ] From March 20 to April 1, Disney's online game Club Penguin hosted a special Muppets World Tour event. Players were able to visit nine country-themed rooms and perform alongside several Muppets.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-71">[71 ]

Home media
Muppets Most Wanted was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on August 12, 2014. Blu-ray bonus features include three cuts of the film: the original theatrical cut (107 minutes), the truncated Statler and Waldorf cut (2 minutes), and an extended cut featuring 12 minutes of scenes not shown in theaters (119 minutes). Also included are a blooper reel, a featurette called "Rizzo's Biggest Fan," and a music video of "I'll Get You What You Want" featuring Bret McKenzie.

Reception
Although not as well received as the first film, Muppets Most Wanted still garnered positive reviews. It currently holds a 79% rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes; the general consensus states: "While it may not reach the delirious heights of The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted still packs in enough clever gags, catchy songs, and celebrity cameos to satisfy fans of all ages."

The film earned $17,005,126 in its opening weekend, ranking second behind Divergent ($54,607,747) at the domestic box office. It closed on July 17; the film grossed $51,183,113 in the domestic box office and $27,000,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $78,183,113. Based on an estimated $50 million budget, this can be considered a modest box office success.