Muppets Most Wanted - A Review

Speaking of the Muppets...

My family and I were delighted to attend a pre-screening of Disney's Muppets Most Wanted. Well, technically, I've already seen it twice, but that's not important right now.

The first screening took place at the Disney Studios in Burbank, which is always magical, particularly at night.

As any serious Disney fan knows, this has to be one of the coolest places to visit outside of the parks. This is the Legends Plaza which is a courtyard filled with bronze handprints of all the actors, imagineers, and anyone related to everything in the Disney Universe.

If I get invited to a screening of a Disney picture at the Studio, I will always say yes. (That, and wearing red lipstick at all times are my two unbreakable rules, but that's not important right now, either.)

I saw the Muppets Most Wanted at the studio with my daughter, Amy and a visiting friend. I hoped that the Muppets would deliver, as they usually do, and I'm glad to report, we were not disappointed.

The beginning sequence in which the Muppets are singing and dancing to the song, "They've Ordered a Sequel" was partly filmed right here on this lot, which, of course, made us feel sooo accidentally cool.

Also, being big Muppet fans, there are certain elements that we expect in their films.

Memorable Characters - the introduction of Constantine, Kermit's evil doppelganger with the telltale mole, makes me already wish for a sequel to this sequel.

Celebrity Cameos - it goes without saying that a lot of the fun of a Muppet movie is looking out for and identifying the celebrities as they pop in and out of scenes. But hands down, my favorite was Tom Hiddleston (Loki!) as the Great Escapo, trying to find yet another way out of the Siberian gulag run by Tina Fey as the Russian warden Nadya. Her accent, by the way, was wonderfully over the top.

Tongue-in-Cheekiness (<--is that a word?) - the film is obviously very entertaining for little kids, but don't underestimate the appeal for those of us who appreciate some serious smart-aleckiness. (<--is that a word?) Ty Burrell plays a French detective, paired up with America's own Sam Eagle, who tries to unravel the mystery behind a series of break-ins at museums that happen to be at the same location where the Muppets are performing. He completely satirizes all-things-European, from their tiny cars to their penchant for long lunches and holidays. He was my hands down favorite.

Goofy Musical Numbers - I hope I'm not spoiling too much by telling you that Celine Dion and Miss Piggy make a winning duet. My favorite was the Interrogation Song performed by Burrell and Sam Eagle.

Bad puns - you couldn't have a Muppet movie without them and this one delivers plenty.

I went to a second screening, this time at our local theater, taking my husband, Eric, as well as Lucy and her Beau.

I'm happy to report that they too loved the Muppets Most Wanted. We laughed and rolled our eyes at all the puns and clapped at key moments. I may or may not have teared up a bit at the end when, in classic Muppet style, the underlying message of love and loyalty to friends and family finally wins the day.

It's so appealing that it makes you want to become one of the family. See what I mean?

I recommend Disney's Muppets Most Wanted. If you're anything like me and my kids, you'll totally enjoy it. Prepare to be completely delighted. And yes, I think you might want to bring the kids, too.

Muppets Most Wanted opens everywhere on Friday, March 21st.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Last week I had the incredible pleasure of participating in the press junket for Disney's "Muppets Most Wanted," the sequel to the 2011 film, the aptly named, "The Muppets."

Here are Tina Fey, Kermit the Frog, Ricky Gervais, Constantine, Ty Burrell, and Sam Eagle.

There I sat at the beautiful Beverly Hilton Hotel as part of the group of invited journalists who were asking pertinent and pointed questions about the filmmakers, the movie making process, their inspiration, the stars talent (<--that's the cool way to refer to the people in the film) interaction with each other and all that.

There's my curly haired self as we journalists (wink, wink) are being regaled with stories from Producer Todd Lieberman, Director James Bobin, and Music Supervisor Bret McKenzie.

And there were the filmmakers and the stars talent answering those pertinent and pointed questions in a lovely conversational manner while bantering with each other about things that happened on set and their best moments on the film and all that.

The brilliance of this particular junket was that the Muppets were themselves and never broke that "fourth wall." They were very much themselves, just as you wanted them to be.

Let me just tell you why it's fun to be me at these things - because while I sat there posing as a real journalist, I was truly just a star struck über-fan. I have always loved the Muppets and faithfully watched their show even when I was a young adult, and then later I introduced my kids to them. They are part of our collective pop culture. Their sense of humor always intact.

My favorite part of the panel had to be when Sam Eagle just gushed about how he bonded with Ty Burrell in the film and howTy's accent was so good that Sam actually believed that Ty was French. (I know. It feels a little surreal writing this.) But that's what made the day so lovely. We all embraced the Muppets as the real characters they are to all of us.

Finally Sam excused himself announcing to us that he had been summoned by hotel security and was mindful of keeping all of us journalists safe. Off he went.

The vacancy in the panel was soon filled as Miss Piggy, fashionably late (of course) swished in and made a fashion statement in a gorgeous purple gown.

You can totally picture it, can't you? I know. Shut up.

I suppose I could pull some of the more memorable quotes from the film makers and stars talent, but my take-away from the day was that I was not the only über-fan. It was obvious that everyone who worked on the picture had the same reverence for Jim Henson's legacy and the very real characters people he created so many years ago.

I am a writer, of course. I have been sharing my life and thoughts right here in this space for years. But a journalist? I still have a lot to learn. I am, in fact, pretty green.

And you know what Kermit says about being green... (<--yeah. I went there.)

I'm so very grateful to Disney Pictures for allowing me to participate in this über-memorable event.

Muppets Most Wanted opens in theaters on Friday, March 21st, 2014.