The Muppets Take the World by Farce in ‘Most Wanted’

Disney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” takes the entire Muppets gang on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe’s most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine—the World’s Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit the Frog—and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two, portrayed by Ricky Gervais. The film stars Ty Burrell as Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon, and Tina Fey as Nadya, a feisty prison guard.

“It’s an old-style caper movie,” says director James Bobin (Disney’s “The Muppets,” “Flight of the Conchords”). “Muppet movies often have very classic movie tropes, and the evil doppelganger—a bad-guy, evil-frog, Kermit-the-Frog look-alike—seemed like such a fun premise for the Muppets’ next film.”

Disney’s “Muppets Most Wanted” is produced by David Hoberman (“Warm Bodies,” “The Proposal”) and Todd Lieberman (“The Fighter”). Bobin wrote the screenplay with Nicholas Stoller (“The Neighbors,” “The Five-Year Engagement”), who is also executive producer with John G. Scotti (“The Incredible Hulk”).

“The audience really embraced the Muppets with our big-screen come-back two years ago,” says Lieberman. “They love the Muppets like we all did growing up—Kermit and the gang are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago. We realized that there was a lot of enthusiasm for these characters so we wanted to bring them back—but with a completely different story and all-new human cast.”

“It takes a special actor to work with the Muppets,” adds Hoberman. “There has to be a passion for these characters, a genuine belief in them and an appreciation for their performances. Ricky, Ty and Tina all have a natural rapport with Kermit, Piggy and the gang—which shows on screen. It would be impossible to pull off a movie like this without the right chemistry.”

Bobin says the cast and filmmakers may have created an all new genre for “Muppets Most Wanted.” “We have comedy. We have a caper. And we have songs. To me, it’s an action-comedy-musical—and I don’t think there are many of those around.”

Featuring music from Academy Award®-winning songwriter Bret McKenzie, “Muppets Most Wanted” opens across the Philippines on March 21 and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures