History Film / MuppetsMostWanted

And [[GenreSavvy everybody knows]]\\
That [[{{Sequelitis}} the sequel's never quite as good]]...''

* CardCarryingVillain: "Dominic Badguy", who ''quite literally'' has a card that says his last name, which is "bad guy". He pretends that [[MostDefinitelyAVillain it's French and doesn't mean "bad guy"]].

* {{Sequelitis}}: [[invoked]] [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] to hell-and-back in the opening number, "We're Doing a Sequel". The first verse ends with "everybody knows the sequel's never quite as good", and it only escalates (spirals downward?) from there.

''Muppets Most Wanted'', the follow-up to 2011's ''Film/{{The Muppets|2011}}'', follows... well, Franchise/TheMuppets ([[CaptainObvious who else?]]) as they tour Europe, only to become ensnared in a caper as they encounter Constantine, a crime boss who bears an incredible resemblance to Kermit. The film sees the return of ''Series/FlightOfTheConchords'' alumni James Bobin and Bret [=McKenzie=], as well as ''The Muppets'' co-writer Nicholas Stoller. Creator/JasonSegel is completely unaffiliated with this movie. The film stars Creator/RickyGervais, Creator/TyBurrell and Creator/TinaFey.

* TheAtoner: Walter, Fozzie and Gonzo tell Nadya that if she arrests Kermit, she'll have to arrest them too. It's clear that they're trying to make it up to Kermit for not noticing he was replaced.

* BigBad: Constantine, the [[RedBaron World's Most Dangerous Frog]]. Recently escaped from Russia's most fortified prison, he's out to make his name as the greatest thief in history by stealing England's Crown Jewels, and manipulating the Muppets to realize that goal.
* BigBadWannabe: Dominic Badguy [[spoiler:, AKA "The Lemur." His attempt to betray Constantine was seen a mile away, especially by Constantine and his lemur theme (with full costume) earned him nothing but mockery.]]

* BreakingTheFourthWall: A significant amount of the jokes and scenes will frequently do this and overlap with LeaningOnTheFourthWall. The first five minutes has the entire Muppets cast singing about how this movie is going to have {{Sequelitis}}, then try to decide what the sequel's plot is going to be.

** {{Music/Usher}} as an [[PunnyName Usher]].
** Music/CelineDion appears to help Piggy sing her [[AwardBaitSong Celine Dion number]].

** Zach Galifianakis returns to reprise his role as Hobo Joe.

* CameoCluster: The ending musical number has the various celebrities that have cameoed throughout the film come back to join in for one more song, including Creator/ChloeGraceMoretz, Creator/TomHiddleston, Tony Bennett, Creator/SalmaHayek, and plenty more.
* CameraAbuse: Constantine literally smears vaseline on the camera [[GaussianGirl to achieve a romantic effect]] while he promises he can give Miss Piggy "anything you want".
* CardCarryingVillain: Parodied--one of the villains is named Dominic Badguy and has a literal card with his name on it. And justified, because the business card is due to him posing as a promoter.
* TheCastShowOff: Constantine gets a couple of flashy musical numbers, "I'm Number One" and "I'll Get You What You Want", and especially sounds good in the latter. It makes sense, because in addition to being a Muppet performer, Matt Vogel is also a singer and musician, and even has his own band (The Mighty Weaklings). Being the SpiritualSuccessor to Jerry Nelson (who also did a lot of singing during his heyday and was a talented musician in his own right) helps a lot.
* CharacterFocus: Sam the Eagle who was little more than an extra in the previous film is much more prominent this time around.

* ClingyJealousGirl: [[spoiler:It turns out that Nadya has known all along that Kermit is not Constantine, but is keeping him detained out of her intense fangirl crush on the A-list amphibian.]]

* CriminalDoppelganger: Constantine to Kermit, distinguishable only by a mole on his lip.
* CurbStompBattle:
** Constantine vs [[spoiler:Dominic/The Lemur]].
** Miss Piggy vs [[spoiler:Constantine]].
* DamselOutOfDistress: [[spoiler:When Constantine tries to make off with Miss Piggy after their wedding was interrupted by Kermit, she quickly frees herself from her restraints and proceeds to beat the crap out of the impostor.]]
* DemotedToExtra:
** Depressingly {{lampshade}}d by Rizzo and Robin before they just leave the movie entirely.
** Poor '80s Robot doesn't even get a single line of dialogue. Grody to the max!
** Walter himself, as well. Until he and Fozzie discover the truth about Constantine at the beginning of the final act, he's barely in the movie, with only a few lines here and there.
** Also Bobo and Uncle Deadly, who go from fairly major characters to just brief cameos near the end.
** Aside from the opening song, the running of the bulls gag, and [[spoiler:keeping Constantine's helicopter from taking off with his nose]], Gonzo doesn't really do much in this film (he gets a considerably larger amount of things to do in the extended edition, though).
** Fozzie doesn't really do much until he and Walter discover the truth about Constantine.
* DidntSeeThatComing: Gonzo, after his "indoor running of the bulls" goes horribly wrong - "The bulls are out of control! Who could've foreseen this?!"[[note]]Creator/SalmaHayek did, and reminds Gonzo of this fact.[[/note]]

* TheDragon: Dominic, to Constantine.

* EasilyForgiven: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] - Kermit forgives the Muppets rather quickly for not noticing that Constantine had stolen his identity, but he DOES call out Fozzie and Walter for not noticing. Granted, they were tricked and all.
* EpicRocking: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem's "jam session" in Madrid, which was among many of the ideas Kermit vetoed before being replaced by Constantine. Animal performs a drum solo that goes on for ''hours''.
* EveryManHasHisPrice: [[spoiler:Turns out Dominic has been greasing the palms of critics and audience attendees alike to fake the success of the world tour and keep the Muppets happy.]]
* EvilDetectingDog: Animal is the only one not fooled by Constantine, causing Constantine and Dominic to spend the rest of the movie under the impression he's a canine.
* FakeShemp: Done for Jason Segel and Amy Adams at the very beginning of the movie.
* FamousNamedForeigner: The French Interpol officer is named Napoleon.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Constantine, he's only ''trying'' to be polite for the caper and it shows.

** When Nadya prepares to sing her (cut) solo at the end of "Together Again Again," Kermit makes a face, as if trying not to laugh at the knowledge of the upcoming gag.

* GenderEqualsBreed: Subverted. In Piggy's ImagineSpot, she and Kermit have a pig daughter and a frog son, but the daughter is green and the son is pink- unlike in ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol''.

* GenreSavvy: Nadya is able to anticipate all of Kermit's escape attempts because she has watched every [[GreatEscape prison escape]] movie ever made, even the ones in space.
* GlassCannon: Constantine is utterly unstoppable in a fight as long as he can keep up his momentum, taking out guard after guard before they can react. [[spoiler:Piggy]] can still easily overpower him, though.

* IdiotBall: Virtually all of the Muppet cast who isn't Animal and eventually Walter. In all fairness the physical differences between [[spoiler:Constantine and Kermit]] are pretty subtle, but "having a cold" in regards to having a different voice doesn't make sense. If Kermit had a different voice because of said cold, shouldn't he be resting instead of doing a weeks/months long tour? Even if Kermit was being a {{Determinator}} and overcoming his "cold" then how does that explain how un-Kermit-like he's been acting, going from being tough yet reasonable to "do whatever the hell makes you happy" attitude? [[spoiler:The real]] Kermit is justifiably pissed off at the rest of the cast.
** Sort of a JustifiedTrope as from their perspective not only are they getting a ''huge'' upswell in freedom to perform but are also getting a rave reviews [[spoiler:really just Dominic bribing the audience and papers]] because of it. Said factors start feeding their egos so altogether while "Kermit" might be acting a bit off they don't have any real reason to suspect or look into whatever's going on.
** There's also the premise that this movie happens ''immediately'' after the last one, in which the full ensemble of Muppets haven't seen or spoken to one another in decades. Many of them may have assumed that the intervening years have changed Kermit's attitude, or even their own perceptions of him.

* InterpolSpecialAgent: Jean Pierre Napoleon.
* {{Jerkass}}: Constantine, being the BigBad of the movie, this puts it mildly.

* JurisdictionFriction: Sam the Eagle with the CIA and Napoleon with INTERPOL.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Bobby Benson's babies]] help Constantine and Dominic at one point, but don't get any consequences. [[spoiler:They are shown in the gulag with the Muppets and various celebrity cameos during the finale, but it's not said whether they are there because of their crime or just there to be part of the finale, although they aren't wearing Gulag clothes.]]
* KillAndReplace: Constantine pulls off a family-friendly variant of this trope; he disposes of Kermit by sending him to the gulag and subsequently masquerades as him for the majority of the movie.

* MadBomber: Constantine loves his explosives.
** Even more so, Crazy Harry, who literally devoted his life to the stuff.
* MeaningfulName: Dominic Badguy.

* MondegreenGag: When practicing Kermit's voice while singing "Rainbow Connection", Constantine's rendition ends with "The lovers, the dreamers, and cheese."
** Also, he seems to mistake Kermit's signature "Hi-ho!" greeting for, "Hi-llo!"
** He mispronounces most of the Muppets' names, notably calling Fozzie "[[Series/HappyDays Fonzie]]" and Gonzo "Zongo".
* MelancholyMusicalNumber: "Something So Right" Where Miss Piggy has second thoughts about being married to Kermit (alias Constantine) so suddenly, and the rest of the Muppets are despondent about Kermit (alias Constantine) leaving them to be married, and start to wonder if their freedom is really worth it.
* MusicalisInterruptus: In the end, Kermit says it's time for Nadya's big solo, but the screen cuts to "The End" before she can sing a single note.

* MythologyGag: In the opening sequence of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', keen-eyed viewers could spot that in the shot of the Muppet Show sign being flown out after Kermit does his introductory spiel, Kermit is slumped limply in place (because the way that shot was filmed precluded a puppeteer being in position to operate him). In this movie, Constantine gets stage fright while doing the introductory spiel in Kermit's place and faints, slumping limply in the same pose.
* NeverMyFault: Downplayed, as Fozzie appears to be quite embarrassed by this, but when Kermit asks Fozzie why he didn't notice that he - Fozzie's ''best friend'' - had his identity stolen by a criminal, Fozzie tries to justify his mistake ("He looked like you and talked like you! Well, okay, he didn't talk like you, but he said he had a cold!"). Then, when Kermit angrily calls out Fozzie and Walter for not noticing like Animal did, Fozzie says that it's not as bad as it sounds (Walter, meanwhile, admits that it is indeed as bad as it sounds).
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Sam and Jean settle on the same hunch about the Muppets playing Dublin, then remark simultaneously that they're not so different after all.
* NumberTwo: Domic serves as this to Constantine. As Constantine so pointedly likes reminding him.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Sam and Napoleon decide Fozzie is "too stupid to be stupid," which is how they settle on him as a prime suspect. (He's not, of course.)
* ObviouslyEvil: Dominic Badguy, who insists his name is French for "good man". As Rowlf later lampshades:
-->'''Rowlf:''' The bad guy is ''Dominic Badguy''!
* OffscreenTeleportation: When Jean says he's going on vacation with his family, his family is suddenly standing beside him wearing and holding vacation gear, with no-one else there the previous scene, or any indication they were nearby.
* OminousLatinChanting: Heard when Constantine appears out of the fog in Berlin.
* OminousPipeOrgan: Uncle Deadly plays one at [[spoiler:Constantine and Miss Piggy's]] wedding, albeit innocuously--he has no more idea what's happening than anyone, and it seems to simply be a natural outgrowth of his love of HorrorTropes.
* OnlySaneMan: ''Animal'' of all people is [[EvilDetectingDog the only one to know from the start that Constantine isn't Kermit]], and Walter eventually starts to become suspicious as well.

* AscendedExtra: Link Hogthrob, slightly. Going from being a part a musical number in the last movie to being part of a musical number ''and'' having actual dialogue in this one, this is Link's biggest role in a Muppet movie yet.

** Just as Nadya gets ready to sing a solo at the very end (something she's wanted to do ever since putting Kermit to work on the gulag talent show), she gets cut off by the credits.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: [[spoiler:Nadya arrests Kermit for escaping from the gulag (though it seems his arrest has more to do with leaving before the gulag revue ended). She only lets him go after Walter, Fozzie and Gonzo ask her to arrest them, too. Used as a gag on the blooper reel when Kermit then asks her how the hell she got through customs with a foreign army (apparently she had a small problem, but only because she was carrying fruit).]]

** "The Big House" has a moment where the Gulag chorus are caught in the searchlights, mimicking the cover of ''Band on the Run'' by Music/{{Wings}}.

That [[{{Sequelitis}} the sequel's never quite as good...]]''
-->"We're Doing a Sequel," opening song from ''Muppets Most Wanted''

''Muppets Most Wanted'', the follow-up to 2011's ''Film/{{The Muppets|2011}}'', follows... well, Franchise/TheMuppets ([[CaptainObvious who else?]]) as they tour Europe, only to become ensnared in a caper as they encounter Constantine, a crime boss who bears an incredible resemblance to Kermit. The film sees the return of ''Series/FlightOfTheConchords'' alumni James Bobin and Bret [=McKenzie=], as well as ''The Muppets'' co-writer Nicholas Stoller. Creator/JasonSegel is completely unaffiliated with this movie. The film stars Creator/RickyGervais, Creator/TinaFey, and Creator/TyBurrell.

Watch the first trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcw2Aje5KU0 here]] and the second trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGEf7P_DXK4 here]].

* EasilyCondemned: Kermit has his identity stolen by a criminal frog named Constantine and sent to a Russian gulag. You'd think that since Constantine, while he DOES look like Kermit (there are differences, but they're admittedly subtle), does not act or sound anything like Kermit, the other Muppets wouldn't believe for a second that he is Kermit, or at least be suspicious. Instead, they all fall for it, with the exception of [[EvilDetectingDog Animal]] - even Fozzie, Kermit's best friend, is fooled.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** During Piggy's verse of "The Interrogation Song", Napoleon bombards her with endless double-entendres about her species -- "squeal", "bacon", "hide", etc. She isn't amused, but he fares better than some other people who've pressed this particular BeserkButton; in the ''Muppet Show'' days, she'd usually karate-chop the insulter in half.

-->'''Dominic:''' What Will you do when you're married? Because then the pig will know everything.\\