Parent reviews for Muppets Most Wanted

This movie could hardly be more different in tone than The Muppets (2011). It's quite dark and violent, with a large part of it set in a Soviet gulag. It makes a lot of jokes at the expense of other nationalities. It relies on way, way too many cameos that are only funny to adults. It's really jut bizarre, to be honest.

I trusted past experience with Muppets and began watching this movie with my 7 year old expecting some silly fun and minor peril. Instead we found so many disturbing images early on that we bailed, so my comments are based on incomplete viewing. We sat through explosions and more violence than necessary but when a bound and gagged Kermit is thrown down in front of a bunch of menacing prisoners in a harshly depicted gulag yard I ended it.

Not my favorite movie of 2014, but good to see another Muppet movie again. Classic Muppet mayhem around Europe. Despite the violence it still has that old Muppet feel good you had as a child. Enough of Muppets and their co shows whatever toys in Disneyland and WDW to empty your account. I might be some of the very lucky enough to have an obscure old Danish 1970's spoof of Muppets on cassette you maybe can find in few second hand stores.

This is a rare occasion where I quite disagree with the normally excellent assessments of Common Sense Media. This film is really an adult film (probably geared at boomers who grew up with the Muppet Show) and the subject matter and imagery is very disturbing. Illegal confinement, treason, crime and deprivation of food are shown as funny. A lot of sick abuse, which for me is a form of violence: e.g. a person is imprisoned in a metal box with just a hatch for his (singing) voice. None of this is explained but all of this is made fun of. The cold war gulag setting is dated as well. I really regret watching this movie. My daughter who is six burst into tears after it and I had to talk to her a long time afterwards to neutralize the upset and anguish brought up.

maybe target at ages 9 and up

One of my 7-year-old's was crying and asked me to turn this off partway through. He was frightened by the gulag scenes and how mean the guards and other prisoners were being to Kermit. Quality-wise it wasn't terrible - I thought Ricky Gervais was pretty funny - but it lacked the old-fashioned charm of the previous Muppets movie with Jason Segel and Amy Adams.

The movie was pretty scary for my 6 year old.. and didn't enjoy at all, had to stop the movie half way through

You know the saying 'if you've seen one you've seen 'em all' and Muppets is notorious for milking the franchise after Disney took over. The cuteness of the old films gets washed away with endless cameos of 'not so kid friendly' stars and a half baked story. Not to say it doesn't have it's share of wit and giggles but the recent Muppet trend of milking the "old show' plot seems too painfully obvious they can't deviate from the nostalgic theme for an actual interesting story. Sure it's kid friendly but at the same time it's lazy feeling with seeringly bad musical numbers as if their seeing how lazy they can actually be and still get away with it. They know people with kids will show up just for the novelty of the movie but until someone actually breathes new life into the Muppets the quality overall will continue to drown in the Disney fluff that replaced the charm and wit of the original Jim Henson.