Dir:

James Bobin

With: Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Ricky Gervais

Runtime: 113 minutes

AT the start of this sequel to The Muppets, the cast belts out a song about, what else, sequels. "That's what we do in Hollywood," they chant, "and everybody knows the sequel is never quite as good." In Tinseltown, even if the humans are full of stuffing, one can always rely on the little foam and felt people to tell the truth. That is why we love them.

It is also why, despite this follow-up living down to its own billing, Muppets Most Wanted remains a desirable watch. Certainly there is no Amy Adams in all her Doris Day adorableness this time around, the story is as flyaway as Miss Piggy's hair, and the thrill of reuniting with lost pals has dimmed a little. But even the Muppets' own Statler and Waldorf, the Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un of the reviewing world, would find something here to raise a smile. And if all that fails, there's a certain ginger-bearded Scots actor to spy on the spot-the-celebrity-cameo front.

James Bobin's 2011 movie was about getting the old gang together again to save a theatre. This time around, the only thing at obvious risk is Kermit's sanity as he battles once more to mine some semblance of order from the animal anarchy around him. Everybody wants their act in the show, from Gonzo dreaming of a spot of bull running (now why can't they do something like that on Britain's Got Talent?) to Miss Piggy having her heart set on a Celine Dion-fest of back-to-back belters. The centre will not hold, and nor will poor Kermit at this rate.

Enter stage left Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), an impresario who promises to manage all the company's worries away with a lavish international tour. While Kermit is a can't-do sort of frog, Dominic is a can-do toad, a slippery but genial fellow who tells the assembled cast what they want to hear.

Meanwhile, in a gulag far, far away from showbusiness, languishes Constantine, the world's most dangerous frog. Despite Constantine having a Russian accent as thick as borscht and a mole on his face, he and Kermit could be twins separated at birth. What a fiendishly clever plan it would be if a way could be found to somehow swap good Kermit in the outside world with bad Kermit inside a Russian prison camp…

So begins a tale that is part heist caper, part romance, part spy film, interlaced with a hefty dollop of Inspector Clouseau comedy and enough in the way of hokey show tunes to choke a horse. In short, it's a guddle, and an overlong one at that. Given the chance to roam far and wide, the movie collects European capitals like stamps, with each stop less thrilling than the last and the whole looking like so much padding.

When not taking the tourist route the focus switches to the gulag where Nadya (Tina Fey) is the head guard. As with the original television show, the Muppet movies are the place for celebs to show what terrific sports they are. The TV shows had some doozies, from Rudolf Nureyev and Shirley Bassey to Alice Cooper and Debbie Harry. Here, there are several names and faces to stop the traffic, including, in these parts anyway, that mystery Scottish guest. If he did not know he had arrived in Hollywood thus far, he surely knows now.

By and large, though, we are not dabbling at the A-list end of the alphabet here. At times, both older and younger family members might need some help in identifying who is who and why they should care. Most people will know Gervais from The Office and Extras, and his Dominic Badguy is a cross between David Brent and Andy Millman. Then again, everything Gervais does is a cross between Brent and Millman. If he played Hamlet a way would be found to insert a dad dance and oh so ironic looks to camera. Here, though, he is dancing with Kermit, which adds oodles of kudos to anyone's act.

More of a hit is Ty Burrell, star of the television comedy Modern Family, who plays Jean Pierre Napoleon, Interpol's finest sleuth when he is not taking ridiculously long vacances or insisting on a four-hour lunch break. Napoleon's Frenchness is one of the running gags adults will enjoy. The script as a whole leans towards humour for the oldies and nostalgics, and one wonders if there is enough here, apart from the general wackiness and cuteness of the Muppets, to keep younger cinemagoers enthralled.

Universal appeal is the unique selling point of the Muppets. They throw parties to which all ages, all senses of humour, are invited. All the family will have fun here, and if it is a little less of a giggle than the first time around, then that's showbusiness. As long as there is a stressed frog in the world, a lovelorn pig, a bear with terrible jokes and the rest of the wild bunch, there will always be a good reason to play the music, light the lights, and meet the Muppets once more.