Muppets to hit big screen again in 1960s-style caper

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/jan/31/muppets-again-ricky-gervais

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The Muppets plan to dominate the big screen again with a 1960s-style comedy caper starring Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey, the director James Bobin said on Wednesday.

The Muppets … Again! will follow the cast – including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy – as they take their show on a world tour only to be unwittingly ensnared in an international theft scheme perpetrated by the villain Constantine, who looks identical to Kermit.

Gervais plays Constantine's sidekick, while Fey takes on the role of prison guard Nadya. Modern Family actor Ty Burrell will play an Interpol agent. The film will pay homage to the Pink Panther movies, which starred comedian Peter Sellers as bumbling sleuth Inspector Clouseau. "It's a tip of the hat to the old-school crime capers of the 60s, but featuring a frog, a pig, a bear and a dog – no panthers, even pink ones – along with the usual Muppet-y mix of mayhem, music and laughs," Bobin said in a statement.

Bobin made his directorial film debut in 2011 with The Muppets, starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams, which revived pop culture interest in the show. The puppets were first created by Jim Henson in the 1950s, before achieving worldwide fame on TV in the 1970s.

Gervais, creator of the international TV series The Office, Fey, creator of the NBC comedy 30 Rock, and Burrell have all won Emmy awards.

Hollywood studio Walt Disney said The Muppets … Again!, a follow-up to The Muppets, was set for cinema release in March 2014.

The film will be shot on location in Los Angeles and London at Pinewood Studios, home to the James Bond films.