Hamtaro 2: Most Wanted

Hamtaro 2: Most Wanted is a 2030 American live-action/animated musical crime comedy film. The film is a sequel to Hamtaro: The Movie (2029) and stars Paul Giamatti, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Banks, as well as Marwan Kenzari as the voice of Uppercrust. In the film, the Ham-Hams become involved in an international crime caper while on a world tour in Europe.

Plot:
Directly after the previous film, Hamtaro and his friends find themselves at a loss as to what to do until a man named Barkis Badguy suggests the Ham-Hams go on a European tour with him as their tour manager. Unbeknownst to the hamsters, criminal mastermind Uppercrust, who resembles Hamtaro, escapes from a Siberian Gulag to join his subordinate Barkis in a plot to steal the British Crown Jewels.

In Berlin, Barkis secures the Ham-Hams a show at a prestigious venue. Frustrated with the group's incessant requests and Bijou's insistence they marry, Hamtaro goes for a walk at Barkis's suggestion. Uppercrust ambushes him, glues a stick-on beard to Hamtaro's face, and slips away. Mistaken for Uppercrust, Hamtaro is arrested and sent to the Siberian Gulag that Uppercrust escaped from.

Taking Hamtaro's place, Uppercrust's blunders in imitating him are covered by Barkis, much to Stan's suspicion, but the rest of the Ham-Hams fall for it. After the Berlin performance opens with Uppercrust freezing in front of the audience, Maxwell has to introduce the acts. Uppercrust and Barkis steal paintings from a museum while the Ham-Hams perform.

The next morning, Interpol agent Jean Philippe Napoleon and CIA agent Sabu grudgingly team up to apprehend the culprit whom Napoleon believes to be his nemesis "The Chicken" - the number-two criminal in the world.

Meanwhile, Hamtaro attempts several escapes from the Gulag but is thwarted each time by prison guard Nichelle, who is as infatuated with him as Bijou is. Thus uncaring that the real Uppercrust is free, Nichelle orders Hamtaro to help organize The Siberian Gulag Revue, the prisoners' annual talent show.

Following hidden instructions on the stolen painting, Uppercrust and Barkis divert the tour to Madrid. Uppercrust allows the Ham-Hams to perform whatever they wish, leaving Zachary confused. During this show, Uppercrust and Barkis break into a museum and destroy a roomful of busts to find a key needed for their plan. Even though the performance is a disaster, the Ham-Hams receive critical acclaim. Sabu and Napoleon deduce that the connection between the crimes is the Hamster tour, and the pair interrogates the Ham-Hams, only for Uppercrust to evade the pair and the others to be found too ill-equipped to be guilty. The instructions on the stolen key lead Uppercrust and Barkis to schedule the next show in order to rob the Bank of Ireland in Dublin.

In Dublin, Zachary discovers that Barkis has been giving away show tickets and bribing critics to ensure a packed house and rave reviews, while Oxnard notices Hamtaro's and Uppercrust's similarities. Uppercrust attacks Zachary and Oxnard for their discoveries, but Stan fends him off and the three escape to rescue Hamtaro. During the performance, Barkis steals a locket from the bank and Uppercrust proposes to Bijou onstage; Bijou accepts, and the pair plan a wedding ceremony to be held at the Tower of London in London, where the Crown Jewels are kept.

Oxnard, Zachary and Stan reach the Siberian Gulag on the night of the performance, and Hamtaro uses it as a front to allow them, himself, and all the prisoners to escape the Gulag.

Hamtaro, Oxnard, Zachary and Stan infiltrate Uppercrust's dressing room and overhear him explain to Barkis that he plans to kill Bijou after they are married. Hamtaro and Oxnard are briefly detained by Sabu, but escape as the wedding begins, and Barkis, with the help of the Pirate Hamsters, manages to steal the jewels. Hamtaro interrupts the ceremony, revealing Uppercrust's ruse, and Bijou's ring—actually a bomb—is removed with Dexter's magnetic bomb attractor vest, worn by Howdy.

Uppercrust takes Bijou hostage and flees to a helicopter, where he is intercepted by Barkis, who is actually the Chicken and intends to double-cross him. Uppercrust, after berating Barkis for bragging about the double-cross before escaping, ejects him from the helicopter and tries to take off with Bijou, but Hamtaro jumps aboard and the rest of the Ham-Hams climb atop each other to stop the escape. Hamtaro and Bijou incapacitate Uppercrust, who is arrested with Barkis by Sabu and Napoleon. Nichelle then arrives in London to recapture Hamtaro for escaping, but Zachary, Boss, and Oxnard tell her that if she arrests him, then she will have to take them as well. She relents, allowing Hamtaro to go free.

The Ham-Hams place their next venue at the Gulag in their finale.

Cast:

 * Paul Giamatti as Barkis Badguy/The Chicken, the world's second most wanted criminal and Uppercrust's accomplice who poses as the manager of a fictional international talent agency. His last name is pronounced "badjee" which he describes as a French pronunciation.
 * Bradley Cooper as Jean Philippe Napoleon, a French Interpol agent who works with Sabu on finding Uppercrust.
 * Elizabeth Banks as Nichelle, a high-ranking prison guard at Gulag 38B who is obsessed with Hamtaro and has every prison movie on Netflix with the key word "prison escape". Interviewed by phone in the "Inside the Gulag" featurette, Nichelle identifies herself as the warden.

Voice:

 * Chiara Zanni as Hamtaro
 * Chantal Strand as Bijou
 * Saffron Henderson as Oxnard
 * Ted Cole as Boss
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Pashmina and Flora
 * Jocelyne Loewen as Penelope and Sparkle
 * Brad Swaile as Maxwell
 * Brittney Wilson as Sandy
 * Noel Fisher as Stan
 * Paul Dobson as Howdy and Chef Ham
 * Cathy Weseluck as Zachary, Snoozer and Omar
 * Samuel Vincent as Dexter
 * Ellen Kennedy as Cappy
 * Jillian Michaels as Panda, Stucky and Haibi
 * Terry Klassen as Jingle
 * Tara Strong as Lapis
 * Andrea Libman as Lazuli
 * Don Brown as Elder Ham
 * Pam Hyatt as Auntie Viv
 * Richard Ian Cox as Sabu
 * Nicole Oliver as Pepper and Oshare
 * Matt Hill as Robo-Joe
 * Seren Pendleton-Knoll as Nin-Ham
 * Caroline Chan as Hannah
 * Michelle Creber as Barrette
 * Andrew Francis as Sky Ham
 * Ashleigh Ball as Okini
 * Jessica DiCicco as Marron
 * Brian Drummond as Nande
 * Marwan Kenzari as Uppercrust (speaking voice)
 * Bret McKenzie as Uppercrust (singing voice)

Cameo guest stars:

 * Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Salma Hayek, Saoirse Ronan and Christoph Waltz appear as themselves.
 * Jemaine Clement plays The Prison King and Dylan "Hornswoggle" Postl, Ray Liotta, Tom Hiddleston and Josh Groban appear as Gulag 38B inmates.
 * James McAvoy, Chloë Grace Moretz, Miranda Richardson, Russell Tovey, Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones, Rob Corddry, Hugh Bonneville, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Celine Dion, Zach Galifianakis, Frank Langella, Ross Lynch, Til Schweiger and Usher also appear in minor cameos.

Soundtracks:

 * "We're Doing a Sequel" by the Ham-Hams
 * "I'm Number One" by Uppercrust and Paul Giamatti
 * "The Big House" by Elizabeth Banks and Josh Groban
 * "I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)" by Uppercrust
 * "Hamtaro Theme (Spanish Version)"
 * "Interrogation Song" by Stanley Tucci, Sabu, and The Ham-Hams
 * "My Heart Will Go On" by Bijou
 * "Something So Right" by Bijou, Hamtaro, Celine Dion, Dexter, Howdy, Maxwell, Cappy, Panda and Jingle
 * "Working in the Coal Mine" by Jemaine Clement
 * "The HamsterDance Song" by The Ham-Hams and Josh Groban

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