The Muppets are back, thanks to Jason Segel. The How I Met Your Mother star and his partner Nick Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek) put pen to paper and brought The Muppets back in a big way as the film arrives November 23. The true stars of the film, new Muppet Walter, Miss Piggy and her paramour Kermit the Frog, sat down with Movie Fanatic for one of our most fascinating interviews to date.
Movie Fanatic: So Kermit, where have you been hiding all these years?
Kermit: Well, frogs are good at hiding. We hang out in the swamp. I spend a lot of time under rocks. We’ve been pretty busy over the years. We just haven’t done a big film in a while. We did lots of stuff for the smaller screen, for the Internet and television. But it’s true that we’ve been hiding from the big screen. I’m very happy to be back on the big screen.
Miss Piggy: Yes, moi is too -- but not nearly as happy as all of moi’s fans, of course.
Movie Fanatic: Miss Piggy, in the film you’re the Paris editor for Vogue. Do you plan on going back to Paris?
Miss Piggy: Yes, I miss it terribly, because I haven’t been there in years. We didn’t shoot this movie in Paris at all. I know there are scenes where it looks very much like moi is in Paris. It’s very convincing but it’s all illusion.
Movie Fanatic: So who decides your clothes for The Muppets, being that you are the Vogue fashion editor?
Miss Piggy: I have many designers who made my clothes for the movie. But I think my most favorite outfit was made by Zac Posen -- it’s the little number that I wear at the end of the movie, the lavender dress.
Kermit: I love that lavender dress, that’s beautiful.
Miss Piggy: Also, Louis Vuitton made shoes for moi. I’m not really a shoe person [laughs], but these are a lovely pair of shoes.
Kermit: A lot of people think that the reason I never wear clothes is because I’m a frog, but it’s mostly because we needed the extra budget for Piggy’s wardrobe. So, I’m laying off the clothes.
Movie Fanatic: Kermit and Miss Piggy, is it difficult maintaining a high-profile celebrity relationship over the years?
Kermit: You bet! Sure, sure.
Miss Piggy: Oh! What do you mean? It’s not difficult at all.
Kermit: I mean, we get followed around. It just depends on whether you want to maintain a high profile relationship. I mean the relationship is fine. It’s the high profile part I have a problem with.
Movie Fanatic: Does the paparazzi bother you two?
Kermit: Yes.
Miss Piggy: No, they don’t. Why can’t we answer the same on these questions, Kermit?
Kermit: I think we feel differently about the same thing.
Miss Piggy: Why are you sitting all the way over there?
Kermit: I think that’s why I’m sitting all the way over here. I thought Walter should be in the center.
Miss Piggy: [To Walter] What are you doing here?
Walter: Kermit said I could be here right now. Thank you.
Movie Fanatic: Miss Piggy, does it bother you that pigs and frogs are not allowed to legally marry?
Miss Piggy: More than bothers me. I’m thinking of starting a petition online. And I’m actually thinking of going into politics. I’m thinking that this movie might just be a launching pad for a career in politics. I’m going to go straight to the top and change this, this outlandish notion that a frog and a pig cannot get married.
Kermit: I think our wedding video would probably end up on National Geographic. I’m concerned about that. I don’t want to take any chances.
Miss Piggy: It would probably wind up everywhere. I would send it to all the media outlets.
Movie Fanatic: Are you on Facebook and Twitter?
Kermit: I’m not so good at it. I’m not a very good thumb typer. My hands are kind of slippery and moist.
Miss Piggy: He’s really bad at giving massages too, I have to say.
Walter: I do have a Facebook page now but I haven’t been updating it so much…
Miss Piggy: Who are you again?
Walter: Miss Piggy, I’m Walter. We worked on the film together.
Miss Piggy: Oh right. You’re the one who always got me my coffee.
Walter: No, no, that was…
Miss Piggy: Could I get a latte? Hold the milk.
Walter: Um, every time she doesn’t remember me. Ahem, what was the question? Oh, Facebook. I don’t know who’s been updating the account but it’s pretty accurate.
Movie Fanatic: What are your hobbies? What do you do in your spare time?
Kermit: Being a frog I have quite a lot of spare time. When I’m not working I always go back to the swamp which is where I want to be. I like to read. I do a lot of yoga and meditation as a frog. You find a nice warm spot in the sun.
Miss Piggy: [Yawns loudly]
Kermit: It’s not really Miss Piggy’s kind of thing.
Miss Piggy: Boring.
Movie Fanatic: Miss Piggy, in what way does the Miss Piggy we see on screen differ from the real Miss Piggy?
Miss Piggy: In The Muppets, Kermie and I, we’re not always seeing eye to eye. I play an editor of a magazine who’s very bossy. That’s nothing like moi. Moi is very easy to get along with. Moi is never in any kind of a spat with her frog.
Kermit: I’m sorry. I’m not going to comment on that. I’m going to leave it right there. I think you’re absolutely right. And that’s the secret to a long relationship, fellas [laughs].
Movie Fanatic: What celebrities would you most like to have dinner with?
Kermit: I’m thinking a celebrity chef. Why would you want to have dinner with someone who can’t cook? Right? I’m thinking Wolfgang Puck, because I’d like to say his name all night [laughs]. It’s fun to say, we could talk about hockey.
Movie Fanatic: [Laughs] Do you think The Muppet Show will come back to TV? And what other plans do you have for the future?
Miss Piggy: I would love to star again in The Muppet Show for a whole new generation. That would be wonderful.
Kermit: That would be great. I think that we could use the same little theater, with the same red curtains. I think that’d be nice. But we’d have to get modern-day celebrities.
Miss Piggy: A new host maybe.
Kermit: What? What?
Miss Piggy: Yes. No offense, Kermit. Moi was not really as big a celebrity back then as you were but since then, moi has somewhat superseded you.
Kermit: Are you saying that you would host the show?
Miss Piggy: That is a wonderful idea. Yes, yes! Thank you.
Kermit: I think I’ve been tricked.
Miss Piggy: Thank you, I accept.
Walter: I would love to see The Muppet Show again. It just shaped my whole life growing up. Who wouldn’t love to see that, right?
Movie Fanatic: Walter, Jason Segel plays your brother in the movie, do you have any brothers or sisters in real life?
Walter: No, I’m an only child in real life. I’m glad you made that distinction because some people think we are brothers in real life and often get us confused. So if any of you guys had questions for Jason, I’m not him.
Movie Fanatic: Miss Piggy, how do you deal with aging in the limelight? Is that difficult for you?
Miss Piggy: I just don’t deal with it. I just don’t age. I don’t know why some people choose to age.
Movie Fanatic: It’s a choice, right?
Miss Piggy: Yes, absolutely. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You can stay young forever if you have love in your heart as I do, with my Kermie.
Kermit: I’ll go along with that. And I’ll just say there are occasions, certainly not with Piggy and I, where that same love can really age you -- but not with us, not with us.