KERMIT & PIGGY together again

by Constantine Nasr

s the little green frog entered the room, those people awaiting his presence held their breath, in excitement rather than anxiety. Kermit, seated happily alongside his close friend Steve Whitmire, smiled and began to introduce himself to the rest of the people in the room, fans and reporters alike.
Of course - and any Muppet fan will realize this - it didn't take long for Miss Piggy to take center stage.
Kermit and Piggy joined director Brian Henson, muppeteers Steve Whitmire and Frank Oz (also producer), and star Tim Curry in promoting their new film, "Muppet Treasure Island," which opened last weekend.
The atmosphere in the room was incredible; the fact that two of the most endearing and inspirational figures of the fantasy world were seated across from the handful of adults only added to the good spirits and overall delight that glowed from the faces of both famous Muppets.
Kermit, a frog who has touched hearts for years, was on hand to both endorse the film and, it would seem, antagonize his co-star, Miss Piggy. Though Kermit was happy enough dressed in his normal attitire, Piggy was styled more elegantly, with a new haircut, pearl necklace and an extravagent lavender suit that expressed her independent nature.
Kermit seemed surprised at all of the enthusiasm within the room. Many Muppet lovers began asking about all the changes that have been going on throughout the past few years. "You guys must all be on the Internet, that's all I can figure," he responded.
Brian Henson, son of late Muppet creator Jim Henson, expressed his admiration for both Muppet and human stars in the new picture. "Treasure Island" marks his second directorial effort; he filmed "The Muppet Christmas Carol" in 1992. He began by telling us about his appreciation for filmmaking.
"I really enjoy working with actors. I loved working with Tim. I loved working with Michael Caine. But I do like the fantasy element. I think I could probably express it as not as just Muppet features, but features that have some sort of fantastical twist that makes them bigger than life. Whatever I do will always have that.
"Working on a feature film, you can concentrate very closely on all the details and really trying to make all the illusions perfect, whereas with the TV show it's so fast and so furious-a different sort of energy," Henson continued. "You just have to put a real positive and productive energy on the set and basically nobody knows if you're going to make it to the end of the day. And you just go.
"It's a different sort of rewarding feeling, too, when you finish a feature, a big body of work, and it's very studied and quite precise. When we make the new Muppet Show ("Muppets Tonight"), we just go like mad and cut it and put it out there and see if it will. It's a completely different sort of creative energy. It's fun."
Kermit's amazing stuntwork on "Treasure Island" prompted someone to ask about his bicycle-riding experience on "Great Muppet Caper."
"You know, I have to tell you, riding a bicycle is very easy. Have you tried it?" the unflappable frog replied. "You know, once you learn it, you never forget."
Kermit went on to comment on stunts in "Treasure Island." "Probably the swordfighting stuff. I do that flip through the air, and I do that swordfight with Tim Curry. That's pretty hard for a puppet to do. It's not easy."
"You can't ask Kermit," Henson broke in, trying to keep Kermit's trick a secret.
"I can't tell you," Kermit confirmed.
The crowd began to laugh. "This is where the realities become confused," explained Henson.
But Kermit was proud of his scene. "I just sort of hopped through the air and did a swordfight."
When Miss Piggy was asked about her experience working with the cast, she answered, "I didn't exactly work with anybody except my frog."
Unfortunately, Miss Piggy's experience began with a less-than-sensitive comment from a misguided writer (he called her a "girl"). Unfortunate for him, to be sure; she abruptly began to share her rather strong opinions.
"I didn't understand the question. I'm just a girl. I'm just a cute little girl. I wouldn't understand anything, would I? Just a girl!"
The rest of us began to laugh, but Piggy was taking it very seriously. She calmed down and returned to talking about her relationship with the Hensons.
"Both Mr. Hensons have been extraordinarily gifted," she said. "They have a little problem of, um, tight shots of me."
"Don't we all?" snuck in Kermit, although he quickly retracted his comment for fear of Piggy's wrath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that at all. I'd never say that about a girl. I mean, a woman, a woman."
"Oh, go ahead, you talk, " Miss Piggy snapped.
"Oh, no no." Kermit was beginning to quiver.
"It must be your question. Go ahead."
"No no."
The actress was very, well, vocal about her feelings. "No, you have to answer."
"He was talking to you. I'm sorry."
"Oh, he was talking to moi? But then, who answered?"
"I'm sorry. I'll be quiet."
"Are you finished?"
"Yes."
Miss Piggy composed herself and finished answering the question. "Anyway, it has been a dream working with both Mr. Hensons. Except they have a little problem giving me close-ups."
Though she has been in several films, Miss Piggy has never gone behind the camera. Does she plan to?
"Do you mean as a girl? I'm a silly girl, I couldn't possibly direct," she said humorously. "No, actually I would leave the directing up to my frog."
Her exquisite costumes drew much attention from the critics.
"Yes, I've had enough costume changes," she explained. "We have many costumes in the film, and I am pleased that actually I designed all of my own costumes.
"No, wait, that's not true," interrupted her co-star.
"I didn't say it was true. I just said it," Piggy asserted.
"Oh, I see."
"Yes, I designed all of my costumes," she said, with obvious pride.
"Polly Smith is our costume designer," returned the frog, but at this point he decided to let his commanding co-star take the credit.
"All right, so? It doesn't have to be true to say it."
It wasn't very long before the matter of the two stars' romantic relationship became the topic of discussion. Miss Piggy was the first to answer our curiosity.
"We're desperately in love," she answered with a slight glance at her frog.
"Wait a minute," Kermit said, a little uneasy. "We weren't going to do this. We weren't going to say that. We talked about that this morning."
"We had an agreement?" asked Piggy.
"I think we did."
Piggy avoided his suggestion. "I was in the shower. I didn't hear you."
The frog knew he had no choice but to respond to Piggy's explanation. "Well, we're very independent animals and we live our separate lives. You know, right?"
"This is a very boring answer," Piggy broke in. "I was happier in the shower."
"What would they rather hear?" Kermit asked, confused.
"I don't know. Is this group therapy all of a sudden?" It was obvious that Piggy enjoyed making Kermit uncomfortable.
"We're desperately in love, that's all," she finally settled. "We do have our private, separate lives. Moi am a complete individual. Kermie's a complete individual. We have our private lives and often do things apart, and then come back. It's better that way. We're further apart, and we comeback. It's like, wow-gangbusters!"
Kermit just shuffled around in his seat. "I think I'd rather not comment," he muttered.
Turning back to the film, many were curious as to how Miss Piggy's role in the eminently masculine "Treasure Island" was initially conceived.
"Actually, it was kind of tough," answered Henson. "The Robert Louis Stevenson novel has only one woman in it."
"It had only one pig in it," said the actress. "Fortunately, the Robert Louis Stevenson book had a pig goddess. It was very lucky. I just zoned in on that part."
"In truth, it was kind of in trying to figure out how to cast Piggy that we came up with this idea that Piggy would be Ben Gunn," Henson resumed. As Benjamina Gunn, Piggy's character had been abandoned at the altar by Captain Smollet (Kermit), and subsequently began a series of torrid affairs with pirates like Long John Silver.
"I just want you to know that this was a stretch for me," Miss Piggy explained, somewhat embarrassed. "It's not my usual way. I'm a one-frog person, but this was an actress's job."
Kermit was happy working in the role of the adventurous captain. "It was a great role for me. I got to play this noble character, the ship's captain. You know, a very heroic character. No problem at all. And it's tough for frogs to get roles in Hollywood. There aren't that many out there, so you kind of have to take Œem when you get Œem."
Although their parts are supporting rather than leads, the Muppets weren't at all uneasy with taking their share of credit alongside the humans.
"For moi, supporting roles are sometimes much more glamorous and wonderful than a lead role," Piggy began. "Did I just say that?"
"Yes. I don't know why," answered the frog.
"It's hard to say who are the leads in this film," said Henson. "The plot is the story of Jim Hawkins, but, as you watch the film, it's really about Jim and Gonzo and Rizzo meeting Kermit and Long John Silver. And then Piggy almost completely takes over the story when you arrive on the island. So it's really hard to say who's the star."
"I don't think it's hard at all," Piggy astutely contended.
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The new Muppet show, "Muppets Tonight," will begin to air on ABC next March. Henson was eager to tell us about its conception; the show's premiere alongside the film is certainly not a coincidence.
"We thought it would be a smart way to do it," Henson explained. "We recognized that: not to release them at the exact same time, but to release them pretty close. We thought it was a good idea.
"We've been talking about doing a new Muppet show for quite some time now. The idea is now the Muppets run a local TV station somewhere called KMUP. It's a little obscure local station in some city somewhere. Kermit is the station manager, and Clifford, who is a new character, is the host of the show. Once a week, they broadcast live to the country, and it's called Muppets Tonight. The show is watching the mayhem of these guys trying to produce this show and see the show. It's a format that is similar to the original Muppet Show, but sort of the next generation of sorts.
"And, there's one major guest star in every episode, and we've been playing with sprinkling cameo appearances elsewhere as well." Rumors of Michelle Pfieffer on the first episode are flying around the Southland.
Frank Oz, the man behind the voices of Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle and a host of others, joined his friends in the warm discussion.
"I'm doing occasional appearances with the (show)," said Oz, who is currently working on a few film projects of his own. That doesn't mean, naturally, that he will not help his Muppet friends in their new endeavors. "I'm kind of putting my two-cents worth in."
For all die-hard "Star Wars" fans out there, be it known here first that Frank Oz, who provided the voice and character puppetry of Yoda, has not been asked (as of yet) to resume the Jedi Master's role in the new trilogy. "I've been asked that many times," he said, "but George (Lucas) has yet to ask me to be involved. I hope he doesn't-I'm too busy." If he's asked, though, we can be sure that Oz (and Yoda) will return.
Henson and friends aren't sure what the future will bring, although a Muppet horror/monster movie may be a possibility. In the meantime, Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the crew will no doubt enjoy success with their new film. And Henson plans to keep on directing. "I like these films, and I like special effects. The whole world of creating magic and the illusion of filmmaking."