Make way (again!) for The Muppets

MANILA, Philippines - He’s green. He has crazy friends, flippers, a penchant for pigs…and one of the most recognizable singing voices. And he’s coming to neighborhoods everywhere in 2012.

Kermit the Frog is back on the big screen, and this time, he’s teaming up with Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and newcomer Walter, plus the whole Muppet gang, for a brand-new, big-screen adventure in Disney’s The Muppets.

“It’s funny, upbeat and full of laughs for everyone…frogs, pigs, bears…even people,” says Kermit. “For new fans, it’s a chance to see the Muppets in action on the big screen. And for old fans, it’s a chance to get together with old friends…and get a little crazy together.”

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (Segel) and Gary’s girlfriend, Mary (Adams), from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Cooper) to raze Muppet Studios and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10M needed to save the studio, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

Disney’s The Muppets is directed by James Bobin and produced by the Academy Award-nominated team David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, with a screenplay written by Segel and Nicholas Stoller. Bret McKenzie, who created, co-wrote, executive-produced and starred in the hit HBO TV series Flight of the Conchords, is the music supervisor as well as the writer/producer of three original songs.

Honoring the Muppet tradition, celebrity cameos include Donald Glover, Leslie Feist, Alan Arkin, Kristen Schaal, Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo, Ken Jeong, James Carville, Rico Rodriguez and Judd Hirsch. “There are more cameos, but I can’t talk about them,” says Kermit. “One of the ways the Muppets get big stars to be in our movies is by promising not to tell anyone about it — besides, it’s more fun when you’re watching the movie and are surprised by who shows up.”

Opening soon in theaters, The Muppets is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.