Hanging Out with The Muppets

Tonight I hung out with a couple of international superstars – Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog.

As part of the rollout for the official Muppets’ Google+ page, Piggy, Kermit, The Muppets co-star/co-writer Jason Segal, director James Bobin, co-writer Nicholas Stoller, and the newest Muppet, Walter, all participated in a Google Hang Out. The conversation only lasted about 20 minutes, but it was still a pretty fun opportunity to learn a little more about the people behind the upcoming film.

For example, we got to hear about everyone’s favorite sketches from Muppet history. Bobin’s was Hugga Wugga…

Segal liked this scene from The Great Muppet Caper about Kermit and Fozzie being identical twins…

and Stoller liked the musical number, The Happiness Hotel, also from The Great Muppet Caper.

When Piggy asked who their favorite Muppet was – the snub-nosed diva politely removed herself from competition since she asked the question – Segal and Walter said Kermit, Stoller said Beaker, and Bobin mentioned the famous Marvin Suggs and his Muppaphone, a hilarious, surreal bit from The Muppet Show.

Probably the coolest bit of the night, though, was the story Segal told of his favorite day on-set. It was the big finale, which required them to block off Hollywood Boulevard for a giant musical number that featured an army of human and Muppet performers. If that isn’t cool enough, it was Segal’s birthday, and the entire cast of hundreds sang Happy Birthday to him. For a guy who got into puppeteering because of Jim Henson and the Muppets, that had to be one of the best moments of his life.

Although it was a fun way to connect to the film, it wasn’t perfect. As I said, the Hang Out only lasted for about 20 minutes, which seemed a little short. And, sadly, there was never an opportunity for everyday people to interact with the guests. Apparently the 11 lucky people who actually got to do the Hang Out with them on G+ were able to chat very briefly, but the vast majority of us watched the six stars interact in a Google Hang Out that was displayed live on YouTube. It would have been really great to have the panel take questions from the audience, but when you think about the thousands of people who would have wanted to talk to Kermit, Piggy, and Walter (let alone the human guests), the thought of having to moderate questions is daunting to say the least. I’m sure every internet troll out there would have thought it was the funniest thing ever to ask about the mechanics of pig-on-frog relations, and that just wouldn’t be appropriate for a Hang Out full of kids.

Even if it wasn’t perfect, I love the fact that people are starting to come up with interesting and exciting ways to use Google+ Hang Outs. And if they can continue to get the support of famous names like Kermit and Miss Piggy, I think this Google+ thing just might take off.

The Muppets hits theatres on November 23.  Check back with Top Hat Sasquatch for a review!