Breaking Down the "Being Green" Trailer

In brightest day, in darkest night... no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who laugh at my lack of height... beware my banjo--Green Froggy's Light!

Don't you just love years like 2011 when you know there's a brand new Muppet movie, The Muppets, coming to theaters in about five months? I certainly do. Mostly because it means we get so much awesome Muppety goodness in such short spans. It was less than a month ago that we first saw the trailer for Green With Envy, and then less than a week after that when we saw the trailer for The Fuzzy Pack, and then, yesterday, we saw the trailer for Being Green, the third, and presumably final parody trailer for The Muppets. If you haven't seen it yet... first, welcome out from your rock, second, watch it right now (the second applies even if you have seen it):



Amazing, no? It's very much my favorite of the three teaser trailers we've seen. So many different characters getting spotlighted here (Piggy, Statler and Waldorf, Swedish Chef) and many different scenes we haven't seen yet. It's... awesome. Anyway... you may also remember when we went crazy and analyzed nearly every frame of the Green With Envy trailer. Well... lucky for you, I forgot to take my medicine today and I'll be breaking down the newest trailer nearly frame for frame as well. So... sit tight, hold tighter, and here we go.

0:21 - Kermit, tuxedo, stage curtains? My gosh, is it good to see that image again. I love it and I'm so excited to see Kermit take the stage and welcome us all to the show once again. It's where he belongs and he looks so very good.

0:24 -  Piggy telling Kermit, "We need you!" is obviously Disney trying to play up the whole faux-superhero trailer angle... but goodness I hope that it's actually in the movie (which it very much looks like it is). The emotion in her voice can already be heard as she and the Muppets beg their beloved leader to help them once again. If the story is Kermit reuniting the Muppets... I would be thrilled with the Muppets needing to bring Kermit back for them. Brilliant! Plus... Piggy looks great. (In this picture... Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo [in a ninja outfit?], Swedish Chef, Scooter, Animal, Lew Zealand [barely], and Walter.)

0:28 - I don't really know what's going on here... but I love it. I laughed so hard when I first saw this. I have to wonder if this is some sort of flashback moment in the film... because I doubt Piggy would be caught dead wearing those clothes and that hair nowadays. Her outfit is very reminiscent of The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan so I would guess it's a flashback from around that time. Oh, and squirmy Kermit is awesome.

0:29 - WOW. This is an awesome shot. Tex Richman's face as he stares at Kermit is so intense... Kermit's face as he stares right back and stands his ground is perfect. Tex has a scar or cut on his face from something and his hair seems disheveled. Got a little too close to Crazy Harry, did we? I love the big counter in the background. It seems that the Muppets are just a dollar away from their $10 million goal. And Tex is obviously not very happy about it! This shot reminds me so much of the Doc Hopper/Kermit face off scene in The Muppet Movie... and that's possibly my favorite scene of any Muppet movie.

0:31 - It's time for everybody's favorite game... Spot the Muppets! Here we have Kermit the Frog, Crazy Harry, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Scooter, Miss Piggy, Sam Eagle, Wayne, Link Hogthrob, Fozzie Bear, and some purple fellow behind Fozzie that I can't make out. This is the first time that Wayne has been seen since The Muppet Show... and we already knew Link was in the movie, but it looks here that he may have a somewhat decent-sized role? Incredible. Also... I wonder where they're standing. It looks like the inside of an old movie theater.

Picture courtesy of Muppet Wiki

0:32 -  Tex Richman is a pretty evil looking villain. I don't know exactly where he is in this scene, but based on the pictures in the background (including one of Jim Henson and Kermit discovered by a keen-eyed Muppet fan), it seems to be the Muppet Theater. I would guess the other pictures are Muppets with guest stars? But who knows.

0:34 - Oh. My. Gosh. Who on earth would have ever thought that we would be seeing Uncle Deadly and Bobo the Bear in the same shot? EVER. Wow, wow. This is awesome. Uncle Deadly looks so great, and Bobo has a suit on... but then there's Statler and Waldorf. Finally taking action against the Muppets instead of just heckling them? Awesome. I love it... they make perfect villain foils and I hope they have a fun role.

0:36 - Well would you look at THAT... the contract Tex and his henchmen are looking at very clearly (in this shot, not so clearly in the previous) says The Standard Rich and Famous Contract. As in... The Standard Rich and Famous contract signed by Kermit the Frog and Company thanks to Lew Lorde at the end of The Muppet Movie. WHAT! Amazing reference, perfect set up, and boy oh boy is that a cool prop! Also... Statler totally breaks the fourth wall with his important plot point comment. I love it when that happens.

0:38 - Bunsen!! Beaker!! Random robot Muppet! What a cool location! Based on some research, the CERN label on the monitor on the right hand side leads me to believe that Kermit and the gang find Bunsen and Beaker working at CERN - the European Organization for Nuclear Research. You know, the people with the Large Hadron Collider that could maybe possibly open a worm hole and destroy the Earth. I, for one, adore the idea of Bunsen Honeydew having something to do with that.

0:39 - Not much to say about this shot we've already seen... but I managed to snag a glimpse of Gonzo's suit before he ripped it open. Nice duds, but...

0:39 - ...I definitely prefer this!

0:41 - This is just... so awesome, and so perfect. I love seeing Kermit back home in the "O". Note, however, that the letter to the right of the O is not a W, as in, Show, as in The Muppet Show, but an N, as in Telethon, as in The Muppet Telethon. So... yeah. Note that. But mostly just be thrilled with happy Kermit arm waving.

0:45 - While Jason Segel is complaining about it being another Muppet trailer parody and just wanting to see the real trailer already (I knew I liked that guy), we catch a close up of Fozzie for the first time. This is a new puppet and he seems to have a more compressed head and is a lot fuzzier. Don't you just wanna squeeze him?! And check out that rat's mini-Starbucks cup. Product placement hasn't been this good since Des Filmer's Dancing Breakfast Foods! (If you get that reference, I applaud your Muppet fandom.)

0:50 - Ah, Chef... you never cease to amuse! I don't know why the Chef has a flamethrower going on that poor defenseless fridge... but it cracked me up, so I don't really care. Note Beauregard's hat that you can see sweeping up the background. Maybe this is part of some Muppet Theater clean up montage? Anyway... the Chef mumbles through, "Say hello to my little friend!" in Mock Swedish if you couldn't tell. I know I couldn't upon first couple viewings.

For all these images and more, "Being Green" is my favorite of the three Muppet teaser trailers. It just shows us so much about the actual movie, gives us actual dialogue, and lets us see Piggy, Statler and Waldorf, and Swedish Chef steal the screen. Awesome.

Also worth noting is that a few sites around the web (Jim Hill Media, E! Online) have claimed that an official, non-parody, non-teaser trailer for The Muppets is set to debut online this Monday, June 20th. Some sites even provided information from Kermit himself with this little blurb below:

Hi ho! Kermit the Frog here! I sure hope you enjoy this “Being Green” trailer…and our other parody trailers—“Green With Envy” “Fuzzy Pack”. Now, after much ado—and Miss Piggy’s insistence that she get final cut—we’re finally ready for the world premiere of the official trailer for our upcoming movie, “The Muppets”. You can watch it everywhere on Monday June 20th at 8am Pacific Time. Be sure not to miss it!
– Amphibiously yours, Kermit The Frog

That's very specific and very, very exciting if true. I know what I'll be doing come that time Monday morning--no matter what! But, in the mean time... let's enjoy "Being Green" before another trailer takes over yet again, shall we?

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com