The Muppets are back, and I couldn't be happier. I've been a long time fan of the show, and still watch it on a regular basis with my kids. The Muppet Christmas Carol is an annual favorite in our home, and one of my favorite Muppet movies was the last one, Muppets from Space. I've missed Kermit and the gang in the ensuing years, so when I heard they were coming back, I got excited. When I found out I'd have a chance to actually talk with Kermit himself... well, I think I peed a little in my excitement. And so it was earlier this morning I had a chance to talk with one of my all-time favorite celebrities:

Yo - Well hello Kermit.

Kermit - Hi-ho, Yo. How are you my friend?

Yo - I'm doing really well. It's such a special treat to get to talk with you, so thank you for your time today.

Kermit - Oh, no worries. I'm happy to talk with you, really happy to do that.

Yo - Well, let's dive right in since we don't have much time. So after a long break after Muppets from Space, what made you decide to get the gang back together and do a movie now?

Kermit - Well, you know, it has been a long time since we have done a big film. We've done lots of other smaller projects over the years, like television specials and stuff for the Internet, which was great fun. But you know, there's nothing like being on the big screen. I love being thirty feet wide. Miss Piggy tries to slim down a bit, but she's about forty feet wide. But I love it, and the best part is we had Jason Segel come along, who's become a great friend, and he had a nice idea for a script written really from a fan's point of view of the Muppets, and Jason's a huge fan. So it was great to get to work with him.

Yo - Now I know a lot of movies today use a lot of green screen effects, but I'm thinking that would be kind of challenging for you, so how do you work around the whole green screen thing if you have to do any special effects shots?

Kermit - That is a very good point, my friend. I do have to be careful with that. I actually, a lot of people don't know this, but years ago I worked on green screen as a ping-pong ball model. All that showed up was my eyeballs, so it worked out very well. But mostly I do the blue screen, myself; it seems to work better in my case. I can never do the weather on a local TV show. You know, I just disappear. It's what I like to say: when working on green screen, it's not easy being green.

Yo - (laughing) Well that's true. So with this new take on the Muppets and the new movie coming out, I was wondering: how do you think Jim Henson would feel about this new start for the Muppets?

Kermit - Well, you know I remember Jim well. He was such a huge part of everything I ever did, although frankly I'm not sure what it was he was doing. He was always there and he was a person I really enjoyed having around. And it is a new start for us in a way; this film sort of allows us to get a bigger audience, and part of the idea is that we would appeal to kids again who haven't seen us. But I tell ya, I keep finding more and more that most of those young kids already know who we are. I think their parents have introduced us even when we haven't been on a regular TV show. So in terms of what Jim would think, it's always hard to second-guess what someone else would think, but I believe he would still be very supportive of everything we do. And that's what he was looking for, for the Muppets to go on and on and on, so I think it would be great.

Yo - You know, I still watch The Muppet Show with my kids on DVD and they love watching it. What do you think the odds are of this movie giving you a chance to once again get on TV and do like a Muppet American Idol or something like that where you have a regular TV show?

Kermit - Well, you know, it's interesting. Obviously it would be great to do another series. I've had so many fans. You know, we've been traveling all over the world doing PR for our film, and so many fans come up to me and ask when we're going to bring back The Muppet Show, the original Muppet Show, you know in our little Muppet Theater with our red curtain and all that stuff. I actually think that might be a fun thing to do. But, you know, it all depends on hopefully the film doing well, and if the film does well, maybe we'll do more films and maybe a series as well; that would be terrific.

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