It's Not Easy Being Green... Or Is It? Ma Nama Na!

I'm going to be bold and daring in this statement:  The new "Muppet Movie" might just possibly be the greenest movie ever!

The elements of green are everywhere:

Let's start with the main plot point ~ a ruthless eco-terrorist/ capitalist wants to take over the namesake's property and drill for oil.

Secondary plot point ~ Jealousy, the green-eyed monster, rears its head in matters of love.

Money, a green favorite to many, was flowing this opening weekend.  Case and point:  "The Muppets" was the #2 grossing movie of Thanksgiving Weekend (love it or hate it, Twilight's Breaking Dawn wouldn't dare step aside to give up the #1 spot).  "The Muppets" grossing $29.5 million this opening weekend alone, according to UGO: The Movie Times.



But wait!  There's more!

Environmental steward Yazmin Watkins served on set, making it greener than ever! According to On Earth:  A Survival Guide To the Planet, her jobs were many.  She was the one in charge of:

• reducing the amount of waste produced on set;
• monitoring and eliminating waste in the areas of energy usage, water, and other vital resources;
• hiring green vendors; including organic caterers and composters
• making eco-friendly decisions along the way, whether it's reuasble bottles (plastic-be-gone!) or eliminating eco-unfriendly wardrobe malfunctions.
• All of this (and more) ties in with Walt Disney's Environmental Initiatives and Commitments, which they began in 2009. 

And then, of course, there's Kermit the Frog.

There's no question that Kermit is a fair-minded frog, and an environmentalist at heart.  How can you not be, when you rely on a clean planet as a multi-talented swamp-dweller?  How can there be any question about his eco-fortitude when he's known for singing "The Rainbow Connection?"  The song clearly is a tribute to clean air, optimism, and a view for a better world with it's word's "What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing? And what do we think we might see? Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection... The lovers, the dreamers, and me."

Then of there's his anthem, "It's Not Easy Being Green."  Can anyone deny that perhaps the green/eco-movement started here, with Kermit?

And then too, there the fact that Kermit is a Congress-speaking activist. Check out the video here of his day on Capital Hill in Washington, DC, where he was speaking on behalf of amphibian conservation for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Which all brings about another definition of "green:"  all the newbie children that all us "Muppet Show" fanatics of the 1970s are bringing to the show.  Our own children.  Many of us doing it not only as a family bonding experience, but also as a large yet valid excuse to walk in the theater and fork over our wallet-greens to purchase the tickets!  It is our turn to indoctrinate the youth of America.  Our time to pay tribute and homage to the late Jim Henson.  Our time to cherish the fact that "it's not easy to be green."  Our time to embrace our inner-green.

And yes, our time to perhaps embarrass our children as we openly sing along to the old favorite tunes that percolate throughout the movie.  Or, maybe that was just me...and my own mini me!

Movie Poster image from http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/press_releases/archive/2011/10/24/new-release-quot-the-muppets-original-soundtrack-quot-on-walt-disney-records.aspx and Kermit pic from http://www.theresabook.com/2011/09/a-bit-of-meme-kermit-the-frog/.  Walter pic from http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/press_releases/archive/2011/10/12/new-muppet-character-descriptions.aspx.