A Minute With: Kermit and Miss Piggy bicker about lines and love

By Eric Kelsey BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - The Muppets' Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, the object of her affection since 1976, return to the big screen in "Muppets Most Wanted," a caper film that takes the puppet gang on a European tour while a case of mistaken identity lands Kermit in a Russian gulag. A sequel to 2011's "The Muppets," the Disney film introduces a new character: Kermit's evil Russian doppelganger, Constantine, who stars alongside actors Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and Ty Burrell. Miss Piggy, wearing a floral print dress with pearls, and Kermit, in his natural green, sat down with Reuters to talk about love and how many lines Miss Piggy needs in the script. Q: How have you two kept it going together for so long? Miss Piggy: Well, how do we keep it going for so long? I have no idea. Kermit: You know, I don't have a good answer, because all I know is that it's going. Miss Piggy: I'm not even sure it is. Kermit: Well, maybe it's not going. Maybe it's stopped. Miss Piggy: Where is it going? Kermit: Maybe it has just stopped. Maybe it is not going anywhere. But maybe ... Miss Piggy: It might've just ended. Kermit: We might be sitting here just two former shells -- shells of our former selves -- and not going anywhere. Miss Piggy: You know, I'm not even sure why I've been pursuing this frog for so long. Kermit: Why, you talk about it like I'm not even in the room! Miss Piggy: Well, you know, if we're not a thing anymore, it doesn't matter, does it? I don't understand it, because he's just never shown me the proper respect. He's never really listened to ... Kermit: What do you mean by that? Miss Piggy: ... my goals and aspirations in life. I want to get married. I want to have children. Kermit: Oh, boy. Miss Piggy: He doesn't seem to hear that. Kermit: Biological improbability there ... Miss Piggy: You started off this interview really great. Q: Miss Piggy, what was your first reaction when you were given the script for "Muppets Most Wanted"? Miss Piggy: Not enough lines. ... That's what I do when I get a script. The first thing I do is I always count my lines, and it didn't measure up. But we eventually fixed that, and now the movie is great! Kermit: So let me get this straight ... You are happy with the number of lines you ended up with? Because I'd like to write that number down if you don't mind... Q: Kermit, how were you able to evoke fear and terror like you did while in a Russian prison? Kermit: Well, listen, people think that frogs are wimpy little creatures. That you can just step on, you know? But we frogs have a vicious side, you know? Miss Piggy: Oh, vicious, I'm scared (sarcastically) Kermit: No, no. We rage. We're raging ... raging, raging bullfrogs! That's what we are! We're raging bullfrogs! It's possible -- not likely -- but it's possible. (clears throat) Miss Piggy: Dream on. Q: How did you get ready for the climax, Miss Piggy? Miss Piggy: I know, I know. We don't want to give too much away. Needless to say, I wear a certain gown that is a certain white color and I wear it walking down a certain aisle. Kermit: Oddly, I don't consider that to be the climax of the movie. Now, it's just a scene in the movie. Climax is totally different. Miss Piggy: It's the climax. Kermit: For you. Well, for you maybe. I have a whole scene where I was a raging frog. Miss Piggy: Oh yeah, raging, right, I forgot about that. You were a raging bullfrog, aren't you? Kermit: I tried raging bullfrog. Miss Piggy: No, everybody is following my storyline, dear, OK? They don't really care about the B-storyline. They care about the A-line, which is mine, OK? Miss Piggy: I'm sorry what was the question? (Editing by Mary Milliken and Amanda Kwan)