'The Muppets' Teaser - It's Not Easy Being Green

Between the "Green with Envy" and "The Fuzzy Pack" teasers, Disney's obviously been having a lot of fun with their marketing of the upcoming The Muppets movie. A just-released trailer continues that trend with an adorable and timely Green Lantern parody. I wasn't expecting to see the Muppets take on Hal Jordan, but in retrospect, all that "green" makes it a totally obvious combination, doesn't it? Check it out after the jump.

The video totally nails the typical structure of a superhero movie trailer– you get the face-off with the villain, the shot of the characters running away looking terrified, even the "love interest" saying "We need you!" In fact, I enjoyed this far more than any of the actual Green Lantern spots I've seen, though my affection for the Muppets is probably a large part of it.

One thing I've really admired about the marketing for the Muppets film is the studio's ability to perfectly walk that line between sincerity and self-awareness. In all of these trailers, it's clear that the cast and crew involved have a genuine affection for the property, but they give themselves license to play around with the inherent silliness of the concept, too. It helps that all of their jokes and pop culture references are actually funny as well. (Feel free to revisit that Smurfs trailer for a horrifying counterexample of what I'm talking about.) I get the feeling that I'm really going to dig this movie when it comes out November 23.

Synopsis:

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, and his friends Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze the Muppet Theater and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets' former stomping grounds. To stage The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever and raise the $10 million needed to save the theater, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate. With secret, signature, celebrity cameos, "The Muppets" hits the big screen Nov. 23, 2011.