The Muppets may not be singing on the Oscar show, but they will be in the house.
And Brad and Angelina will now have some stiff red-carpet competition in the form of a frog and a pig.
Although the Oscar producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have decided not to include onstage performances of the two nominated songs, including "Man or Muppet," they have booked the Muppets to be presenters on the show, ABC and the Academy announced on Friday.
But the new Muppet Walter, who sings the Bret McKenzie song "Man or Muppet" with Jason Segel, was snubbed again: According to the press release, the Muppets power couple of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy will be handling the Oscar presenting chores.
This marks the first announcement of Oscar-show presenters to be made first by ABC rather than by the Academy. The release itself is a joint release, also a first.
ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Company, which released "The Muppets."
The decision to omit the nominated songs from the Oscar show had led to an online petition to let the Muppets participate. As of Friday, the petition had received more than 62,000 signatures.
