It is not now -- nor has it ever been -- easy being green. For evidence, look no further than Kermit the Frog, who trudges through the opening of his new TV movie, ''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'' (airing Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. on NBC), looking every minute of his 47 years. He's frustrated and emotional -- and not just from the pressure of working on an estimated $10 million production with Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Kelly Ripa, and Molly Shannon: His theater is being sold by a ruthless business titan (Joan Cusack). ''Corporate synergy,'' he sighs, lifting a flipper to reveal the NBC Peacock on the sole. ''It's out of control.''
Kermie should know; he's had his share of big-business woes. The venerable (and still profitable) Muppets franchise has languished in a creative lull since the Jim Henson Co. was sold in 2000 to German entertainment megalith EM.TV for a reported $680 million. EM.TV has been looking for a buyer for the Muppet empire for the past year. Now -- whatever its corporate future -- the Henson Co. is staging an all-out comeback campaign. In addition to the NBC telepic (and another in development for a yet-to-be-determined network), Kermit and the gang are featured in a recent MasterCard commercial, NASCAR endorsements, a new line of toys pegged to ''The Muppet Show'''s 25th anniversary, and even the video for Weezer's latest single, ''Keep Fishin'.'' There's also talk of a new ''Muppet Show,'' developed by Jennifer and Suzanne Todd (producers of the ''Austin Powers'' movies) and slated for a possible fall slot on Fox. Says Charles Rivkin, president and CEO of Henson, ''We've had more activity with the Muppet franchise in the last six months than we've probably had in the last five years.''
