February 26, 2012 – The Muppets’ “Man or Muppet” Wins Best Original Song Academy Award
“I grew up in New Zealand watching the Muppets on TV; never dreamed I’d get to work with them.” – Writer Bret McKenzie
On February 26, 2012, the 84th Academy Awards were held at the Hollywood and Highland Center Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The song “Man or Muppet” from the 2011 live-action film The Muppets scored the win for Best Original Song, beating out the other nominee “Real in Rio” from the animated feature Rio. The song is the third Muppet song nominated for an Academy Award, with “Rainbow Connection” and “The First Time It Happens” being the other two; “Man or Muppet” is the first of these songs to win the Academy Award, and is the twelfth Best Original Song for the Disney Studios. The song was written by Bret McKenzie, known as half of the duo The Flying Conchords.