Oscars 2012: Bret McKenzie's ‘Man or Muppet’ wins Best Original Song

In a turn that surprised no one, Bret McKenzie’s ‘Man or Muppet” from Disney’s “The Muppets” won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 84th annual Academy Awards held on Feb. 26, 2012.

 “Man or Muppet,” a power ballad, was performed in the movie by Gary Segel (as the character of Gary) and the Muppet Walter. The song featured music and lyrics written by McKenzie (“Flight of the Conchords”), who also served as the music supervisor on “The Muppets.”

"Wow, thank you, Academy," McKenzie said during his acceptance speech. "I grew up in New Zealand watching 'The Muppets' on TV and never dreamed I'd get to work with them. I was genuinely starstruck when I met Kermit the Frog. But when you get to know him, he's just a frog, and like many stars here, he's shorter in real life."

Watch "Man or Muppet" from Disney's "The Muppets" or see an Oscar slideshow with McKenzie, Miss Piggy and Kermit.

Because of the Academy Awards process, only two songs were nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar. The other song was "Real in Rio" from the animated film "Rio," with music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown and lyrics by Siedah Garrett.

In a move that disappointed many Oscar fans, neither of the nominated songs was performed at the Academy Awards – although the power couple Kermit and Miss Piggy did appear at the show in order to introduce the Cirque du Soleil performance.

Kermit did perform at the E! Oscar “Live from the Red Carpet.” He sang a rendition of his “Rainbow Connection” from 1979’s “The Muppet Movie” with “Glee’s” Darren Criss. The song was performed “in celebration” of “The Muppets” Oscar nomination for “Man or Muppet.”

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