Steve Whitmire has left the Muppets, Matt Vogel to continue as Kermit

[D'Snowth]

Matt's voice for the Count honestly doesn't bother me, and in fact, none of the voices he does for Jerry's characters bother me; I agree with JD, the voice may not be the same, but the passion is still there. But like I said, replacement puppeteers are never going to sound exactly like their predessessors, mainly because everybody has their own unique voice, and we have to remember that while the characters may live forever, the performers, sadly, don't. And capturing the passion and the personality of the characters is what really counts, because if it's just a straight up impression/imitation of the previous performer, it doesn't work: as I said, I honestly can't imagine what Telly or Snuffy would be like today if Marty stuck to doing imitations of Brian's Telly and Jerry's Snuffy like he did when he took over the characters. As much as I love FTB, it seems rather awkward to hear Telly with a softer and whinier voice and Snuffy with a quieter, slower, and depressed voice, because they lacked the range of emotion Marty brought to them . . . I mean, can you imagine, say pre-90s Snuffy doing an upbeat and catchy number like "Bubble on My Snuffle," or pre-90s Telly flying into fits of spastic panic?

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Dwayne replied to another thread, but I thought it would be better if I shared it here:

Why do I have A feeling that Eric or Peter would make a better Kermit?

To which I respond...

Well, Eric is already two of the most important characters and the ones that interact with Kermit the most (Fozzie and Miss Piggy), so that's out of the question. But, Peter would actually make sense. I mean, he has that sort of funny, creative, mild mannered disposition like Jim had. Plus, he's already taking over Ernie (and doing a pretty good job), and unlike Matt, he only has one main character, one that's not required to make as many appearances as Kermit or Miss Piggy. And Matt's doing a great job with Jerry's characters, it would be a shame if Kermit took time away from them.

What do you guys think?

 

[muppetlover123]

Dwayne replied to another thread, but I thought it would be better if I shared it here:

To which I respond...

Well, Eric is already two of the most important characters and the ones that interact with Kermit the most (Fozzie and Miss Piggy), so that's out of the question. But, Peter would actually make sense. I mean, he has that sort of funny, creative, mild mannered disposition like Jim had. Plus, he's already taking over Ernie (and doing a pretty good job), and unlike Matt, he only has one main character, one that's not required to make as many appearances as Kermit or Miss Piggy. And Matt's doing a great job with Jerry's characters, it would be a shame if Kermit took time away from them.

What do you guys think?

Fully I agree Peter needs a main character

 

[JimAndFrank]

Simply because I like torturing myself, I've written a follow-up to my open letter about why I am still one of Steve's biggest fans.

This is going to be my only way of talking about the debacle now, so clink on the link if you want to know what I have to say.

https://justforthehalibutblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/a-muppet-fans-dilemma-defending-my-hero/

 

[KrazyJoe]

I can't speak for others, but I don't hate MCC. It's just not high on my favorite list. I like it, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't include it in a Muppet Movie Marathon unless I had that Muppet Movie Marathon in December. Truthfully, I don't think the others here hate it, either, it's just that they like other Muppet movies better.

My feeling is this: I love the Muppets. I don't see the Muppets often enough. Yeah, there's YouTube....but new Muppet movies are few and far between. The time I get to spend with Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, etc is fleeting. Once every few years a new movie or TV special will come along. Then there's a draught of a few more years.

Having said this, my least favorite Muppet productions are ones where they are playing roles. I want to see KERMIT, not Bob Cratchet. I want to see KERMIT, not Captain Smollett. I certainly don't 'hate' Muppet Christmas Carol. It's quite good. I watch it almost every Christmas (Almost. I'll skip a year here and there. Very Merry Muppet Christmas and Letters to Santa and Muppet Family Christmas I watch every single year without fail).

I just far prefer Muppet movies and shows where they are themselves and not in a role.

 

[KrazyJoe]

ANother Monday come and gone with no Thought of the Week.

This is getting tiresome, Disney.

 

[ErinAardvark]

I just far prefer Muppet movies and shows where they are themselves and not in a role.

I think I do, too.

 

[ErinAardvark]

To quote JD Hansel on his podcast: Matt's voice for the Count doesn't sound exactly like Jerry's voice for the Count, but it's hard to care about that when A: doing voices that are less character-y and more natural is always extremely difficult and B: he perfectly captures the Count's passion. Other people do impressions that may sound more accurate, but Matt can make you feel the fun, and the chutzpah, and the rapture's gusto in every number and thunder clap.

I'll have to take your word for it on that one, I haven't watched Sesame Street since the early 2000's (I kind of lost interest in the storylines at that point). It's just hard to get used to something new after you've seen the old version so many times. I'm the type that doesn't deal well with change (call me a "nostalgia-tard" if you wish), but I just don't like Matt's Count, plain and simple. I'm *not* saying that Matt's a bad Muppeteer, keep that in mind, folks. I think he does a GREAT Floyd Pepper, and I'm not going to judge his Kermit until I hear it. As I stated in a much earlier post, I hated Steve's Kermit when I first heard it (I was only eight years old, after all), but I got used to it. Since I'm not crazy about the direction Sesame Street is going, I don't watch it, and therefore, I doubt I'll get used to Matt's Count. I guess I'm just what you'd call a patron of the classics. Nothing will ever beat the original, and I'm sure many if you will agree to that. Since I was born in the early 1980's, I was able to hear the original Muppeteers before they passed on, and that's what I'm used to. It's hard to break out of my comfort zone at times. My apologies to anyone I might have offended by stating my opinion.

 

[RowlfFan12]

Simply because I like torturing myself, I've written a follow-up to my open letter about why I am still one of Steve's biggest fans.

This is going to be my only way of talking about the debacle now, so clink on the link if you want to know what I have to say.

https://justforthehalibutblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/a-muppet-fans-dilemma-defending-my-hero/

I love your blog post, and I think you raise very good points. I share the same thoughts as you and wish that some people would think as rationally about this situation as what you've got laid out there.

 

[D'Snowth]

Having said this, my least favorite Muppet productions are ones where they are playing roles. I want to see KERMIT, not Bob Cratchet. I want to see KERMIT, not Captain Smollett.

I just far prefer Muppet movies and shows where they are themselves and not in a role.

Here's the thing though: this is kind of pretty much how Jim wanted to utilize the Muppets. He didn't necessarily think of the characters as characters, but rather, a troupe of actors that just happen to be puppets, so in a way, it kind of makes sense that we have some productions in which the characters are playing roles.