Where is Steve Whitmire Petition

[Drtooth]

But but..."You can never leave the magic"
Btw, were you able to go to Muppetfest? Im hoping next year we see Disney put on something similar


I hate to say it, but this is how I see this "new" Kermit
(2002 Mcdonalds "Kermit" commercial)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owpCZIMcLEY&feature=player_embedded

Not only that, but he reminds me of this...

That's the total sore point here... here we are, on the cusp of the greatest time for a Muppet fan since Palisades made the action figures... after the 5 year long trudge after a certain stunt-casted TV movie. And we can't even enjoy it because we don't know what the heck is going on.

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but to make a long story short- Whitmire has already been fired from Sesame Street and is on the verge of being fired from muppets for being a diva, asking for too much money for every Kermit appearence he does and the just simply NOT SHOWING UP. Disney is over him and will probably have Artie take over.

So he hasn't been abducted by space alien Elvis impersonators in a grand conspiracy involving Bigfoot and the Illuminati? Really. That's IMPOSSIBLE to believe. Unless you have a shred of proof, then you're rumor is just that. And even if he was fired, I don't see why no one has been able to make an actual, reliable statement.

 

[MelissaY1]

Melissa, I agree completely that publicity is the key to bringing the Muppets back to the bigtime.

My point is that an appearance that lasts "a lousy few minutes" only has promotional value if the appearance itself isn't lousy.

Whatever the Muppets do, however brief it may be, it has to be good enough to make people want more. And that means bringing their A game every time.

Kynan, I understand what you're saying, but with all due respect you were missing my point. We think it's lousy because we all know our Muppet stuff and are hardcore fans and are very nitpicky about what we are seeing done, most people/families sitting around the television watching America's Got Talent or the teenagers watching the VMA's I'm sure didn't think twice that it was a substitute Kermit or cared. And if the general public isn't going to bat an eye cause Kermit looks a little stiff or sounds a little different, then they're going to keep putting him out there.

 

[MelissaY1]

But but..."You can never leave the magic"
Btw, were you able to go to Muppetfest? Im hoping next year we see Disney put on something similar


I hate to say it, but this is how I see this "new" Kermit
(2002 Mcdonalds "Kermit" commercial)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owpCZIMcLEY&feature=player_embedded



I felt that til the late 1990's, when it occured to me that Whitmire's Kermit was the natural evolution of the character...not one micron of myself sees Kermit under Whitmire as an imitation. The crunchy face, the mannerisms, the chemistry, the unspoken hidden nuances...100% pure Kermit IMHO. I just hope all these rumors of Whitmire stepping away are not true

Unfortunately I didn't get to go to Muppetfest that year. The distance, costs and personal fears of flying at the time all were factors in deciding not to go, but I hear it was an incredible time.

 

[Blinky_Fish]

Unfortunately I didn't get to go to Muppetfest that year. The distance, costs and personal fears of flying at the time all were factors in deciding not to go, but I hear it was an incredible time.

Coming down here for the M&G At Mitchner Museum in October?


http://michenermuseum.tix.com/Schedule.asp?OrganizationNumber=2632

 

[MelissaY1]

Coming down here for the M&G At Mitchner Museum in October?


http://michenermuseum.tix.com/Schedule.asp?OrganizationNumber=2632

Gosh I don't know. Thanks for the link. Unfortunately I don't think so because I already am going away in October and it's a busy month in general for me right now.

 

[Kynan Barker]

Kynan, I understand what you're saying, but with all due respect you were missing my point. We think it's lousy because we all know our Muppet stuff and are hardcore fans and are very nitpicky about what we are seeing done, most people/families sitting around the television watching America's Got Talent or the teenagers watching the VMA's I'm sure didn't think twice that it was a substitute Kermit or cared.

I didn't mean to misread you. But I do think that many casual fans noticed something was amiss, and there's plenty of other hotspots around the interwebs where less hardcore versions of this argument are playing out.

And I'd also argue that if a performance is bad enough that devoted Muppet fans think it's lousy, then Disney is taking the characters down a very dangerous road. There might be 50 or 100 people in the world with the requisite fan knowledge to follow the intricacies of this particular debate. But you don't need to know Steve Whitmire's name, history and birthday to appreciate on some deep visceral level when the Frog isn't delivering the Muppet magic. In other words: Roger Ebert may be uniquely able to articulate why a Rob Schneider movie is bad, but the rest of us can still tell a stinker when we smell it.

 

[beaker]

There's this weird sort of mannerism that Kermit has...you see it in his weird spastic flailing impromptu dances, like on say muppets.com or elsewhere. Just so many nuanced quirks and things about Kermit way beyond the "voice"; all of which seems gone outside of Steve's Kermit.

Im wondering what the overall sentiments of the fan community
would be if a situation transpires where Whitmire is off the roster. A massive blow no doubt, but then we're faced with a massive Muppet return that we've dreamed about for two decades...yet, having to sit on the sidelines under the shadow of a Whitmire less crew. A definite taint on the parade perhaps.

 

[MelissaY1]

I didn't mean to misread you. But I do think that many casual fans noticed something was amiss, and there's plenty of other hotspots around the interwebs where less hardcore versions of this argument are playing out.

And I'd also argue that if a performance is bad enough that devoted Muppet fans think it's lousy, then Disney is taking the characters down a very dangerous road. There might be 50 or 100 people in the world with the requisite fan knowledge to follow the intricacies of this particular debate. But you don't need to know Steve Whitmire's name, history and birthday to appreciate on some deep visceral level when the Frog isn't delivering the Muppet magic. In other words: Roger Ebert may be uniquely able to articulate why a Rob Schneider movie is bad, but the rest of us can still tell a stinker when we smell it.

Good point. Well, if this is the direction Disney is going with the characters, I'm personally not surprised. I have been very less than impressed with Disney's films, products and marketing since the mid 90's. Although I just saw a commercial for that new Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog which kind of got me excited

But I also feel that Disney doesn't really care about that kind of magic anymore which I think is severely lacking in recent Muppet projects as well as Disney's own recent stuff. So while maybe people will notice a different Kermit, I will be very surprised if Disney actually cares to work on that and improve things. I again stick by my opinion that they are going to push Kermit out there into these appearances without really giving a hoot in the long run. I hope I am proved wrong but I don't feel very positive about that right now.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Im wondering what the overall sentiments of the fan community

Well the appearances were posted on youtube and some comments were negative, others were positive.

::shrugs:: Like I say, as far as I've always been concerned, it hasn't been the Muppets for many years.

On a separate note, not to give into gossip though, but if that rumor mentiond earlier is true, it's definitely a shame.

 

[zns]

I don't think this is going to be a permanent thing that Disney will go through with. In the interview that Steve gave on Toughpigs.com, he stated that Disney realizes how important it is to keep the Muppets individual rather than just handing them off to different people on a continuing basis. The idea for recasting was just an idea they had in order to try to figure out how to revive those characters. Steve is very conservative about the way the Muppets are portrayed these days and I personally feel that he as well as everyone else will make sure that everything is handled correctly in order to keep Jim's legacy alive and vital.

As far as I am concerned about the recent tv and D23 appearances that have occured in the last few weeks, Steve may have been unavailable to do Kermit for that stuff. He has his own life, and he certainly doesn't base it entirely on the Muppets. I myself, being the Henson enthusiest that I am, focus on other things in life, including other hobbies and interests, my family, and my friends.

But wherever Steve is right now, I have no doubt that he will come back and bring the frog back on his feet (or flippers in this case). And knowing that he is as big a Muppet fan as everyone else here on the forum, I am sure he may be reading this discussion right now as we speak. So if you are out there Steve Whitmire, we hope that you are doing well and that Kermit will continue to carry on in your hands for as long as possible. God bless you and everyone else who keep the magic of Jim Henson alive.

Zachary Snyder (zns)