Muppets Lost Promos

[frogboy4]

I loves me some Steve!

Not sure how much of an old-school Muppet fan you are, but there was a video that the three of them did, where Jim and Frank brought out their main characters and talked about how they perform them, where the voices come from, what the personality is of each, and so forth. It's an interesting interview. In it, Jim talks about how, when he performs Kermit, he keeps him just slightly angled forward, because if he kept Kermit at an upright, straight angle, he'd look like a duck. The expression on his face was halfway to his expression when he's mad and scrunches his face up. He says, "You wanna arch him towards the camera a little, otherwise you have Kermit the Duck."

If you want proof Steve does this, check out the May 14, 2010 issue of Entertainment Weekly on page 14. Steve does the duck face. I started really noticing it when they did those god-awful Pizza Hut commercials with Jessica Simpson... it's not just how Steve performs him, it's how he operates him as well.

I've been a Muppet fan since before seeing TMM in the theater at the age of 5 and can safely claim uber-fandom for close to all of my 36 years on the planet. I know what clip you're talking about, but I am also aware of your well-noted distain for Steve's Kermit. I’ve seen even Jim slip into some un-kermit-like facial ticks and lack-luster performances here and there through the years. It happens to the best puppeteers, but Steve doesn’t do the duck face at all as claimed in that Lost bumper. Yes, Steve’s Kermit is a little different because the character comes from a different place in him. I’m sure he’s aware of all of the performance nuances and over the course of 20 solid years has crafted this particular persona. His years in the trenches have earned him the privilege of performing the frog the way he and the Muppet team sees fit. It's confirmed that Steve is Kermit now and will be for quite a while in the future. It’s no secret how you feel, but belaboring the opinion won’t accomplish anything except darkening the mood around here. There's a choice to make of either complaining about it ad nauseum or moving on to focus on the things you like about Kermit and the Muppets.

 

[theprawncracker]

It’s no secret how you feel, but belaboring the opinion won’t accomplish anything except darkening the mood around here. There's a choice to make of either complaining about it ad nauseum or moving on to focus on the things you like about Kermit and the Muppets.

Exactly. Especially in this HUGELY exciting time in the Muppet world where everything is going right for the gang, we really don't need such persistent naysayers harking on the leading frog who, quite frankly, has been fantastic recently. We all understand your opinion by now, Frogster, but at this point you're preaching to empty pews. Everyone else has accepted Steve as Kermit since he has continually performed the frog wonderfully for 20 years. All your complaining is doing is, like Jamie said, bringing a small cloud over the bright, sunny future the Muppets are making for themselves. I think it's time to move on.

 

[RedPiggy]

I'll just say that Kermit's reaction is how I felt watching the ending, though I wanted to strangle something too.

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP! THEY KILLED KERMIT! AND THEN MADE A HORRIBLE LITTLE JOKE ABOUT IT!

I told them no good could come of this show, but they didn't listen! And look what happened!

 

[Super Scooter]

Look closely. Steve DOES have Kermit at Jim's angle throughout most of the video. Obviously when Kermit has to look up at the writers, his look's going to change a little. If there is any issue here, it's the camera angle. But, honestly, I think he looks fine... in fact, he looks pretty darn good here to me!

Love the reaction at the end! Definitely something Jim would have done. For you "old school Muppet fans," you'll recognize that Jim loved this sort of thing, scrunching up his characters in weird ways all the time. It was perfect.

Great work as always, Steve!

 

[Drtooth]

I've been a Muppet fan since before seeing TMM in the theater at the age of 5 and can safely claim uber-fandom for close to all of my 36 years on the planet. I know what clip you're talking about, but I am also aware of your well-noted distain for Steve's Kermit. I’ve seen even Jim slip into some un-kermit-like facial ticks and lack-luster performances here and there through the years. It happens to the best puppeteers, but Steve doesn’t do the duck face at all as claimed in that Lost bumper. Yes, Steve’s Kermit is a little different because the character comes from a different place in him. I’m sure he’s aware of all of the performance nuances and over the course of 20 solid years has crafted this particular persona. His years in the trenches have earned him the privilege of performing the frog the way he and the Muppet team sees fit. It's confirmed that Steve is Kermit now and will be for quite a while in the future. It’s no secret how you feel, but belaboring the opinion won’t accomplish anything except darkening the mood around here. There's a choice to make of either complaining about it ad nauseum or moving on to focus on the things you like about Kermit and the Muppets.

That's the thing that always bugs me. People complain that they don't see X anymore and then when they bring them back, "Oh... that's what it's gonna be like, now?" Then complain about new characters filling gaps left by characters that can't be recast. I keep recalling what Dave Goelz said that one time... Steve wouldn't even take Kermit out of the box for a while. And Ernie was silent 3 years on SS. Steve's characters were always pretty frantic... Rizzo and Wembley to be sure. And a character comes deep down from within the performer, so taking someone else's character over isn't easy. That's why certain characters bounced from performer to performer. Heck, season 1 Muppet Show no one knew who would take on the role of Piggy completely. I know what Frogster's talking about, but I really don't see anything but Kermit anymore.

I'll just say that Kermit's reaction is how I felt watching the ending, though I wanted to strangle something too.

heh... someone who watches the show. I heard about the ending second hand... but really... I'm GLAD I never got into it. That was just a huge Smoo to the audience that made the show what it was for 6 years or so. Still, at least that show got to actually finish it's cockamamie ending. A lot of these big, ambitious shows get creamed before their time, before they can finish telling their story.... like Pushing Daisies.

 

[Mupp]

Exactly. Especially in this HUGELY exciting time in the Muppet world where everything is going right for the gang, we really don't need such persistent naysayers harking on the leading frog who, quite frankly, has been fantastic recently. We all understand your opinion by now, Frogster, but at this point you're preaching to empty pews. Everyone else has accepted Steve as Kermit since he has continually performed the frog wonderfully for 20 years. All your complaining is doing is, like Jamie said, bringing a small cloud over the bright, sunny future the Muppets are making for themselves. I think it's time to move on.

I have to agree.

 

[dwayne1115]

I think if you listen to Steve's interview on the MuppetCast, and hear the pure passion, and thought that he has put into Kermit, and all the Muppets that it will change how you look at Steve, and Kermit.

I have read a lot of interviews about what the Muppets, JHC, and Sesame should have done since Jim's passing. The thing that strikes me the most is that within all the companys they have tried to stray away from that as much as posable. because they would sure make misstake after mistake.

 

[Frogster]

I think the reason some people absolutely LOVE the Muppets today is because, whether they realize it or not, they're happy to just have ANY Muppets. There have been a few things over the past 20 years that I've really enjoyed, but ever since I've been on this site, seems like every month someone says, "We're in the heyday of Muppets." Yes, sometimes there's a resurgence of stuff that comes out but the heydays have long since passed. We're down to internet videos and half-reared kiddie specials where the cameos are by D-List celebrities. Want proof? Muppets From Space had Kathy Griffin, and I'm sure most of us know the name of the show she's on. That was in 1999, and they haven't really been big enough for the longest time to get good stars. Wanna get some real stars? Think Gerard Butler, Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston... people like that. I'm not saying Steve and Eric need to be just like Jim and Frank, but if they could at least inhibit half of their character personalities- instead of just playing exaggerated versions of Kermit and Piggy (Kermit's "I'm just an everyday frog" and Piggy's constant anger)- then yeah I'd probably be okay with them. You guys have said so yourself, they've given their characters something new. Well if it isn't broke don't fix it. Now, this isn't to say they're terrible all the time. I like Steve's Beaker and Statler, and I like Bill Baretta's Rowlf (he needs to work a bit on Dr. Teeth). And ya know, even Brian Henson did a great job with Scooter in VMMCM. These people aren't failures at trying to re-vamp the Muppets, they just need to get more into the actual personalities. But it's been 20 years... in the words of Gonzo, "Why start now?"

 

[Super Scooter]

"Down to internet videos?" Like it or not, YouTube is more popular than any television station, I'd bet. And at 14 million views, the Muppets are back to The Muppet Show style audience!

No one's said anything about the Muppets being in their "heyday." We know when that was. However, the Muppet revolution is upon us. The Muppet resurgance has begun, and people are taking to it.