Muppet sound alikes

Pug Lover

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Ever notice how some muppet character voices tend to sound simular.For instance,Miss Piggy sometimes sounds like Grover Monster.That,s of course because Frank Oz regularly operated both characters.Just as Kermit and Ernie both have very simular voices.Both characters were originally opereated by Jim Henson.Fozzie Bear also sounds a lot like Bert.Animal also sounds a lot like Cookie Monster.In fact,there was a scene in the 1988 Muppet Family Christmas special,where Animal witnessed Cookie Monster gobble up a plate of cookies from Janice.Janice says"Who is that funny blue man?",to which Animal replies"He,s my kinda guy.".I also notice how Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy are rarely seen together.I assume that,s because they were both done by Frank Oz.It would be difficult to operate more than one muppet at a time I suppose.
 

jediX

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You'll notice characters performed by the same person interact more often in feature films or specials, mainly because they have more time to edit the voices into it. You'll rarely see Kermit w/ someone like Dr. Teeth in TMS (I'm not sure if they EVER spoke to each other in that) but in The Muppet Movie they go back and forth. Other times it just doesn't make sense for the characters to be together at once, such as Sweetums & Janice or Piggy & Marvin Suggs.

As for voices, with limited numbers of performers they have to recycle voices quite often. Ernie is a lower Kermit...Grover is a less throaty Yoda, etc etc etc. Obscure characters typically have the same voices too. You'll notice the Guy Smiley and Rowlf voices used most often in Jim's reporitoire. Digit in JHH and Baby Kramer from the Seinfeld Babies sketch on MT are also the same voice by Dave Goelz. In the "Garbage" episode of JHH there are talking trash bags: the one performed by Kevin Clash is the same voice as Polly Lobster in Muppet Treasure Island. It just goes on and on.
 

Erine81981

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Listen to Bad Bart and the Dog from "A Picinc Bunny" They have the same voice efect. Why because Jim did both characters.
 

Krazedmuppet

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funny thing is, I pointed this out when I was like 5, I was watching Star Wars for the first time at my grandpa's house, and Yoda came on. I picked out that he sounded just like Grover, before even knowing who Frank Oz is! :big_grin:
 

WiGgY

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It makes sense that characters done by the same person are going to sound alike. Look at all the old Looney Toons cartoons. Mel Blanc (I think) did like every character, and they all sounded a like in some way. So, it makes sense that Kermit will sound like Ernie or Piggy will sound like Marvin. That is why a puppet performer has to be talented enough to give his or her characters different personalities and different voices.

For example, even though Marvin and Piggy sound the same, you can certainly tell them apart. And even though Dr. Teeth and Rowlf have the same voice, they have very different personalities. Bascially, it's no secret that characters sound alike.
 

Thijs

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WiGgY said:
It makes sense that characters done by the same person are going to sound alike. Look at all the old Looney Toons cartoons. Mel Blanc (I think) did like every character, and they all sounded a like in some way. So, it makes sense that Kermit will sound like Ernie or Piggy will sound like Marvin. That is why a puppet performer has to be talented enough to give his or her characters different personalities and different voices.

For example, even though Marvin and Piggy sound the same, you can certainly tell them apart. And even though Dr. Teeth and Rowlf have the same voice, they have very different personalities. Bascially, it's no secret that characters sound alike.
Dr. Teeth and Rowlf have the same voice, but you can easily tell them apart, because they talk different. Dr. Teeth has a monotone way of talking.
 

Drtooth

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Don't forget Elmo and Baby Sinclaire from Dinosaurs....
 

Super Scooter

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Drtooth said:
Don't forget Elmo and Baby Sinclaire from Dinosaurs....
Yes, except they both talk alike.

Hehehehehehe! Elmo love you!

Hehehehehehe! Not the momma!

Incomplete sentences, the laugh... it's all good.
 

rexcrk

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Super Scooter said:
Yes, except they both talk alike.

Hehehehehehe! Elmo love you!

Hehehehehehe! Not the momma!

Incomplete sentences, the laugh... it's all good.

LOL! God I loved Dinosaurs... I could just picture him saying that
 

Drtooth

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WiGgY said:
It makes sense that characters done by the same person are going to sound alike. Look at all the old Looney Toons cartoons. Mel Blanc (I think) did like every character, and they all sounded a like in some way.

Daffy and Sylvester differentiate only because A) Daffy's Dialogue is usually Sped up and B) he talks with a lower voice when he's Sylvester...

But they do sound the say, and they actually Both said Thhhhufferin' Thhhuckotash... well... I'm sure Daffy said it once...
 
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