Muppet Voice Comparisons

[CensoredAlso]

I was really stunned by Rickey Boyd's performance, he sounded closest to Richard to me.

 

[Puckrox]

Yeah. I mean, I don't think think any of them hold a candle to Richard's Scotter, but Rickey does the best job out of all of them. Just lacking a bit of Richard's enthusiasm.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Yeah. I mean, I don't think think any of them hold a candle to Richard's Scotter, but Rickey does the best job out of all of them. Just lacking a bit of Richard's enthusiasm.

To be fair, I'm not sure anyone could completely match Richard's enthusiasm! Lol

 

[Canadian Fan]

To be fair, I'm not sure anyone could completely match Richard's enthusiasm! Lol

That's true! I think David could do really well, he does have a voice that's close, plus he's been doing a lot of Richard's characters on Sesame Street. I read somewhere that Richard and David were friends in real-life and that Jerry Nelson suggested David for all of Richard's characters. I also liked Rickey Boyd's Scooter. Brian's Scooter sounded more like Phil Van Nuter.

 

[Fraggline]

Out of all of the recasts of Janice since Richard's death, I feel that David Rudman does the best job, his voice is close to Richard's.

Yeah, I agree! I liked his Janice quite a bit in the deleted scene from A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa--the line about the Hard Rock Cafe, that is.
Also, has anybody noticed how GREAT a job Bill Baretta (I think it's him, anyway) has done with Dr. Teeth? I'm really impressed; I'm so glad he can bring back the character with so much perfection and energy!

 

[Canadian Fan]

Yeah, I agree! I liked his Janice quite a bit in the deleted scene from A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa--the line about the Hard Rock Cafe, that is.
Also, has anybody noticed how GREAT a job Bill Baretta (I think it's him, anyway) has done with Dr. Teeth? I'm really impressed; I'm so glad he can bring back the character with so much perfection and energy!

Bill Barretta has done quite well with Dr. Teeth and Rowlf, even the Swedish Chef. As I said, it's good to see some of the classic characters recast and brought back into the spotlight. His voice is almost as gruff as Jim's. If there's a voice comparision video of Dr. Teeth and Rowlf, I'll post it. (edit - I just found Dr. Teeth)

Dr. Teeth (Jim Henson, John Kennedy, and Bill Barretta)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLu8ZrP8jg

 

[Fraggline]

That would be great! Thanks!
Bill Baretta is one of my favorite Muppeteers...

 

[mr3urious]

All the performers after Henson did a great job with preserving 's personality, but Barretta actually sounds the closest to Henson.

 

[Canadian Fan]

Floyd Pepper and Animal: (Floyd was the only one who could control Animal)

(Jerry Nelson & Frank Oz)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErefIfZTlQ0

(Matt Vogel & Eric Jacobson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgFcLbrpucw

Rowlf:

(Jim Henson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N0DrRS7d4s

(Bill Barretta)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCgujnQsOsQ

 

[dwmckim]

Since i can't access YT unless i'm at the library, i haven't checked any of them out yet so i have a question. Does the person doing these post one clip of each performer's version or several?

I ask since in order to do a fair voice comparison, one also has to factor in how the same person's voice changes over decades both physically and how their perception of the character colors it.

One could do a Goelz vs. Goelz comparison of Gonzo over the years and there would be differences over the passing decades!

The particular reason why it would be good to include each performer's version over time when comparing them to other people's voices is because a recast may often sound a lot closer to the "regular" performer's version at a certain time. Part of the reason Jacobson/Rudman were as successful as they were with their recasts is because they sounded pretty much like Oz did around the time he stopped. With Richard Hunt's characters, this would especially be noticable since Hunt himself sounded very much like Rudman during his last years.