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

[CBPuppets]

I just saw the video yesterday and I thought it was great. The only thing that bothered me is that Disneyphillips kept yelling at everyone at the comments section (mostly those who thought it was bad)

 

[Randall Flagg]

By the time he gets to his last line, he starts to sound like Steve's Kermit, but at no point did I get Jim. Maybe because it's lower in register? It sounds quite a bit like his Robin to me.

Jim's Kermit was lower-pitched than Steve's, though, so if you're saying Matt's Kermit is lower in register, wouldn't that make it more like Jim's than Steve's? I'm not familiar with Matt's Robin, but if his Robin has a low register, it must sound drastically different from the original Robin. I'll have to check it out.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing more. This clip was quite short, and didn't really allow for much expression or emotion from Kermit, so it's really difficult to judge at this point. His singing voice will be interesting to hear, too. I remember that was the main problem I had with Steve's Kermit when MCC came out. His speaking voice was different, but okay. His singing voice, on the other hand, just didn't work for me back then.

 

[Greenhoodie]

It has probably made some fans not hear what they don't want to hear. If Steve had resigned instead of gotten fired, I have a feeling a lot more people would be able to hear Jim's Kermit, admire the great job Matt did, and not feel the need to say that it is "no good" or "needs work."

I think we're both probably right, because people took sides in how they feel about the recasting in general. Some of us in the middle are probably more neutral in how we are approaching it in terms of critique. I think people saying that it needs work are likely being the most honest with themselves and reality.

Don't get me wrong, after seeing some discussion elsewhere, I can see where he has a Kermity cadence, and the potential is certainly there, but it's not like it was going to be perfect out of the gate. It's not bad, but it's also not great. He'll grow into it.

Jim's Kermit was lower-pitched than Steve's, though, so if you're saying Matt's Kermit is lower in register, wouldn't that make it more like Jim's than Steve's? I'm not familiar with Matt's Robin, but if his Robin has a low register, it must sound drastically different from the original Robin. I'll have to check it out.

Check out the ABC series or sift through the Thoughts of the Week. He's in one featuring Walter. What I'm saying with the lower register is just me trying to figure where people think he sounds like Jim, since I don't here it. Being lower doesn't make you sound like someone, as there are so many other qualities as well. There are certainly some words here and there that sound a bit Kermitish, I just didn't hear it. It wasn't until the end, and there I found him more Steve-ish. I think it's more on when he goes a bit more throaty and less nasally.

I imagine this was filmed months ago, and that he's already getting closer as the Hollywood Bowl work has progressed. I'm also looking forward to more content and music. They should pull what Sesame has done with Peter and start unloading new web content. You need to retrain fandom's ears.

 

[D'Snowth]

The lower register is why Matt's Kermit, to me, sounds more like Ernie than Kermit: yes, the two have very similar voices, however there are subtle differences, and Ernie's voice is usually a tad lower than Kermit's, and whereas Kermit tends to have a somewhat nasally texture, Ernie's is a tad goofy/impish quality, and that's what I hear coming from Matt's Kermit so far. Rick's Kermit for that Colbert skit had Jim's Kermit's inflections down, but the nasally voice sounded quite exaggerated, which is why, to me, Rick's Kermit sounded more like a blatant parody imitation of Kermit.

 

[CBPuppets]

In a way it sounds like Constatine's impersonation of Kermit without the Russian accent. Regardless I wish Matt the Best of Luck with Kermit.

 

[Randall Flagg]

Jim's Kermit had a sort of "rubbery" quality to the voice, if that makes any sense (probably not... lol.) I rarely hear that aspect of his voice when other people do the character. Steve didn't really have it, and I don't hear it in Matt's yet.

 

[LittleJerry92]

The lower register is why Matt's Kermit, to me, sounds more like Ernie than Kermit: yes, the two have very similar voices, however there are subtle differences, and Ernie's voice is usually a tad lower than Kermit's, and whereas Kermit tends to have a somewhat nasally texture, Ernie's is a tad goofy/impish quality, and that's what I hear coming from Matt's Kermit so far. Rick's Kermit for that Colbert skit had Jim's Kermit's inflections down, but the nasally voice sounded quite exaggerated, which is why, to me, Rick's Kermit sounded more like a blatant parody imitation of Kermit.

I'm probably in the minority when I say this, but I honestly could always tell the difference to Jim's Kermit and Ernie, likewise with Steve.

I will say though that Jim's Kermit and Ernie did start to sound a little similar towards the 80's, though.

 

[D'Snowth]

At the same time, there are also subtle differences between Frank's Bert and Fozzie as well: Bert is a tad deeper, and Fozzie not only has something of a childlike innocence about his inflections, but he also has a certain enunciation to his speech pattern as well - not like how Grover never uses contractions, but similarities in the way they enunciate is there.

 

[ErinAardvark]

It's going to take some getting used to, I know that much. But I'm in agreement with those who say they're not hearing Jim's Kermit. Sorry.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Oddly enough, it looks like they've released yet another TOTW video today, this time with Walter and Animal: