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

[xSunnyEclipse]

I feel like Kermit's facial contortions were more of a Steve thing than a Jim thing. Jim certainly did them, but sparingly and with purpose. Steve's Kermit was almost too much at times.

I don't know if it's just me, I kind of liked that. I liked how Steve made Kermit a lot more expressive. It made the character come to life to me. Not saying Jim didn't do that either, but I like when the characters express more.

I'm hoping Matt can do some of that in upcoming projects.


Edit: Also to add..yeah I do agree that Jim could do many characters, but not everyone can be Jim. Maybe it will be too much stress on Matt to perform a TON of characters...I mean he's Big Bird AND Kermit now like..I can't even believe that. But I'm sure he can do it. I guess there's no such thing as having too many characters.

 

[DarthGonzo]

I hated those stupid faces Whitmire made Kermit have. One moment his Kermit was a depressed sad sack, and the next he was making derpy faces.

I was watching Follow That Bird with my daughter yesterday and in that one brief scene Kermit was in he was funnier and oozed more personally than anything Whitmire ever did. Jim had a way of performing that character that was unbelievably funny even when the dialogue itself wasn't. Whitmire was never able to do that.

Jim's Kermit could be commanding with just a little bit a snark under the surface, as if he KNEW he was the center of the universe. Whitmire' Kermit was completely toothless.

 

[Censored]

I have to agree there. When he sang it on Sesame Street, I noticed the voice was off. The best version of Jim's Kermit singing "Bein' Green" will always be the TMS eps with the two Peters. (Ustinov and Sellers)

And there you have it. If we can't even agree that Jim was a good performer, what chance does Matt have?

 

[xSunnyEclipse]

And there you have it. If we can't even agree that Jim was a good performer, what chance does Matt have?

...Says the person that Matt is performing exactly like Jim.

 

[Censored]

...Says the person that Matt is performing exactly like Jim.

I might have worded it a little differently, but yes, I do think Matt sounds like Jim. How does that contradict my previous statement ?

 

[Randall Flagg]

Jim's Kermit could be commanding with just a little bit a snark under the surface, as if he KNEW he was the center of the universe. Whitmire' Kermit was completely toothless.

Very well put.
Jim's Kermit had a "I'm surrounded by idiots" expression a lot of the time, which was genuinely funny because we've all had that feeling at times, especially when trying to organize something. And it was believable that Jim's Kermit was running things. Steve's Kermit didn't really feel like somebody who would be in charge of anything. I hope Matt brings back a sense of authority to Kermit.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Yeah, that may 'splain why they had Clifford host MT! instead of Kermit. Seems like they didn't want to put Steve's Kermit in the type of role where he was "in charge" the way Jim's was.

 

[Mo Frackle]

Yeah, that may 'splain why they had Clifford host MT! instead of Kermit. Seems like they didn't want to put Steve's Kermit in the type of role where he was "in charge" the way Jim's was.

Kevin Clash once mentioned that prior to Jim's passing, he requested Kermit not host the next Muppet Show - if there was one. Though that's not to say that that was entirely the reason Kermit's role was secondary on MT.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I love all the back and forth comments about Jim vs Steve vs Matt. I might need some more popcorn for this.

 

[ErinAardvark]

I always loved it when Kermit did what I call the "Scrunchy Face."