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

[Censored]

I’m sure Frank and Disney could work together very well if the situation came up today. I know it’s easy to speculate about who would fire who. I’ve sometimes theorized that the current producers at Sesame Workshop and HBO would have fired Will Lee before he died, but I really don’t know that for a fact. Same thing with Frank and Disney. Frank Oz is a superb performer who was with Jim from the very beginning. Very few other muppeteers can be compared to him and I think he would always have a place there. Frank and Jim were great friends and it stands to reason that it is difficult for Frank to see anyone else in charge of the Muppets. As I said before, Jim Henson did it best, but unfortunately things change and they would have changed even if Jim had lived. But, it’s only natural to long for the good old days. God knows I do.

 

[Muppet Master]

Frank Oz: “The Muppets should be saying “Screw Disney”.”

It's very likely that Disney would have sacked Frank as well, if he were still with the Muppets.

Considering Frank said this, I would love to hear his thoughts on the 2015 tv series.

But Oz is right about all this, but at the same time, as he said, the muppets are back (or were) and I'm glad we got 2 good feature films even if they weren't as good as the muppets from 1981.

 

[DarthGonzo]

Frank has said repeatedly that if Disney were to approach him about possibly directing a Muppet movie, that he would consider doing so, however Disney never approaches him.

With that said, we all know how tough and hard Frank can be on other performers, not to mention his tendancy to exhibit an arrogant personality, so yeah, I could see Disney showing him the door under similar circumstances as well.

But Frank Oz isn't Steve Whitmire. Oz is a legacy Muppeteer, Hensons's best friend and closest collaborator.

 

[D'Snowth]

True, but that still doesn't change the fact that Disney is a big corporation, and if they found that Frank's business conduct wasn't up to their standards, or if Frank got too nitpicky about the direction the Muppets were being taken in, they would probably let him go as well. Remember, Disney lawyers were even giving Jim a hard time during the negotiations.

 

[Censored]

But Frank Oz isn't Steve Whitmire. Oz is a legacy Muppeteer, Hensons's best friend and closest collaborator.

Exactly.

 

[Censored]

There’s nothing inherently evil about a big corporation; it all depends on who is running it and at what time. Jim Henson created a big empire, which is why the muppets weren’t just a little puppet show on the corner. Again, it’s very easy to speculate about what-ifs, but ultimately Disney would want to do what is good for business and firing Frank Oz could never be good for business. I could be wrong, but I just can’t see it happening.

 

[Rugratskid]

Disney definitely wouldn't have kept Oz around; they like to have unebelieveable control over their franchises, and this is where a lot of the issue stems from, in my opinion. Although, based on what I know from Disney, it seems odd they'd fire Whitmire over being rude to coworkers and not following their rules, as sometbing somewhat similar happened in 2006/2007 with a certain woman working for Disney Channel (who I'll keep nameless for the sake of not stirring up old stuff)..seems like we're missing a piece of the story here, and a big one at that.. things aren't adding up.

On the topic of Kermit, I retract what I said a few pages back; this definitely seems like its not just the writing, but also Whitmire's performance.. Pictures In My Head is a great song, but a horrid choice for Kermit.. for Walter, perhaps from a fan perspective, it would've been a lot better.

 

[Censored]

Pictures In My Head is a great song, but a horrid choice for Kermit.. for Walter, perhaps from a fan perspective, it would've been a lot better.

I think it was an attempt to recapture the magic of “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” but missed by a mile.

 

[Rugratskid]

I think it was an attempt to recapture the magic of “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” but missed by a mile.

Bein' Green had a positive message, and Kermit came to terms with being green, even embracing it.. Pictures in My Head is just Kermit reminising and feeling sorry for himself.. not sure how they messed that one up so bad, honestly.. in my opinion anyways, nothing against those who liked the song

 

[Bliffenstimmers]

I think it was an attempt to recapture the magic of “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” but missed by a mile.

Feels more like a "Rainbow Connection" moment to me. All of these songs are very poignant and self reflective, although "Being Green" is much more simple and not quite as spectacular than the others. Not only in its melody and words, but also in the way it is typically preformed, by a fairly small folksy band instead of a whole orchestra.