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

[Censored]

Yeah, Jim had a way of making the simple spectacular with just the essentials. “Being Green” became one of the most famous and loved Sesame Street/Muppet songs everywhere. Sometimes less truly is more. Again, no one can ever do it like Jim.

 

[Muppet Master]

So is everyone suddenly hating Muppets 2011? It's weird that initially muppet productions receive critical acclaim on this site, but as time goes on, everyone starts to hate them. Same thing happened with VMX. I thought 'Pictures in my head' was a great song.

 

[Old Thunder]

So is everyone suddenly hating Muppets 2011? It's weird that initially muppet productions receive critical acclaim on this site, but as time goes on, everyone starts to hate them. Same thing happened with VMX. I thought 'Pictures in my head' was a great song.

IMO, it was a good movie, maybe not up to snuff compared to the ones Jim had a hand in himself, but still a nice Muppet flick. I think IMBD's overall rating of 7.1/10 is around where I'd place it.

 

[ErinAardvark]

I liked it, too, actually. I'd probably give it about a 7.5, however.

 

[D'Snowth]

THE MUPPETS (2011) holds a special place in my heart because of the experience I had seeing it: it was the first time I saw a Muppet movie in theaters since MTI (I was already in the process of finally "growing out" of the Muppets by the time MFS came out), and other theatergoers were roughly 95% adults - there were maybe only two or three kids in the theater . . . as I was observing the theater, I kept thinking this would have made Jim so proud.

And remember: I was skeptical it would be any good, considering the usually R-rated Jason Segel was involved with this, but I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. I was also very impressed with Matt, Peter, and David: Matt did a great job with Jerry's characters (and Jerry's vocal cameo as the theater announcer was a sentimental touch) and it was nice to see him and Peter get to perform more significant characters after years of doing incidental and one-shot characters; not to mention, it was nice having David back with the Classic Muppets after spending the last fifteen or so years performing exclusively for SST. I felt it was very much in the Muppet spirit, but it still wasn't exactly perfect: I agree with some who feel that Gary and Mary's troubled relationship perhaps had more focus than it needed, and I personally felt like the songs were mostly weak and forgettable compared to songs of Muppet movies past. Meanwhile, I know one common complaint from critics was that the movie put too much emphasis on "hero worship" on the Muppets and less on the actual Muppets' antics and such.

Nevertheless, I was glad that this movie finally put the Muppets back into the public eye again.

 

[Cookie Chris]

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.

He did comment on the 2015 television series earlier this year when he was promoting his documentary, Muppet Guys Talking. He told Variety that he only watched the "first 15 minutes".

Did you see the new “The Muppets” TV show on ABC?
I did—the first 15 minutes.

Why did you stop?
I felt the show wasn't true to the characters. There was a purity in each character that was vital. I felt that purity was being moved around to areas that didn’t feel right.

It was cancelled quickly.
My brothers, my sisters, were in there [as the puppeteers]. They did the very best they could. But essentially, they were working with scripts that other people wrote. They had to do it the way it was. If it was given more air and they trusted the performers, as we had air, it would have come alive more. Those abilities, to riff and be smart enough, weren’t appreciated.

When Steve announced he was fired, I instantly thought back to Frank's comments and he was right.

 

[D'Snowth]

Because Walt, like Jim, was a visionary artist who wanted to tell stories and share their work with the world. Disney has become another Devil-Worshipping International Media Conglomerate, and the American entertainment industry cares not for the art of moviemaking, they just want the profits; this is why so many movies are sequeled to death anymore - franchises make money.

This is also why Jim got more done in the U.K. and Canada than he did in America: other countries continue to respect the artistic aspect of showbusiness; America doesn't.

 

[Censored]

Because Walt, like Jim, was a visionary artist who wanted to tell stories and share their work with the world. Disney has become another Devil-Worshipping International Media Conglomerate, and the American entertainment industry cares not for the art of moviemaking, they just want the profits; this is why so many movies are sequeled to death anymore - franchises make money.

This is also why Jim got more done in the U.K. and Canada than he did in America: other countries continue to respect the artistic aspect of showbusiness; America doesn't.

I'm not sure there were any specific examples given there, but I understand your concern. Again, Walt and Jim were both businessmen. No matter how nice they were, money has to play a part in things to keep the show going. Hopefully, the future will look brighter.

 

[Censored]

Disney has become another Devil-Worshipping International Media Conglomerate

I know you were speaking metaphorically, but in the 90’s, I remember a religious backlash against Disney by people who literally believed that.

 

[scooterfan360]

In what way is Disney more about money now than when Walt was alive?

by ditching their traditional animation, for CGI animation, and changing their network channel which was once good, to something awful , and by buying franchises, for the heck of it, with out any knowledge all for money. when Walt Disney was alive, he was all about entertainment, and not money.