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

[DarthGonzo]

Short but right to the point. You get a like!

Because they're actually going to read that?

Whitmire is constantly saying his peace on social media. His stance is out there for the entire world to see. What exactly is a plea to Disney to "listen to him" going to accomplish? It's done, and Disney is going to move on.

 

[JimAndFrank]

Well since everyone is saying their piece, I might as well keep going.

I've posted again, this time it's more of a tribute to the Kermit I know and love more than anything else.

justforthehalibutblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/because-of-kermit/

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Nothing against Matt or anything, But I think Bill Barretta would have been a better choice to take over the role. I mean he already has taken over most of Jim's other characters like Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, Mahna Mahna, and The Swedish Chef , So it would make more sense to let him take over Kermit, The Newsman, and Link. In fact Matt is the last person I would have considered to take The Frog or any Jim character as a matter of fact. I think of Matt as more of a Jerry Nelson or Carol Spinney guy then a Jim Henson guy, If you know what I mean.

I can't help but wonder maybe that could be why they've been delaying the TOTW, they could be reconsidering having Matt play Kermit. Again, Kermit has played off of a lot of Jerry's characters who Matt had recently inherited, so they'd have to do more than recast Robin. They'll have to either recast Jerry's other characters, or just keep them separate. As for Bill as Kermit, that might work they he wouldn't be able to interact with Pepe all that much.

This is from a later airing. You can tell Kermit's voice has been played around with by the slight reverb going on when he talks.

Thanks, Mo. I listened to both again and after listening again the first one doesn't sound as bad, seems like Steve was nervous about doing for the first time and made the voice a bit high pitched. But doesn't really sound right at all in the second one. Makes me wonder why they played around with it if nothing was wrong with the first one.

Kind of like how DIC dubbed in the new VAs for later airings of the first season episodes of The Real Ghostbusters. People don't always realize, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Old Thunder]

Because they're actually going to read that?

Whitmire is constantly saying his peace on social media. His stance is out there for the entire world to see. What exactly is a plea to Disney to "listen to him" going to accomplish? It's done, and Disney is going to move on.

No, because I liked the article / letter.

 

[Randall Flagg]

I can't help but wonder maybe that could be why they've been delaying the TOTW, they could be reconsidering having Matt play Kermit. Again, Kermit has played off of a lot of Jerry's characters who Matt had recently inherited, so they'd have to do more than recast Robin. They'll have to either recast Jerry's other characters, or just keep them separate. As for Bill as Kermit, that might work they he wouldn't be able to interact with Pepe all that much.

That's definitely a valid concern. On the other hand, Big Bird and Oscar had quite a number of scenes together throughout SS's history, and both were handled by Carol Spinney, so it's certainly do-able. If Matt's Kermit is really the best Kermit they can get, then I think they can make it work.

 

[ErinAardvark]

That's definitely a valid concern. On the other hand, Big Bird and Oscar had quite a number of scenes together throughout SS's history, and both were handled by Carol Spinney, so it's certainly do-able. If Matt's Kermit is really the best Kermit they can get, then I think they can make it work.

They could always pre-record the dialog and have another Muppeteer work the Muppet.

 

[DarthGonzo]

I can't be the only one to feel like a lot of Muppet groups and sites are working overtime to post fluff pieces on how great the Muppet franchise is, right? It almost feels like a collective push to get everyone to forget what's happened and move on.

 

[Randall Flagg]

They could always pre-record the dialog and have another Muppeteer work the Muppet.

Right. Or, as is more commonly done, they could record the dialogue afterwards (having another puppeteer supply temporary dialogue while filming.)

Actually, my bigger concern, more than the voices, is what sort of chemistry Matt and Eric have. What really made Jim's Kermit great wasn't his voice, it was the chemistry between Jim and Frank. They played off of each other perfectly. I hope Matt and Eric have that level of chemistry, as that's what's really going to make the difference.

 

[D'Snowth]

Jim and Frank developed a rapport with one another that made it so easy for the two of them to just simply play off of each other, and sync in with each other's sense of comedic timing, hence why they would often forego scripts when doing Ernie and Bert inserts.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

True, I'll never forget the sketch with the fish Lyle and Tabbot and Bert's famous line:

I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT IS!!!

Definitely sounded like Frank ad-libbing there.