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

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Liking Steve's performance doesn't mean you have to hate on Matt and act like Steve was an angel who did everything perfectly.

I don't think anyone was particularly praising nor critiquing any of the Kermit performers

 

[MWoO]

It was said that Matt was doing something Steve wouldn't do and that Steve didn't do it as a conscious decision out of respect for Jim, implying that Matt was disrespecting Jim.

 

[antsamthompson9]

Steve has never said anything bad about the current Muppet projects and he never said Matt was the wrong person to be Kermit. He just wished he could have taught him everything he knew about Jim before he became Kermit. He also said at the Vulture Festival that the puppeteers not showing up on talk shows was "kinda his fault." He didn't say they shouldn't be seen, but after Jim passed, he didn't want people to think about who the new Kermit is, they should've been excited just to see Kermit make an appearance. He also seriously said at the festival "I would love nothing more than if Jim was alive and still doing Kermit. I wouldn't have to work so hard for one thing, and I might get to do Rizzo more often."

 

[MWoO]

Considering the missing posts, it would appear that a mod has been through here. I wonder what I have missed.

It seems that people have had different experiences with Steve. Some positive, some negative. That is to be expected with anyone. I think there is no question that Steve was not happy to have to take on Kermit given the circumstances and that he saw it as an honor. I am also positive that he wishes Jim was around today.

Truth be told, Jim was really the only "performer" to get interviewed on talk shows. Jim was interviewed as the head of the Jim Henson Company, who also performed Kermit. There were also times when Kermit was the one booked on a show, and we didn't see Jim sitting next to him, like when Kermit and the Muppets hosted the Tonight Show. In some cases Jim would be there with another performer, but Jim was the main guest. So, I dont think that talk shows were asking Steve to be on their show, but did want Kermit on there and Steve probably made the choice to not be visible during the performance. He didn't really start it though. It has to do more with the fact that Jim was the head of the company and could speak on future plans and projects. Steve simply wasn't. That being said, Steve clearly had times when he would interview with Kermit by his side and Matt should not be criticized for it.

Regardless of what we do and don't know about Steve working behind the scenes, we do know that he was not part of Happy Time Murders, nor was he part of the Dark Crystal Series. To me, this means he has little to no relationship with the Jim Henson Company. The cause or motive behind this I can not speak to.

 

[BeakerGirl94]

It's interesting that Brian actually said he felt guilty for not recasting Kermit prior to the Disney sale. To those who keep asking why didn't he do something about it a long time ago, I think you're now seeing why. It doesn't look good. People are mad at Disney about this, even if it might have been completely justified. If Brian had done it, not only would people have been mad, they would have seen him as incompetent. He says this was already a problem in the '90s. Imagine the press if less than 10 years (maybe close to just 5) after Brian personally chose someone to be the new Kermit, Jim's signature character, he had to fire the same guy. JHC was struggling enough with the Muppets already. With people questioning his business/creative decisions he didn't need need questions about personnel decisions, especially considering what a big deal was made about choosing Steve. It would have called his personal judgement into question.

I'm impressed that Disney worked so closely with Brian and the Hensons to re-cast. There was absolutely no reason they had to. I'm sure part of it was to soften the blow to their public image, but it sounds like they really involved Brian in the process more than just a brief consultation. It could be posturing, but it appears that Disney really wants to respect the legacy of Him Henson through Kermit.

I don't think that Disney's decision to involve Brian Henson in the recasting of Kermit was posturing Disney was under no obligation to involve any of the Hensons in the recasting process or even to notify them that they planned to recast their father's most famous character

But not only did Disney involve Brian in the recasting of Kermit but they also consulted with Brian and the rest of the Henson kids before they fired Whitmire so I don't buy the notion that just because Steve performed Kermit for all those years it means that he wasn't causing problems

 

[Duke Remington]

I don't think that Disney's decision to involve Brian Henson in the recasting of Kermit was posturing Disney was under no obligation to involve any of Hensons in the recasting process or even to notify them that they planned to recast their father's most famous character

But not only did Disney involve Brian in the recasting of Kermit but they also consulted with Brian and the rest of the Henson kids before they fired Whitmire so I don't buy the notion that just because Steve performed Kermit for all those years it means that he wasn't causing problems

Disney also got the Henson family involved out of respect.

Even though the classic Muppets are now owned by Disney and the Sesame Street Muppets are now owned by Sesame Workshop, the Henson kids are still the primary caretakers of all those characters as well as the primary custodians of their father's legacy.

 

[BeakerGirl94]

Liking Steve's performance doesn't mean you have to hate on Matt and act like Steve was an angel who did everything perfectly.

I agree but unfortunately I've seen too many Muppet fans do just that they bash Matt and treat Steve like he's a perfect little angel

 

[D'Snowth]

It's been over two years now, and honestly, after all this time, Matt's Kermit is still pretty inconsistent - I don't know if it's because he can't quite figure out how, exactly, Kermit should sound and act, or if it's because of the intimidation of filling in some really big shoes, but he still hasn't quite gotten Kermit downpat just yet.

 

[MWoO]

It's been over two years now, and honestly, after all this time, Matt's Kermit is still pretty inconsistent - I don't know if it's because he can't quite figure out how, exactly, Kermit should sound and act, or if it's because of the intimidation of filling in some really big shoes, but he still hasn't quite gotten Kermit downpat just yet.

Or perhaps because there has not been any real substantial Muppet production since he took the role, out side of a stage show, some commercials, and some YouTube shorts.

 

[Duke Remington]

Or perhaps because there has not been any real substantial Muppet production since he took the role, out side of a stage show, some commercials, and some YouTube shorts.

Exactly.

I can see "Muppets Now" on DisneyPlus being a golden opportunity for Matt to show what he can really do with Kermit.