The Muppets: Originals vs Recasts

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Just curious to see which performers you guys prefer for each character.

For the most part, I like Frank Oz's versions of his characters more than Eric Jacobson's. Frank just gave them so much life, and he really understood the characters so well which made his performances and his ad libbing so great. That being said, I think I actually prefer Eric's Fozzie. I dunno if it's just because of what i'm used to but, Eric's Fozzie seems to have a wider emotional range, he just seems more believable to me.

Now, don't freak out, but as a few have said before, I actually prefer Ryan Dillon's Elmo to Kevin's. I mean, I love Kevin's version of the guy, but he really only seemed to have one emotion most of the time. He was almost always happy, he rarely got frustrated (unless Zoe brought out that pet rock) and that's about it. I think since Ryan took over the role, he seems to have grown up a little. And he has a wider range of emotions now. He's allowed to get jealous, frustrated or angry;he actually feels like a real character now.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

Probably Eric, Steve, and Kevin.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I actually meant, do you prefer the original performer of a specific character or the current performer of that character. For example, do you prefer Steve's version of Kermit or Jim's version of Kermit? That's the point of the thread.

Probably Eric, Steve, and Kevin.

 

[MuppetSpot]

I prefer Steve's Beaker than Richard's. Mostly because Steve brought a new side into Beaker and Richard just made him a one joke character.

 

[D'Snowth]

The "purist" in me would have to go with original performers almost everytime, but I can say for certain that when it comes to Kermit and Ernie, I like both Jim and Steve's performances equally, because both brought some of themselves to each of the characters so it's not as though Steve was trying to do a straight-up imitation of Jim with the characters. I can also say, as I have been, that Eric as Oscar is such a seamless transition that unless you're just a hardcore Muppet Freak like we are, I doubt anybody else could actually tell a difference.

I'm not saying I dislike any of the recasts, as I have gotten used them, but like I said, it took me a few years to get used to them, particularly Eric doing Frank's characters (and David doing Cookie), but now I'm so used to them that it seems almost odd to go back and listen to Frank doing his characters.

I think for certain, one I can say I have more of a preference for is Caroll's Big Bird over Matt. Matt's a top-notch performer, very talented and very versatile, and while I can appreciate what he's been able to do as far as carrying on Big Bird's legacy, but in spite of having a great vocal range, Big Bird's voice doesn't seem to be one of his strengths.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I think for certain, one I can say I have more of a preference for is Caroll's Big Bird over Matt. Matt's a top-notch performer, very talented and very versatile, and while I can appreciate what he's been able to do as far as carrying on Big Bird's legacy, but in spite of having a great vocal range, Big Bird's voice doesn't seem to be one of his strengths.

You would think that since i've been obsessed with Big Bird ever since I was a baby, i'd have a harder time adjusting to Matt, but I actually don't mind him at all. I'm completely amazed by his performance. He's somehow gotten all of Caroll's subtle little movements, that you barely even notice when your watching the show, but they're super important. Matt's performance reminds me of when Caroll was younger and had that child-like energy. Matt seems to completely understand the attitude of the character. As for his voice, I think his voice is pretty close. Big Bird's voice is not an easy one to imitate at all, so the fact that it's anywhere in the right range is miraculous in itself.

 

[D'Snowth]

Big Bird's voice is not an easy one to imitate at all, so the fact that it's anywhere in the right range is miraculous in itself.

I know what you mean, for a while, Caroll was considering Noel MacNeal to be his Big Bird understudy, and while I'm sure Noel could certainly pull off a physically demanding character like Big Bird (considering he was Bear, after all), apparently he just couldn't get the voice just right. Then again, Noel's natural voice is rather distinct anyway, so I guess I could imagine how trying to imitate Big Bird may not have sounded quite right. Matt's Big Bird voice kind of reminds me of when Caroll was transitioning it from the original country bumpkin voice to his present voice, so yeah, I can agree that it's at least in the right range. Like I said, not just Big Bird, but Oscar's isn't easy either, which makes the fact that Eric can do it so flawless even more mindblowing.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

One that took me a pretty long time to get used to was David Rudman's Janice and Scooter, but especially the latter. I remember when Letters to Santa
first came out, I was dumbfounded when I first heard him. Literally the first thing that came out of my mouth was "Why the heck does Scooter sound like Baby Bear!". It took until about the 2011 movie for me to get used to them, but I guess it's because they had more to do in that.

 

[Muppet Master]

Jim's Kermit and Ernie sounded deeper and vaguely mature while Steve gives them a lively feel, I like both but I still would prefer Jim's.

Rudman's Scooter is similar to what Steve did to Kermit, it gave Hunt's character a peppy feel.

 

[jobi71]

Another aspect to the performance aside from the voice is the actual puppeteering and body language. I think all of the new crew do a great job of capturing those little tics that the characters have. Whether it be Floyd's strut, Janice's head tilt when she talks, Uncle Deadly gliding into a scene or Scooter's arm gesture - not sure what to call it. You all know what I mean. ;-) But all of them are able to capture the physicality of the characters.