Where is Steve Whitmire Petition

[dmoss]

You know, in my opinion, on the video from the 2009 MTV Music Awards, I kind of prefer the voice being used...Artie has some of Jim's qualities in there. Not that I don't like Steve...he gives Kermit a lot of character, and is quick on his feet. With some work, like everyone else has said, Artie could really bring Kermit's old voice back.

 

[MarcusPiper]

As someone who knows Artie personally, and knows how much he's emotionally invested in these characters, it's nice to hear that people are beginning to come around. As many have said, they were not bad performances, they were just a surprise to those who were not expecting someone different.

I'm surprised that no one here has come across his website yet. It has a bunch of his Muppet voices on it. If anyone is interested in hearing them, you should take a listen.

http://artworkbyartie.weebly.com/voices.html

MP

 

[Super Scooter]

I have watched the videos since the "initial shock." It didn't change my opinion.

I have nothing against Artie. But, honestly, it wasn't Kermit. If he was given time to grow into the character, maybe it would be, but why should he need to grow into the character when you can use the ACTUAL Kermit the Frog, Steve Whitmire?

Artie may have the voice (which I personally believe he does not), but Steve has the heart and soul of Kermit. Artie cannot give Kermit his old voice back, because his old voice has been dead for twenty years. Artie is not Jim the same as Steve is not Jim. But Steve has fought to give us the best darn frog he can, and he deserves to be that character.

To share an experience, I was talking to a man at work recently who is a Muppet fan, perhaps not to the same extent as some around here, but he's still a fan. He hadn't seen any of Artie's work as Kismet, but he has seen all of the movies, all of the YouTube videos, and many of the television specials and shows. One day he asked me, "Who's doing Kermit's voice now? It's sounding dead on!" Remember, he'd never seen any segment with Artie's performances. He recognized how perfect Steve Whitmire is for the role. Of course, then he added, "I can't imagine what it will be like when they have to replace Frank Oz." Of course, I had to break it to him.

So, kudos Eric! And kudos Steve! You're both brilliant performers taking on a daunting task, and succeeding! Artie, I wish you no ill will and hope that you will have a long career with the Muppets. Just please let Steve continue to play Kermit, Disney executives.

 

[Reevz1977]

Uh oh, someones poked the hornets nest again

It makes absolute sense for Disney to have some contingency plans in place for all the Muppet performers because, heaven forbid, if anything happened to any one of them, Disney would want somebody there to jump in - especially considering the vested interest in the Muppets right now. And especially someone who's passionate about the Muppets!

That said, I personally (and I'm in no way shape or form any kind of expert) but all the voices on that website were just good impressions (at least for me) of the characters. That said, each one has the potential, overtime, to be great (in particular Waldorf). But then theres the performance to think about. I guess time will tell.

I just hope that if Disney chooses to replace any performer, its for genuine reasons and not due to creative differences, penny-pinching or any other more rediculous reason like the VMA's.

There my two cents on the matter

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

i listened to his Kermit on his website and i gotta say it doesn't sound bad...if someday Artie replaces Steve i wouldn't mind...it seems now that the shock is over maybe he seems ok at Kermit granted the original performances still sounded off maybe it was nerves. i know id be nervous in that situation in front of millions of veiwers

 

[antsamthompson9]

I'm surprised that no one here has come across his website yet. It has a bunch of his Muppet voices on it. If anyone is interested in hearing them, you should take a listen.

http://artworkbyartie.weebly.com/voices.html

MP

Wow! Drtooth is right! He can do a better Kermit behind closed doors. No offense to Artie, of course.

 

[Mupp]

Again, I thought that Artie did a decent vocal job in those two TV appearances.

And if I were to guess, I would bet that 90% of the home viewing audience (general pubic, not die-hard fans) did not think that anything out of the ordinary was happening.

As Steve said; "Its behind us"

But again, if it makes anyone feel better, just imagine that Kermit had a cold during those two appearances. We all have our off days.

 

[Super Scooter]

I just listened to the demo on his website. I don't hear it. I don't understand why people think it sounds closer to Jim than Steve. To me it sounds like... well, my own Kermit impression, and that is not a good thing.

You can accuse my of being biased on this, I don't believe I am. I hate being on the opposite end of this. Usually I'm defending a performer. Still, it doesn't sound like Kermit to me. As Reevz said, a good impression at best.

However, his Waldorf sounds a lot like Jim's "Five People in My Family" voice... which doesn't sound much like Waldorf. I could kinda hear him as Rowlf, though.

Again, I apologize if I seem to be too critical. This is still an emotional issue to me, I guess.

And if I were to guess, I would bet that 90% of the home viewing audience (general pubic, not die-hard fans) did not think that anything out of the ordinary was happening.

There were quite a few comments on YouTube of "average viewers" saying Kermit sounded off. I saw a few of those comments on other sites as well.

 

[frogboy4]

This is all water under the bridge for the Muppets, but I will again state that it was a noble freshman (in-public) effort Artie put in as the head frog. That sort of thing takes a lot of practice. Artie's tonality of voice is closer to Jim's Kermit than Steve's, but Steve has the better over-all performance. It only makes sense because Steve's been Kermit for nearly 20 years. If he ever retired (frog forbid) I'd cast a vote for Artie. Still, there's more to a Muppet than the voice. It'll take more practice just as it took Steve some time to grow into Kermit.

Still, it's good that Steve is back. He is Kermit now and I hope he's Kermit for another 20 years.

 

[Mupp]

There were quite a few comments on YouTube of "average viewers" saying Kermit sounded off. I saw a few of those comments on other sites as well.

Well regardless, Its over, and its behind us.

And given how all Muppet fans reacted to this, the Muppets Studio will probably think twice before trying a public experiment like this again.