Where is Steve Whitmire Petition

[dwmckim]

And then take the old Bullwinkle show. Terrible Mexican animation (It even embarrassed Jay Ward and crew at points)... but the writing shone through, making it a lot more memorable, storywise.

This will probably be a VERY UO (esp how we've talked so much in this thread about how fans have come to expect nothing less than the best puppetry in Muppeteering vs what was done in the earlier days), but as far as animation goes - i personally find a lot of charm in "bad" animation - and usually makes it funnier. Part of what made Rocky & Bullwinkle such a joy to watch was the animation style (though it may be thought of as "bad") - the same way that (sorry all Chipmunks fans on here), i dearly loved the original Alvin Show cartoons and would laugh hysterically at them but just couldn't get behind the overpolished 80's revival or anything that came after that - the zaniness and everything that made the original great was gone. Then there was the first Simpsons episode (which was held back as the last broadcast episode in the first season). My friends and i (not knowing the history when it first aired) RAVED about it because they were "getting more experimental" with the wild expressions - things like the rubbery door closing - it seemed more like they were harkening back to the original Tracy Ullman shorts! (Then later it came out that Matt Groening actually hated that and that's why that episode was held back and reworked so much even with all the traces of the original that made it in! Though watching the stuff that they did fix on the first season box set one could see why they were horrified as some of it was just waayy too much!)

Sometimes to me at least the best cartoons in terms of humor and watchibility are the ones with the unpolished and rougher animation. I can laugh uncontrollably at the old Popeye shorts where half the time Popeye's mouth doesn't move as the voice actor is adlibbing more than i do watching most of the stuff that came from the 80s or beyond.

 

[dwmckim]

Completely made my day, week, and probably month. SO relieving to have him back where he belongs.

Kermit has come home. Let's close up the thread and declare this topic debunked and no longer necessary.

Welcome back, Steve!

Yes, cue the closing credits and part-happy, part-sappy music! As i've stated throughout, one of the main reasons this thread has been so emotionally charged was been because unlike when other recasts/substitutes has happened, this time it was totally out of the blue, unexpected, and no one had any idea what was going on or if/when Steve would be back. Knowing that Steve is back where he belongs will ease a lot of fans' collective tension and things should return back to normal here!

I'd still reccomend sending in postcards to Steve if you hadn't yet done so since (a) it is a gift for him and that element doesn't change (b) it still sends the message to Disney that the way they handled the whole situation was very bad, unacceptable and is a major mistake that should not be repeated.

 

[Drtooth]

Sometimes to me at least the best cartoons in terms of humor and watchibility are the ones with the unpolished and rougher animation.

Watch a Super Mario 3 cartoon sometime. That has the worst animation I've ever seen. And it's not that well written most of the time.

 

[GuySmileyfan]

WHOOPPEE! He's alright! It's a miracle!

 

[dwmckim]

"So, Mr. Kermit the Frog, you recently returned back to the limelight after having an imposter make public appearances impersonating you. What do you plan to do now?"

"I'm going to Disneyland!"

 

[RockSTAR girl]

yay! Steve's back.
Woo woooooh

 

[SkeksisGirl]

"So, Mr. Kermit the Frog, you recently returned back to the limelight after having an imposter make public appearances impersonating you. What do you plan to do now?"

"I'm going to Disneyland!"

****!

 

[CBPuppets]

I Just a Disney World Commercial with the muppets. I had a Feeling Steve would never Quit the Muppets.

 

[Muppetfan55]

You know guys, forget all of the wild rumors, conspiracy theories, and juicy gossip.

Most often, the most boring explanation is usually the real one.

For all we know, it really could have been possible that Steve was just unavailable to perform Kermit for two occasions and if that is the case, Disney would NEVER publicly discuss that.

After all, we all know the "truth". Kermit is not a puppet, he is a real frog. and Piggy is a real pig, and so on.

Also, as I understand it, Artie was a member here in the past, and some people here were hoping that he would make a post and explain things.
Uh guys, WAKE UP. When Artie was performing Kermit he was probably contractually obligated NOT to discuss anything! Welcome to the real world.

Also, I still stand by what I said in my first post. (most people didn't notice it)
Artie gave it a good effort. In all probability, he was most likely the closest match that they could find.

And as for that talk of his puppetry being stiff, there may be some validity there, but I think that most of that was just sour grapes.

And guys, you can backpedal and twist things all you want, but some of the things that were said on these boards WERE in fact, insults towards Artie.
I wouldn't blame him if he never came here again.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be mean. I just find it disgusting that people over-reacted to this so much, which resulted in one of the the worst wars that I have ever seen on this board.
Like Frogster insulting people who liked the Muppets as they are now, and Kyan ripping people apart.

And see? It was all for nothing. I always knew that everything would turn out alright somehow.


I will end this with one last statement.

The Muppet performers are NOT immortal, someday Steve will not be around anymore, and when that day comes, Kermit might be passed to Artie. And you will all just have to live with that.

 

[Luke]

For all we know, it really could have been possible that Steve was just unavailable to perform Kermit for two occasions and if that is the case, Disney would NEVER publicly discuss that.

The point here though is that Henson went 20 years nearly without actually putting a substitute in if Steve wasn't available. It was not the ONLY option. This was about them actually diverting from One Muppet, One Voice on a major character, not who performed it. Any critiques of the work were valid, not personal to the performer .. and totally have a place on this forum. If you say the puppetry was stiff, you are reviewing the work, not personally insulting anyone.

I don't see the need to dissecting every part of the appearances now but the proof is there in the watching of these clips that there are certain stiff moments and slip ups. I don't think it was sour grapes if its actually there on the video.