The New Kermit

>>94955997
Yeah I think I'm used to Kermit being a bit deeper and really having like a long...uh "drawl"? to his voice, like a southerner.

Not a bad take. Kermit seems to be in good hands with Matt, but I still won't forgive the way they just fucked Steve over like that.

>>94955997
It sounds like Jim if he wasn't recording with pre-90's technology and more with 2017 tech

Didn't his former VA cry when he got fired?

>>94956048
>Yeah I think I'm used to Kermit being a bit deeper
But Steve's Kermit was lighter. while Jim's was deeper, and closer to this, as OP says.

>>94956219
Yeah. After being inseparable from the character for over 20 years, who wouldn't.

Is anyone here familiar enough with Uncle Deadly's voice to tell whether Matt is still doing him here?

Pretty much what >>94956088 said: not bad, I hope Matt doesn't get shit for this because it's pretty ok. But still fuck Disney for fucking over Steve without hesitation.
>>94956329
Definitely still Matt's Uncle Deadly.

>>94955997
Why was the old puppeteer and voice actor let go again?

>>94956376
Disney threw him under the bus when the ABC Muppets show got cancelled.

>>94956376
He kept sending notes to the writers of "ABC's The Muppets", telling them how out of character they were writing Kermit. Also Disney was going to take Kermit in a new, more "edgier" direction and he stood up to the Mouse and said "that's not the way Jim would have wanted it".

>>94956376
Both sides of the story (Steve and Disney) have a similar overlap. Disney was taking the muppets in a direction that Steve disagreed with, and he butted heads with execs for years. Eventually they just got fed up and cut him off.

>>94956409
I honestly think is the real reason. Steve more than anyone represented and was vocal about the desires of the old guard. The fact that he bitched so much about the ABC Muppets scripts just made it that much easier to pin the blame on him. But they'll soon find that with or without Steve, The Muppets are a hard sell in this day and age, especially if you have no clear understanding of who these characters are (as the writers of ABC Muppets did not).

>>94955997
I see Constantine has his mole removed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyZp7fqXUEI

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>>94956376
Because he fought for Jim Henson's legacy and the integrity of those characters while Disney tried their hardest to erase it.

>Muppets Courtyard, along with a portion of the former Streets of America, is being re-imagined by Walt Disney Imagineering to become a new area called Grand Avenue. Inspired by the revitalization and the vibrant culture of present-day downtown Los Angeles, Grand Avenue is where vintage office buildings and warehouses are being converted to exciting new uses. Guests will soon see facades for “merchants” appearing in this area for a music shop, loft apartments, a tailor and more, with each window on the street featuring charming displays.

>The current Muppets Courtyard will become Grand Park, an urban square off Grand Avenue surrounded by shops and restaurants like PizzeRizzo and Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano. Guests can already see changes in the area, with the Muppets theater being renamed “Grand Arts Theatre” and boasting a brand-new marquee.

>But, not to worry – Kermit, Miss Piggy and the gang continue to star in their hilarious and irreverent “Muppet*Vision 3D” show.

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>>94956376
"I was so stunned, because this was such a shock. There was no advance warning of this whatsoever for me. I had every reason to believe I was going to be working with them forever."

"It felt.. just.. almost exactly the way it felt the day that Jim died. So much hope was gone."

On ABC's failed Muppets show
"We were getting a lot of script material and story ideas that were far enough out of character that it made it difficult for us to portray them well, so I started sending notes as we've always done and I think they felt that I had been disrespectful but I don't think so. I think that I was being honest."

Lisa Henson's reaction in that same video saying "He had it a long time coming" was downright cold.

This entire situation with all three remaining Henson kids attacking Steve and Disney's "reasons" for firing him is just upsetting and disappointing, I doubt this is what Jim had in mind for the future of his characters, his company and his kids.

http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/24509-kermit-the-frog-voice-actor-abruptly-axed-after-27-years-so-much-hope-is-gone

https://www.change.org/p/the-walt-disney-company-make-steve-whitmire-a-muppet-again

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>>94956376
https://youtu.be/OdCVLPTiYtg

>>94956781
Whitmire, who was asked to take over Kermit by Henson's family after the creator's untimely death in 1990, said that an instance of a note was over a script for the new ABC series, canceled last year, in which Kermit lied to his nephew, Robin, about his breakup with Miss Piggy.

>"I don't think Kermit would lie to him," Whitmire explained. "I think that as Robin came to Kermit, he would say 'things happen, people go their separate ways, but that doesn't mean we don't care about you.' Kermit is too compassionate to lie to him to spare his feelings."

>He continued, "We have been doing these characters for a long, long time and we know them better than anybody. I thought I was aiding to keep it on track, and I think a big reason why the show was canceled (after one season last fall) was because that didn't happen. I am not saying my notes would have saved it, but I think had they listened more to all of the performers, it would have made a really big difference."

The second issue Whitmire says he was given concerning his termination was a union issue.

>"The second issue was framed as 'refusing to work on a particular project’ some 15 months earlier," Whitmire explained. "I happened to get caught in the middle of a dispute on a contract classification between SAG-AFTRA and Disney Labor Relations, which occurred while I was in-flight to work on the project and the associated commercial. I did in fact shoot the commercial, but was unable to shoot the material for the project in order to comply with my obligations to the guild. Ironically, in that situation, my rep had negotiated a special deal with the guild so that we could do the work within the budget parameters for the project."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-says-fired-kermit-frog-actor-unacceptable-business-conduct-1021701

>>94956088
This, I have no idea how to feel about any of this now.
I know it felt weird enough when he changed the first time, and now he changed again and he sounds like a fake.

>>94955997
they get Ray Ramono to voice him?

>>94956422
This was the main reason Steve was given, but, according to him, giving notes to the writers is something that the Muppeteers have always done.

I think Disney really just wanted a scapegoat when people started saying that Kermit and the other Muppets became "mean" after the ABC series.

>>94956794
>"I don't think Kermit would lie to him,"
Bullshit, Jim's Kermit lied plenty of times

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Frank Oz on The ABC Muppets failure

>Did you see the new “The Muppets” TV show on ABC?

I did—the first 15 minutes.

>Why did you stop?

I felt the show wasn’t true to the characters. There was a purity in each character that was vital. I felt that purity was being moved around to areas that didn’t feel right.

>It was cancelled quickly.

My brothers, my sisters, were in there [as the puppeteers]. They did the very best they could. But essentially, they were working with scripts that other people wrote. They had to do it the way it was. If it was given more air and they trusted the performers, as we had air, it would have come alive more. Those abilities, to riff and be smart enough, weren’t appreciated.

http://www.slashfilm.com/why-the-muppets-failed-according-to-miss-piggy-creator-frank-oz/

http://variety.com/2017/film/news/frank-oz-muppets-jim-henson-1202007251/

He knew what was going on with the performers then.

>>94956794
You can tell he put some of himself in his character, definitely didn't deserve to be fired.

>>94956880
yeah he was a little edgier. but he has softened up. and he certainly wouldn't lie to his goddamned nephew.
he'd lie to fucking Scooter in a heartbeat

>>94956880
I would like to see examples of Kermit (not post Jim) lying and he wouldn't lie especially not to his nephew Robin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dEUZ10zwA8

>>94956883
Aw did anyone tell him to try watching the second half? It wasn't great, but it was better.

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>tfw they'll pull an Oswald Rabbit and instead of acknowledging blame that trying to make an Office/Parks and Rec esc. parody was far too late for it to be funny as well as making all the characters one note generic sitcom stereotypes was a bad idea and killed the show, the executives will simply say that people no longer care about the Muppets and put then on limbo

It's pretty nasal, but I think he'll grow into it.

It's definitely going to cut into the time for his Jerry Nelson characters though.

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>>94956894
Dave Goelz even said that Steve is the only one to do Kermit justice after Jim.


https://youtu.be/8KA4Ok509VM?t=244


"Kermit came back pretty quickly because they wanted to do a tribute to Jim about six months later.

So they asked Steve to take that on, he kept Kermit at his house for about a month and didn't get him out of the box because he was just too emotional about it. He didn't even want to think about taking that on and then the show started approaching and he had to try. He got out Kermit and tried to work with Kermit, as he did it he really felt that he just didn't have it. He wasn't sure he could do it, as he went along he started thinking about the way Jim looked when he did Kermit, because we would be smashed together face to face.

He would start mimicking Jim's gestures, he kind of became Jim for about five years. It was annoying by doing that he nailed Kermit and he got so close that I couldn't imagine anyone doing a better Kermit than Steve."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubtQf0df8Ms

>>94956955
Because the showrunner was sacked halfway into the season and whoever was brought in tried to salvage things with Muppet Show style skits but it was too little too late the show had already bled viewers and sunk hard in the ratings, so Steve took the blame.

>>94955997
And now Kermit will talk to children about the heroes in Antifa and how kids in sandland pray every 4 hours.

>>94957245
Whitmire is too pure for this world

>>94957245
>It was kind of annoying [audience laughs] but by doing that that he nailed Kermit and he got so close that I couldn't imagine anyone doing a better Kermit than Steve."

>>94955997
Getting Constantine's puppeteer to replace him was a bad idea. It just sounds like him only his Kermit impression got better.

>>94955997
Based Disney made the right call


again

>>94957419
This. It just doesn't sound right to me. I'm sure Matt's doing his best, but i just don't like it.

Maybe he'll get better.

>>94957551
I'm sure Matt doesn't like this either

>>94957566
Oh definitely. Matt's not to blame for any of this, but I just don't think he does a good Kermit. But it's a little hard to judge off just a few seconds.

Still, what a shitty situation. Sucks that the Henson kids threw him under the bus, too. Didn't one of them say he made Kermit too cynical? And didn't he have a problem with the ABC series for BEING too cynical? Shouldn't they be on the same page?

What a clusterfuck this has been.

>>94957245
I was told that steve was jim's hand-picked replacement even before he knew he was dying, because he wanted to step back a bit and do more writing work and less performing

>>94957605
unless I misunderstood, only one of them did, the other three were on steve's side.
it's so weird thinking Jim was actually planning to sell to disney way back in the day.. but I guess disney was different back then. that would have been the Disney of Little Mermaid and shit

>>94957609
It's true, regardless of what the remaining Henson kids are viciously saying about him now (that he wasn't chosen) in their effort of throwing Steve under the bus.

https://youtu.be/eozzCVBzMWY

>>94955997

Steve's Kermit always sounded too meek and oftentimes very melancholy. His Kermit was too wishy washy.

Go back and watch The Muppet Show or the original Muppet Movies and Jim's Kermit was sassy, direct and had attitude. He still let people walk over him, but not ALL the time. Steve's Kermit was a wimpy punching bag.

While Steve's firing was sorta shitty, I am looking forward to seeing a different take on Kermit after all this time, and hopefully it'll steer the character back more toward Jim's irritable boss portrayal rather than Steve's soft-toned doormat.

>>94957630
Brian Henson threw him under the bus as well.

And the Disney deal was a LARGE contributing factor to Jim's death, even Frank Oz spoke out about it in the documentary about Jim Henson.

>>94956409
That fucking sucks.

>>94955997
Yea and I'll also agree its a deal closer to Henson's vocals.

Not bad and he'll get better as he adjusts.

Still a wrong move to do Steve like they did but I won't hammer the new guy having to just pick up and run with it.

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Anybody else think that it's quite a "coincidence" that around the same time the Henson family outed Steve, they finally got funding for "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance" and "The Happytime Murders" after years of trying to get those projects off the ground?

#NotMyKermit
#FuckTheHensons

>>94957951
Yeah, it sucks what people will do for money.

>>94956450
They did the same shit to Roy.

>>94955997
He sounds like Spencer from Harmontown

>>94956450
You had a bunch of idiots trying to write it like "The Office" which was stupid.

You want to write it like "The Muppet Show."

It's a shame that Henson's children became little cockroaches that threw Steve under the bus, which I still don't get at all

Jim wanted Steve as a replacement, it wasn't like he was taking the role for himself, could someone give me a breakdown of where this retarded feud came from?

>>94958083

Basically, Disney is trying to move away from having a single dedicated individual for a "voice over" role (even though Kermit is much more than just a VA gig). Their VAs with exclusive contracts for characters have demanded pay raises over the years and are entering Simpsons-tier, so Disney has been trying to put the kibosh on that.

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck now have alternates, which is something Disney never did in the past. But that way, if Mickey #1 won't do a job, they can get Mickey #2. Or if Donald #1 says he wants more money, they'll just use Donald #2, etc.

They wanted to do the same thing with Kermit and ordered Steve to train an understudy. He wouldn't do it, because he felt too strong of a personal connection with the character. But he was also turning down gigs Disney wanted him to do, like public appearances, and that was pissing them off.

So they cut him loose and appointed a new Kermit, sending out a clear message to everyone who plays a Disney character: "You're replaceable".

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>>94956689

>>94957855
>contributing factor to Jim's death
what, he was too busy working on it to go to the doctor? is that why? shit

>>94956689
>>94958150

Real Talk: The Muppetvision 3D show sucks. It is full of annoying outdated characters who take up too much screen time (Bean and Waldo) and the film has been needing to be updated into something new for over a decade. It reeks of the Muppets Tonight era, which was one of the worst eras of the franchise.

They only keep the film untouched because it was the last thing Henson worked on before he died, not because it's particularly good.

>>94958145
Had more balls then Fox did on that.

>>94957994
no it sucks that they dont understand that the way you get money is via integrity. that builds a huge empire you can milk for decades, instead of flash in the pan shit that fails

>>94958191
>what, he was too busy working on it to go to the doctor? is that why? shit

Partly; the stress of the Disney deal is said to be what got him sick in the first place.

But the reason he didn't go to the doctor until it was too late is because he was raised by Christian Scientists and had it ingrained in his head to never go to a doctor no matter what (even though he himself wasn't a Christian Scientist, the attitude was drilled into him). By the time he agreed to go to a hospital there was no time left to save him.

>>94958196
Thing is they make a new version it would have that little punch bowl turd in it which is worse.

>>94958145
I can understand that, the simpsons actors demanding increasingly exorbitant pay is the reason they couldnt afford to hire even halfway decent actors anymore. Same thing happened with Futurama's revival. Why can't they be content to have the world's greatest job and be rich as fuck, they have to be multi-millionaires too?
that's extra fucked for disney though seeing as they've always worked really hard on getting just the right voices for everyone, and they have one of the hardest jobs doing that given some of the absolutely ancient roles

>>94958218
Same shit is killing Val Kilmer the Christian Scientist mentality I mean.

>>94958218
Ah that makes sense. Those guys are nuts. They really give actual christian scientists a really bad name too, because they managed to secure that name for themselves first
the full name of their sect actually ends in ", scientist" like with a fucking comma. what religion has a comma in it? fuck those guys. luke was a fucking doctor.

>>94956450
>>94958028
Speaking of Disney not getting The Muppets after the failed ABC show the entirety of their youtube channnel " Muppet Thought of the Week" speaks volumes of just how much Disney has no idea what to do with these characters.

There's a reason why the SNL Muppets were dumped and not a single US TV channel picked up The Muppet Show back then, they didn't get it and thought it was for kids. It wasn't until Jim went to the UK that it was actually picked up.

Disney even experimented having Muppet characters interact with little kids in a Sesame Street way for their Kiddy Disney Channel.

>>94958196
Bean and Waldo were supposed to be annoying, especially Bean his character's whole point is to be cute to the point of annoyance he would constantly receive abuse from other Muppet characters for being too cute to stomach.

>>94958267
yeah basically the muppets have been fucked from the very beginning. they could never catch a break.
I think they need to just... start over, yknow? retire people who died, introduce new ones. do stuff like Puppet Up, etc.

>>94958308
i wish waldoing CGI had remained popular though. it's by far the best way to animate in 3D. it's like mocap but not requiring everything to be humanoid. we should always be using mocap on peoples' hands and letting them do animation in realtime. mouths, eyebrows, etc..

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>>94958218
He referred to it as "the damn Disney deal" and people were genuinely surprised by it because Jim would never swear.

He never wanted to be a bother or waste anyone's time, so rather than get it checked out he assumed it was just a cold and would simply pass until it was too late and he coughed up blood by then it was too late for him. Doctors would have been able to save him had he come in a couple of hours sooner..

>>94958196
>They only keep the film untouched because it was the last thing Henson worked on before he died, not because it's particularly good.

The sad thing is I think you're right about this. But also because Muppets is so low on Disney's totem pole, I doubt they want to spend the money to update the film.

I saw Muppetvision last year when I visited and it was pretty cringey. Waldo is especially awful, not just because he's so annoying and out of place among puppets, but because his "cutting edge CGI" is so fucking outdated it's embarrassing.

They really need to update that film or tear the place down and put in something better.

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>>94958308
Bean was always a fucking faggot
Im glad his Chad brother Lugsy bullied the fuck out of him in Bunny Picnic

>>94958405
>all that glorious hair
i was born in the wrong decade man

>>94958308
>>94958534

Bean ruined Muppet Babies.

>>94958405
in his defense 99.999% of the time it's stupid to go to a doctor for a cold. If you have even the slightest bit of health you can fight it off, and if you develop pneumonia you can take antibiotics. It's not as if he was a frail-ass old man. not yet. didn't make it to that age, sadly.

>>94958553
>>all that glorious hair

But not for Frank. Never for Frank.

>>94958426
dont forget the animatronic statler and waldorf that are so broken you'd almost think it was a joke on animatronics
the comments on youtube are priceless though
>>94958579
he ended up with a nice beard at least. fixed that David Cross look he had going

>>94958145
>Their VAs with exclusive contracts for characters have demanded pay raises over the years and are entering Simpsons-tier, so Disney has been trying to put the kibosh on that.
Steve has stated that he has been paid the same amount for years.
"I think in these days and times everybody thinks everything is about deals that fall apart over money. What you need to know is that my fees were based upon a day rate, and were the same in 2015 as they were for twelve years before we were at Disney. Also we continued to use the Henson boilerplate agreement as the basic contract with Disney for hundreds of projects of every shape and size."

The point of staying consistent with fees and paperwork was so that all involved could be nimble in meeting the often overwhelming demand for Kermit with no surprises for anyone. Making deals with me is simple. We all know the terms because they’re the ones we used last week and for years before."
https://stevewhitmire-muppetpundit.com/2017/08/09/lets-talk-negotiations/

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>>94958579
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pbKHDpOmYU

>>94958145
>>94958616
>He wouldn't do it, because he felt too strong of a personal connection with the character. But he was also turning down gigs Disney wanted him to do, like public appearances, and that was pissing them off.
Steve has also stated that none of the other Muppeteers trained understudies either, and he doesn't turn down any gigs.
"None of the Muppet Performers, including me, has ever to my knowledge turned down any appearance of any size. I have consistently advocated that it is imperative in marketing a franchise of puppets in today‘s world for every Muppet character to always show up fully intact with no exceptions at every type of appearance. That means it must be the singular established performer for ribbon cuttings, feature films and everything in between. Nothing can take the place of the genuine article."

Thankfully, after fans speaking out and a change of executives, the multicasting idea was sidelined as they saw the merit of a singular performer, singular Muppet. So none of us trained understudies because it was a corporate concept that was foreign to the standard working practice of the Muppets and was, in my opinion, being implemented to service multicasting. If this is part of my unacceptable business conduct, then I guess Eric, Bill and Dave have marks beside their names as well."
https://stevewhitmire-muppetpundit.com/2017/08/03/understudies/

>>94958686
I occasionally forget about Rowlf because nobody has ever replaced him properly. I think he was actually Jim's best. Those delightfully meta commercials where he was hucking puppets you can buy

>>94958534
I forgot how much of a fucking Alpha Lugsy was
Fuck Bean, seriously

who at disney is to blame for the poor handling of the series?

>>94958695
so basically someone is lying a lot and nobody's doing anything about it

>>94958616
>>94958695

The alternate VA thing that they tried to force on Steve was probably a consequence of a corporate-wide Disney mandate, not something directed solely at him or the Muppet performers. Some exec in a boardroom probably said "I want alternates for all Disney VAs from now on" and some clueless middle manager figured The Muppets count as "Disney VAs" and send the mandate onto them.

>>94958606
>>94958426
>>94958196
You know what they absolutely could do right now? "Muppet Vision: Live".

They made that Rocket Raccoon animatronic for the Guardians ride, and presumably that's about the same detail they'd need for Muppets (put the muppets over a robot "body" and allow them to move and do stuff up and down like if it was attached to a person; if you watch the video with Rocket and the entrance thing, you can see how he bobs up and down)

Renovate and replace the theater, put a brand new seating area and have the muppets come out with skits and jokes, and play new shorts and stuff on a big screen. You could have a rotating assortment of either old or brand new skits from shows/commericals, etc and just play them all together along with "live action" sequences with the muppets doing shit on stage


Obviously Muppets are low on the totem pole but that'd be at least a fresh take instead of straight up tearing it down which they'd probably do.
Or have people do the actual puppeting and have pre-recorded lines and shit. That's how they did the Disney Junior stuff I think.

>>94958728
Bill Baretta's been doing Rowlf for some time now.

>>94958728
Bill Barretta does a great Rowlf but sadly none of the material written for him has been good.

That's the main problem with Disney's Muppets too, you have a core group of incredibly talented puppeteers that know the characters inside out, have a knack for ad-libbing because they're always riffing off each other and then you have some ABC hack writers and Disney execs telling them to stick to the script no matter how out-of-character or shit the jokes are.

I really can't fault Steve for any of this, keep in mind he was sacked in October 2016 and he kept his mouth for so long in hopes of getting the job back but they never got back to him.

It wasn't until recently that he spoke out about his firing and even then he merely stuck up for Jim's vision and never really speaking ill will towards Disney or the fact that the Henson kids threw him under the bus.

At the same he's still hoping to get the job back because before the firing he was in talks of becoming a creative director to keep things in check with how the characters are supposed to be.

>>94958858
havent seen the rocket but i cant imagine that looks any good. mechanics are unreliable at speaking speed

>>94958728
Rolf is performed by Bill Barretta nowadays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPMTEJ_IAAU

>>94958858

That sounds awesome, but sounds like it would be on the same Imagineering expense budget as The American Adventure in EPCOT.

I think Muppets only slinks by at Disney because they're as low-cost as it gets. Even asking for new movie footage for Muppetvision would probably be outside the budget, let alone a complete overhaul with rotating animatronics.

The only update they ever did to Muppetvision was when they added new clips to the line queue video, advertising Muppets Most Wanted. And now even THAT is annoyingly dated.

>>94958861
i said -properly-
>>94958903
yeah that goes for the simpsons too. when you hear the actors just shooting the shit, they're 90 times funnier than the show.

Steve is apparently offering to do the Hollywood Bowl show for free.

>Restoration of our core remains what will ultimately serve all involved. So at two and a half weeks out from the Hollywood Bowl show, I‘ll offer the same thing I did to executives who chose to replace us on other appearances that did not succeed.

>I can be up to speed and ready for this show with little more than a day‘s rehearsal. Restoring the integrity of the core team will give this show all the depth and authenticity that is inherent to each of the Muppets, and as offered in the past, I‘ll even do it for free because, in my opinion, keeping the 2016 ensemble whole and intact is by far what is best for the Muppets going forward.

https://stevewhitmire-muppetpundit.com/2017/08/21/doing-what-is-best-for-the-muppets-part-2/

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>>94958858
> "Muppet Vision: Live".
They did that, it is called The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History

According to one of the parks puppeteers they're shutting down The Muppets Great Moments of History by the end of this year, people don't stop to watch them perform it so Disney is killing it already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69A5HCMc27o

>>94958728
>>94958861
>>94958903
>>94958932

Barretta's good and I'll be honest, it's better than that era when the Jim Henson Company began retiring characters whenever their performers died. All of a sudden core characters like Rowlf and Scooter had to be reduced to voiceless crowd fillers because Richard Hunt and Jim Henson were dead.

I think that was the one thing Disney insisted they stop doing that was a good idea and it gave us back a ton of classic characters who hadn't been allowed to speak for a decade.

>>94959015
That's with reason even Dave Goelz mentions that in the interview posted, skip to the 4:05 mark >>94957245

https://youtu.be/8KA4Ok509VM?t=244

>>94959007
I've been hearing rumors that American History was a test for a "The Muppets present the Star Wars Saga" show for when Galaxy's Edge opens and Grand Avenue begins to function as a line to get inside the land.

>>94959081
Looks like the test wasn't a success if Disney is already shelving it after a year.

>>94958952
What do you mean by "properly"?

Bill has taken over several of Jim's characters and has performing them for years now.

>>94958952
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgv_VTynhEk

>>94958575
truth. Had family go in for checkups and come back with infections that landed them in the hospital.

>Diamond Select doing a line of the old Muppet Palisades stuff.

>Neat

>Some textures are off and they won't be doing any of the big display sets.

Damn.

Least Swedish Chef comes with a table and tons of stuff. Not as much as the old kitchen nor as nice though,

>>94960305
They're also fucking tiny compared to the actual Palisades figures.

I've only gotten the Kermit/Bean/Robin pack because the latter two were small characters anyway and ones I didn't have in my Palisades collection.

>>94955997
That'll do frog, that'll do.

>>94960345
Wish I could have gotten the Muppet Backstage and the Electric Mayhem Band display.

Still got a kitchen in box and its going to stay that way.

>>94960395
I have Kitchen, Muppet Labs and the Mayhem playsets.

But because of the weird retailer transitions throughout the run, I missed out on a few waves.

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>>94960305
The Diamon Select figures are nothing like the Palisades, they're smaller in scale, have cartoonish sculpts (as if they're grown up versions of Muppet Babies) and the paint jobs are terrible.

Stick to Palisades Muppets if you can still find them, we'll never get a toyline made with this much attention to detail made out of sheer love for The Muppets ever again.

>>94960441
retailer transitions and Online and Convention Exclusives, in the mid '00s.

Never could get the Jim Henson.

>>94956219
Haha what a baby.

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>>94960395
I have the Electric Mayhem Band display, all I'm missing is Zoot, Janice and Lips.

>>94960492
Smaller because I wager they are recasts and not the original molds. Which always results in shrinkage as I learned from the dude that makes Showbiz Pizza Animatronics.

>>94960532
Janice was a hard one.

From what heard she was EXTREMELY short packed in cases.

Like ONE or some such nonsense .

>>94960533
They're new sculpts with more articulation. Kermit's really hard to balance as a result because he's got these skinny legs with functional knees and ankles.

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>>94960533
They're not recasts my man, no need to blab unrelated shit you don't know anything about just because you picked up a fun factoid about a Showbiz Pizza Animatronics once.

>>94960568
>>94960532
My Mayhem band is just the playset Animal, Dr. Teeth and Janice.

I let Clifford and Johnny Fiama hang out around the Mayhem display to compensate.

>>94960247
oh right I hadn't even thought of that. if you're only a little sick you're running the risk of catching something worse
still, you know you. if jim's the kind of guy who could die of pneumonia then he had to KNOW that about himself. You don't just wake up frail one day. I know a frail old guy.. he still works hard but he knows how to take it easy when he's coming down with something, and keep his head covered when it's cold.

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get your ass back to bed Joel, Who the fuck said you could stay up late.

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>>94960601
Good luck finding a Diamond Select Kermit that can actually stand and doesn't have shittily painted eyes.

>>94960705
It's not easy being Joel's dad, and having a shit son

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>>94960622

The only Palisades Muppet toy I ever bought was Beauregard. I didn't even know anything about the Muppets at the time, I just bought it because I thought it would be funny to have a janitor toy on my shelf.

It was a really good sculpt, looking back. Kinda wish I still had it.

>>94960990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsJ-uoAoCRc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkklVQ5y81g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JE6YEjbMkc

>>94959005
No way Disney is doing that. Outside of bad blood the company has, there's a good chance Steve would be out of practice

>>94961258
They already dragged out the Henson Company to shit on him, there's no way Disney is taking him back.

>>94960622
Clifford's definitely a Mayhem Electrician. Just not full-time. also didnt know there was a toy of him. awesome.

>>94960768
god i'm having flashbacks to my Jazzwares Finn. They made it out of some kind of hollow recycled plastic that snaps if you look at it funny

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>>94961904
Has removable shades to give you a pre-Muppets Tonight look.

>>94962011
and one or two things too
>>94962062
awesome, i love that guy. god i miss kevin clash

>>94962104
>god i miss kevin clash

Why? Did he molest you when you were 16, too?

>>94962137
no, he fuckin taught me ninjutsu and how to make a funny
kevin clash isnt a buttpirate and he didnt molester anybody

>>94962137
All charges against him were dropped

>>94960615
>claims they're not recasts
>they look nothing like the originals

>>94961258
I'm sure Steve is more in practice than Matt.

>>94962982
Do you know what recast means?

>>94960615
>>94960601
Won't lie, in a perfect world, I would have preferred Palisades' detailing and Diamond's increased articulation. Especially with Kermit and Fozzie.

Kind of sucks you got to chose one over the other, though.

>>94963951
Even maintaining Palisades's scale would make a significant difference

Disney lost all it's credibility to me, thinking puppeteers are fucking replaceable like voice actors.

>So we fired Kermit, who do we replace him?
>Oh hey, that one dude played a Kermit in that one movie
>Oh get him to do it

>Kermit got a shit voice replacement
>No word on Beaker, Rizzo, Statler, Link Hogthrob, Newsman, and Lips
>Lips finally found his fucking character after 40 years

>>94960492
The only Diamond Select figures I felt like getting were Statler and Waldorf. Unlike the Palisades figs, they even came with their booth! 10/10 purchase, honestly.

>>94963951
Though limited in articulation the Palisades figures had clever sculpting, while Fozzie's legs are simply swivels and by twisting them they can change from a standing pose to a walking one similar with his arms and hands. It's actually pretty damn clever, later palisades Muppets would have better articulation though.

>>94964327
Statler's already been given to Peter Linz.

>>94964409
>Peter Linz does an amazing Ernie
>LET'S GET THE DUDE WHO'S WHOLE GIMMICK WAS A FAKE KERMIT TO DO KERMIT

>>94957951
>"The Happytime Murders"
let it die

>>94964166
voice actors arent either you know. and disney has always til this point had a good practice with them.

>>94964505
Vogel's gimmick was being an understudy for Big Bird whose last name actually means Bird.

>>94964505
There's a thing people forget-- It was an audition job. There's a good chance Peter, even Artie Esposito performed and didn't get the job but Matt did

>>94958925
>but i cant imagine that looks any good
it doesn't. it looks GREAT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTUdgJVkq_Q

>>94956883
Frank Oz biopic starring David Hyde Pierce when?

>>94964896
you mean david cross

>>94956689
>Inspired by the revitalization and the vibrant culture of present-day downtown Los Angeles
>basing the Muppet's new attraction is based on one of the worst urban centers in the Western world
Jim would be pissed

>>94964849
holy shit, that's insane.. i'd rather have this in the fucking movies.

>>94958015
*guitar riff*
COMING TO YOU LIVE FROM ABC STUDIOS IN BURBANK CALIFORNIA MUPPETTOWN IS NOOOOOW IN SESSION
*applause*

>>94956689
There's no way that is real, that's literally the plot of the disney muppet movie

>>94964550
It's happening. Production has already started.
https://www.backstage.com/news/casting/2-netflix-projects-begin-casting-supporting-roles/

>>94956794
>Disney tries to shut him up and make him act as if he's moving on
>Stands by his principles and what Jim taught him and isn't taking bribes
What a guy. What are Henson's kids problem?

>>94964919
Nah, he'd probably just say "hmm."

>>94964849
Why are we using CGI for everything if practical effects can look this good and are cheaper?

>>94965205
I know it's /tv/ but I wish the people behind GOT would get this simple concept through their thick fucking skulls.

>>94965075
>Production has already started
It hemorrhaged leads for a decade and only survives now because Melissa McCarthy is literally producing the project AND because it's straight-to-Netflix.

>>94965094
>What are Henson's kids problem?
He devoted his life to his craft and spent too much time away from them in their formative years. Also find me kids of a beloved Hollywood/musical icon who aren't entitled total bags of shit with delusions of living up to their parent.

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>>94956689
>>94958150
>TFW Muppet Courtyard is one of the easiest places to work in all of Walt Disney World

>>94955997
Sounds fine but I can't forgive them.

>>94965094
>What are Henson's kids problem?
money

>>94965329
yeah but brian has always been cool. he was fuckin Hoggle. he judged that awesome puppetmaking contest show

>>94958686
young Frank looks like Seymour Krelborn.

>>94964849
>>94964944
>>94965205
It doesn't look that amazing.

>>94966683
it absolutely does. having just eyes and a mouth on an animatronic head is one thing, but a whole body like that?

>>94967524
It looks great for an animatronic, but it's not "use in a movie" tier. Particularly the facial animations and the hands.
It's still pretty impressive though.

>>94968120
Well maybe, but I'd rather see small CGI enhancements to a real model. Like when they added eye-blinks to E.T. though that did look kind of weird.

>>94958028
>>94958267
>>94958367
Honestly I feel like the muppets would work best as Homestar Runner-type shorts

>>94955997
Not as odd as the new Gonzo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0wLUuS4rQU

>>94968487
Prior to the new movie, that's all they had been doing for ages. Just little shorts and music covers. And it's also most of what they've done recently. I think you're totally right

>>94968708
Yeah, but they still had feature length stuff like Muppets Christmas Carol and stuff

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>>94957438

>>94969064
naw that was lonnng before the youtube era. i'm talking about after they pretty much flat-out stopped making anything, and before Disney started making movies. When we started getting shit like 'muppets doing bohemian rhapsody'

>>94968563
That was nice.

>>94956853
kermit was mean at times.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EAqGGpj0Ans

>>94968563
Gonzo's been the same dude since the first ever Muppet Show, dude.

>>94969869
It was a joke that lead into the fact that the video isn't actually a new guy, it's just a cover of his song from The Muppet Movie (that's actually really kickass).

>>94969489
he had every right to be angry there, not exactly mean.

>>94965094
They're failures, they're uncapable of getting any project off the ground for years on end.

>Fraggle Rock movie was a disaster
>Del Toro directed stop motion pinnochio movie
>Happy time murders

>>94966152
Not anymore he's not.

>>94971047
>Fraggle Rock movie
you what now?
>Del Toro directed stop motion pinnochio movie
WHAT?
>murders
okay what are we talking about

>>94958145
>Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck now have alternates, which is something Disney never did in the past. But that way, if Mickey #1 won't do a job, they can get Mickey #2. Or if Donald #1 says he wants more money, they'll just use Donald #2, etc.
Or if they get sick, or lose their voice, get in a car accident, real life prevents them from being able to muppeteer.

Which isn't why Disney was doing it, but for fuck's sake, they could have SAID it's why they do it.

>>94971057
it's so hard to believe.. what'd he actually say?

>>94964561
>if you don't perform Mickey for this price we'll get someone else who will
>good practice

>>94971087
He joined his sister in the shit flinging against Steve

>>94964953
I kek'd. Good show, anon

>>94958218
It was clearly Eisner's doing anon, him and the deep state got Jim killed.

>>94971085
I mean, as I understand it, disney's major guys have always had understudies, but never alternates. the understudy is doing his own shit until the day he has to take over for the main guy.

>>94971217
yeah but that's so vague. what does that mean. is this just fucking social media tweet internet politics shit? or was he just bashing the show and mistakenly roped steve in with it
>>94971168
not familiar with the phrase "til this point", or did you just not see it?

>>94958236
>Why can't they be content to have the world's greatest job and be rich as fuck, they have to be multi-millionaires too?

Yeah how dare they siphon away money from the poor Fox executives for being a simple voice actor in a cultural phenomeon cartoon series beloved by hundreds of millions of people around the world?

>>94958196
Do they still have the live performer in the Sweetums costume come out every show?

>>94971550
did you know that Jim Henson's other son died? he played Sweetums in the filmed bits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henson_(puppeteer)

>>94971527
why should their pay go UP? their work isn't going up, nor is their talent. if you look up how high it's gone it's insane, and it's all of them, not just the 3 best ones.
and they arent taking a dime from the executives. like i said theyre taking it from the writers. and they dont give a fuck what that does to the show, killing said phenomenon in its tracks.
now if their contracts said fox execs' pay has to go down, that would be awesome.

>>94971579
>died of heart attack while playing with daughter in snow
oh i'm sure that didnt fuck her up at all

>>94971579
literally half the cast of the show is dead (2 Hensons, Richard Hunt, Wayne Allwine)

I hear all the best material is the shit they'd do in between takes (I hear this of nearly everything)
I really wish we could just get to see that shit. it would be the best thing ever. I can only assume it's held back because it would kind of destroy the industry if they didnt have to pay any writers

>>94971624
who's that last one?
there's way more dead than that. jerry nelson's the most dead in my opinion. miss that guy. irreplaceable.
telephone rock on, little jerry.

>>94971649
Oh i meant Muppetvision 3D. Wayne Allwine plays Mickey for a hot second when Waldo transforms into him. None of Jerry Nelson's characters were in the show (Richard Hunt was still doing Statler).

>>94971047
remember when henson studios and the Brothers Chaps were going to do some kind of movie together, but they couldnt get any funding? shopped it around everywhere. fucking DREAM TEAM and a fantastic premise (Something about a zoo) and they couldnt get it funded.

>>94971047
>Happytime murders
That's moving forward now. They cast Melissa Mccarthy in one of the lead roles a few months back.

>>94971870
why am I less excited than I was a minute ago to find out what this is

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>>94956088
Don't you mean ON good hands?

>>94971087
>>94971514
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jim-hensons-son-explains-why-kermit-actor-was-replaced-character-could-use-change-1022041I

>>94971870
>Melissa Mccarthy
I hope she does a good job but she annoys the shit outta me.
Hopfully she wont be doing any "comedy" and she'll be the straight man

>>94971550
They did last I went a few years ago.

>>94971640
That or it would destroy the muppets family friendly image, or Kayfab (part of the magic is tricking the kids into thinking it's real)

God, why do the fucking muppets make me feel so emotional? There's just something pure and wholesome about them, like that fucking painter with the 'Fro, or Mr. Rogers.

I'm a cynical porn loving degenerate, but talking about this makes me want to tear up

Hurts so much the show tanked, that so many muppet actors are dead now or getting fired. Just when they were picking wind back up too. They had a big movie and were doing those nice youtube shorts.

In a few years there won't be anything left. Disney will turn them into whatever sockpuppets they want, and Henson's kids? Will take in the cash.

Camelot can never last forever.

>>94972925
The show stank

>>94972913
Muppets aren't meant to be cute or kid friendly, they're supposed to go against the grain. Their first pilot was even called Sex and Violence.

I thaught the ABC's The Muppets was fun, and it actually started to get good then they canned it.

>>94972809
404'd!
>>94973312
eh the second half was okay. and what can you expect from modern tv?
>>94973449
the muppets have always been about being too lovably-square but also too down-home-cool to care about the concept of familyfriendly nor to concern themselves with the tawdry. that title was a joke after all

>>94971502
An understudy IS an alternate. They're someone to take over if the main guy can't do it.