The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History'

Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
FoozieBear said:
Rest assured, I am well aware of how to spell Fozzie Bear's name. The name is due to the fact that FozzieBear was taken, so I instead chose the name of Foozie Bear, which at the time I chose the name, was a reference to The Moopets' band member, Foozie Bear, who is Fozzie's evil doppledanger/rip-off hired by The Moopets after Tex Richman buys The Muppet name and strikes a deal with the band in an attempt to replace them with the cheesy Moopet act. It was an obscure reference and a great gag.

Had I put more thought into it many years ago, I probably would have come up with something better, but don't even think I don't know how to spell the name of one of my favorite Muppets.
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That explains it. You're a Muppet fan.
 
TheOrangeBird01

TheOrangeBird01

Well-Known Member
Phil12 said:
The problem is that Steve Whitmire is doing a lousy imitation of Jim Henson doing Kermit. And it isn't about getting into Jim Henson's head, it's about getting into Kermit's head. Steve Whitmire has failed to capture and interpret Kermit. And the proof is that Kermit's popularity has dropped like a stone.

And it all goes back to what I said before, the current Muppet team are left overs from when the Henson children called the shots. They made bad decisions then and Disney has gone along with those decisions.

But I think it's obvious that Kermit is completely without his soul now. New talent is needed. Time will fix the problem.
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I'm assuming you don't know that Jim Henson specifically wanted Steve Whitmire to take over Kermit if anything happened to him. If Jim felt like Steve was the right choice for Kermit, I think we should all think he's the right choice.

I understand that Kermit doesn't sound the same now as he did back when Jim was alive, but Jim's Kermit and Steve's Kermit are two totally different interpretations. Steve says that all the time. Jim's Kermit is classic, we can all agree on that. Steve's Kermit has an acquired taste (figuratively not literally ;)) because he's added so many new layers to the character. If you watch enough of the "new" Kermit he starts to grow on you, but for anyone who hasn't followed every single Muppet production since after Jim's death, I get that it's hard to get used to "new" Kermit.

(Just an FYI, Steve is only about 10 years away from puppeteering Kermit longer than Jim Henson did. In Steve's 25 years as Kermit he's made more appearences, movies and half as many TV show episodes than Jim's Kermit did ...)
 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
TheOrangeBird01 said:
I'm assuming you don't know that Jim Henson specifically wanted Steve Whitmire to take over Kermit if anything happened to him. If Jim felt like Steve was the right choice for Kermit, I think we should all think he's the right choice.
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More then that. Jim wanted to use the Disney sale to get back more into performing and directing, but he wanted to pass Kermit onto another performer to further ease his workload. You see, it wasn't just the Jim Henson Company being absorbed into the Disney empire that was going to happen, Jim was basically going to be set up as the new Walt Disney. A big creative face for the company that'd consult on projects across the board, much like what Lasseter was doing after the Pixar buyout.

If Jim Henson lived, we'd be living in a very different Disney landscape. His death is possibly just as big a junction point as the death of Frank Wells or Disneyland Paris's initial failure.
 
CanadianGordon

CanadianGordon

Well-Known Member
On a side note I made a special trip to Disney Store today to check out the Muppet Tsum Tsum. Animal, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie, and Swedish Chef. Holding all of them together in my hands made me smile.

I bought them. I utterly love the merchandise that's being created. The new WDW performance I keep singing... There's something to be said for good writing.
 
FoozieBear

FoozieBear

Well-Known Member
Tahu said:
More then that. Jim wanted to use the Disney sale to get back more into performing and directing, but he wanted to pass Kermit onto another performer to further ease his workload. You see, it wasn't just the Jim Henson Company being absorbed into the Disney empire that was going to happen, Jim was basically going to be set up as the new Walt Disney. A big creative face for the company that'd consult on projects across the board, much like what Lasseter was doing after the Pixar buyout.

If Jim Henson lived, we'd be living in a very different Disney landscape. His death is possibly just as big a junction point as the death of Frank Wells or Disneyland Paris's initial failure.
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The biggest shame in Disney history is the ultimely death of Jim Henson. There were so many plans in progress immediately before his passing, and Disney was enthusiastic to bring so much to the franchise. Though "The Muppets" and Disney go hand-in-hand, a Jim Henson and the Disney Company relationship would be a match made in heaven.
 
Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
TheOrangeBird01 said:
I'm assuming you don't know that Jim Henson specifically wanted Steve Whitmire to take over Kermit if anything happened to him. If Jim felt like Steve was the right choice for Kermit, I think we should all think he's the right choice.

I understand that Kermit doesn't sound the same now as he did back when Jim was alive, but Jim's Kermit and Steve's Kermit are two totally different interpretations. Steve says that all the time. Jim's Kermit is classic, we can all agree on that. Steve's Kermit has an acquired taste (figuratively not literally ;)) because he's added so many new layers to the character. If you watch enough of the "new" Kermit he starts to grow on you, but for anyone who hasn't followed every single Muppet production since after Jim's death, I get that it's hard to get used to "new" Kermit.

(Just an FYI, Steve is only about 10 years away from puppeteering Kermit longer than Jim Henson did. In Steve's 25 years as Kermit he's made more appearences, movies and half as many TV show episodes than Jim's Kermit did ...)
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I did know of Jim Henson's wishes in that regard. Jim Henson is dead so let's not worry about what he wanted.
The problem is that one actor can not be the character which they portray. Because if they become synonymous with that character, then they are no longer acting. And a good actor can take any character and make that character their own.

Whitmire does a lousy Kermit. He is just not a good actor. Disney needs to hold auditions and find a new Kermit.

As an example, there have been many different actors that have played the role of Superman over the years. And most of the actors did a fine job but they didn't imitate one another. They brought their own acting skills to the role. The same is true for other characters such as Batman.

 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
Phil12 said:
I did know of Jim Henson's wishes in that regard. Jim Henson is dead so let's not worry about what he wanted.
The problem is that one actor can not be the character which they portray. Because if they become synonymous with that character, then they are no longer acting. And a good actor can take any character and make that character their own.

Whitmire does a lousy Kermit. He is just not a good actor. Disney needs to hold auditions and find a new Kermit.

As an example, there have been many different actors that have played the role of Superman over the years. And most of the actors did a fine job but they didn't imitate one another. They brought their own acting skills to the role. The same is true for other characters such as Batman.

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Disney has to fire Bret Iwan from being Mickey Mouse and replace him with Chris Diamantopoulos full time first.
 
Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
TheOrangeBird01 said:
Um ...

Walt Disney is dead, but according to your logic we shouldn't have worried that he wanted to build Disney World.
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His brother built Disney World and got rid of that stupid idea the old dead guy had for Epcot. Just imagine the disaster that would have happened if Roy tried to build Epcot for his dead brother!
 
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Phil12

Phil12

Well-Known Member
Tahu said:
Disney has to fire Bret Iwan from being Mickey Mouse and replace him with Chris Diamantopoulos full time first.
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Except for being TWDC trademark, Mickey is irrelevant now. He's going into the public domain in a few years (2024) so Disney needs to put more emphasis on other characters such as Stitch and Groot.
 
rd805

rd805

Well-Known Member
Phil12 said:
The only way the Muppets will once again succeed is when Disney takes creative control away from the Henson children. I think Disney is watching these repeated Muppet failures and planning on using them as ammunition get rid of the staff at The Jim Henson Company and bring the Muppets under direct creative control of TWDC.
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The Muppet reboot in 2011 made a huge killing in the box office, did it not?
 
FoozieBear

FoozieBear

Well-Known Member
@Phil12 I'm not sure why you keep saying that Disney is at the fault for listening to the Henson children. I really don't think you understand the Henson kids don't have any part in the Muppet property right now. I don't think they ever even get consulted regarding the property or how to handle it.

Ryan Doncsecz said:
The Muppet reboot in 2011 made a huge killing in the box office, did it not?
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It did! It was a commercial and critical success, launching a sequel. When the sequel under performed under expectations, I think Disney figured they should focus the brand on something less costly to build up again, but their failure really pushed the brand futhur back. The brand was really badly hurt by this show, but Disney has proven they know what to do with these characters and they have had a lot of success in 2011.
 
Matt_Black

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
Phil12 said:
Whitmire does a lousy Kermit. He is just not a good actor. Disney needs to hold auditions and find a new Kermit.
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Whitmire does a fine Kermit. The voice isn't perfect, admittedly, but he has a fine grasp on the character, which is far more important.

FoozieBear said:
It did! It was a commercial and critical success, launching a sequel. When the sequel under performed under expectations, I think Disney figured they should focus the brand on something less costly to build up again, but their failure really pushed the brand futhur back. The brand was really badly hurt by this show, but Disney has proven they know what to do with these characters and they have had a lot of success in 2011.
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Again, they haven't pulled the Muppet Moments segments on Disney Junior yet, and the Muppets have made numerous live appearances at various events across the country this year.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Going back to the Muppets new show in Liberty Square, when it debuted they had shows through 10/29. Now, they only have shows scheduled through this Saturday, 10/15. What gives?
 
unkadug

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
JohnD said:
Going back to the Muppets new show in Liberty Square, when it debuted they had shows through 10/29. Now, they only have shows scheduled through this Saturday, 10/15. What gives?
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Disney has a history of doing these types of thing for a very limited time.

It seems that the cost of putting on this show may exceed the value to TDO.
 

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