Longtime Voice of Kermit Believes Disney Has Damaged the Muppets
What To Know
- The Muppet Show is returning for its 50th anniversary with a new special produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
- Steve Whitmire, who voiced Kermit the Frog for nearly 30 years, was dismissed in 2017.
- Whitmire criticizes Disney’s corporate approach to the Muppets.
On February 4, The Muppet Show returns to the small screen after a hiatus of almost five decades. Produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s Point Grey Pictures and featuring Coachella headliner Sabrina Carpenter, the special will coincide with the show’s 50th anniversary.
The original The Muppet Show ran for five seasons from 1976 to May 23, 1981, and is fondly remembered for its gleeful blend of vaudeville-style sketches, celebrity guest stars, and the signature anarchy. Week after week, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the rest of the troupe welcomed everyone from Elton John to Julie Andrews. The special aims to recapture the fun madhouse spirit that made the series a cultural touchstone that still resonates with audiences today.
But not everyone is fond of Jim Henson‘s felt creations.
The Jim Henson Company /Courtesy Everett Collection
Steve Whitmire was the long-time voice of Kermit after Jim Henson passed. According to Vox, Henson’s wife and son handpicked Whitmire to be Henson’s successor. And for almost 30 years, Whitemore took over the role of iconic banjo-playing frog following the death of creator Jim Henson, until he was replaced by Matt Vogel in 2017.
But in 2017, the Henson family and Disney parted ways with the performer. Disney reps told The Hollywood Reporter that, allegedly, Whitmire’s behavior had a long history of “unacceptable business conduct” that “went on for many years.”
In a statement to THR, Whitmire expressed devastation, claiming his “outspoken” nature regarding character integrity and creative differences led to his dismissal.
Recently, Whitmire took to his personal blog to air his grievances with both Disney and the Muppets before the premiere of their new show. In a post titled, “Where, oh, Where Has Out Little Frog Gone?” the performer states that Disney’s ownership of the Muppets has resulted in forever damaging Henson’s legacy, what they stand for, and how their methods are harmful to the Muppets.
Andrea McCallin/ABC/courtesy Everett Collection
In his post, Whitmire discusses the sale of the Muppets to Disney, focusing on Jim Henson’s intent for the characters to be performed by their original performers indefinitely and Disney’s subsequent shift in corporate approach.
“Technically, the Muppet characters began to be a commodity prior to Jim’s death,” wrote Whitmire. “Since it was necessary to assign a monetary value to them to facilitate the sale of the company to Disney, their worth had to be measured in dollar signs. But [there] was a stipulation: Jim’s intent was for the characters to continue to be performed by their original performers indefinitely. For Jim, that was at the core of their value.”
“The Muppets becoming thought of as a brand to be bought and sold brought about what I believe to be the most devastating thing to damage the Muppets in their history outside of Jim’s death,” wrote Whitemire.
“The wholly objective corporate approach of treating the characters as ‘roles to be portrayed by actors who audition’ rather than to continue to view them as ‘direct extensions of artistic expression from specific individual originative performers.'”
The Muppets/ YouTube
Whitmire believes that Disney’s approach of treating the characters as roles to be filled by auditioning actors has been the most harmful shift to the franchise since Henson’s death, calling it “a fatal error.”
He maintains that while the performers bear the majority of responsibility in bringing a Muppet to life, the audience must also be willing to suspend disbelief. In his blog, Whitmire argues that the current portrayal of Kermit is missing Jim Henson’s original thought processes, timing, and overall life philosophy, qualities he says can only be passed on through mentorship rather than manufactured.
In the end, Whitmire concludes by saying he has no interest in being re-involved with the Muppets of today because “that green frog puppet is no Kermit.” He concludes the post stating that Kermit’s “heart and soul are here with me.”
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