That moment when you realize the plot of this movie is Steve Whitmire being gotten rid of so Matt Vogel can take over as the head of the Muppets while using an awful Kermit the Frog impression.
The thing is, they actually have someone decently qualified to take over Kermit: Peter Linz, the guy who plays Walter. He took over Ernie so he can get into that Jim range. But he didn't get the gig because somehow Vogel's Robin voice is even more dogshit then his Kermit voice and between that and the issue of "Well you can't have one guy doing the uncle and nephew together in scenes", Linz ended up getting Robin.
>>216356472Huh. I had no idea Vogel had stopped being Robin. I wonder why he specifically got the job as Kermit. Is it purely because he played Constantine, who I guess is technically sort of a version of the character? Even though the whole point/joke was that Vogel can't do Kermit's voice worth a shit. It's been almost ten years now and Vogel hasn't shown any improvement whatsoever (whereas Steve had improved dramatically in just two years, from The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson to The Muppet Christmas Carol). I don't know who out of Matt Vogel and Peter Linz has been with the Muppets longest and thus maybe Vogel got the job out of seniority... I know Linz was voicing Tutter in Bear in the Big Blue House back in the '90s. It's Kermit the Frog, you'd think of all characters they'd want to make sure they cast someone who could actually get the voice right, whether they had to give the role to a newer/younger Muppeteer or even just outright hire somebody new.
>>216357170Vogel began as Caroll Spinney's Big Bird understudy on Sesame Street in the late 90s and ended up inheriting most of Jerry Nelson's characters when he started also doing Count.There's actually a ton of understudy Ernies they could have pulled from and they probably would have been better off since even if Vogel was good at Kermit, he's got all those other characters to juggle. First thing I thought when hearing the nu-Big Bird got Kermit was "No one man should have all that power" even before actually hearing his take.
>>216356472WHO FUCKING CARES ABOUT ROBIN?I'd be much more concerned about having someone who can do the fucking voice of your MAIN CHARACTER.
>>216357732It's still so weird/funny to me how characters got split up when it came time to recast them with the replacement Muppeteers. You'd think there'd simply be a "Jim Henson guy" to do Jim's characters, a "Frank Oz guy" to do Frank's characters, etc. That sort of thing. Instead, the "Jerry Nelson guy" now does Jim's/Steve's Kermit and Carol's Big Bird but not Jerry's Herry, Robin, or Gobo, the "Frank Oz guy" now does Carol's Oscar the Grouch and Jim's Guy Smiley, the guy who plays Pepe and Bobo now does Jim's Rowlf, Swedish Chef, and Dr. Teeth, the guy who played Tutter now does both Jim's/Steve's Ernie and Jerry's Herry, the guy best known for Baby Bear now plays Richard's Scooter, Richard's Janice, Richard's/Steve's Beaker, and Frank's Cookie Monster... It's such a hodgepodge now. I miss Kermit and Ernie having the same voice.And meanwhile, Dave Goelz is just sitting in the corner playing Gonzo, Bunsen, Beauregard, and Boober as he always has, not bothering anyone else.
>>2163563532014 was 10 years ago.
>>216360851Sure was, buddy.
>>216356472I think they're in this situation because Whitmire just didn't want to train an understudy.
>>216362531Whether Whitmire trained an understudy or not, they can still HEAR. They can still tell whether someone makes a good Kermit or not. If they were in THAT much of a time crunch, Vogel could've just played Kermit for a few months until they found someone better. But they haven't. Besides, why should Whitmire have had an understudy? The only reason it was even an issue was because Disney kept overscheduling him with interviews and public appearances and shit, the answer to which is... Stop doing that. No one yells at Chris Pratt or Scarlett Johansson because they can't be in two places at once. Why should Whitmire/Kermit be any different? "Well, what if Whitmire suddenly died?" What if any actor suddenly died? I guess every single actor and voice actor and puppeteer in the world better have a replacement standing by for potential years and years, just in case.
>>216362798it's different for puppeteers because to become a successful one you have to spiritually bond with the puppet
>>216362798>No one yells at Chris Pratt or Scarlett Johansson because they can't be in two places at onceYeah, but, y'know, they're not puppets. A puppet can do press for a movie while shooting the movie, it's a puppet you can have more than one
