The Muppets

[Daniel]

Weird to see him not green.

[Ben]

Well, it's not easy.

[ShyViolet]

Steve's Kermit was just so warm. Thank heavens he at least got to do the last two Muppet movies before whatever drama it was finally went down, because the new Kermit is so off in ways that are truly unfortunate (and distracting!).

This! Exactly how I feel, both about Whitmire and current Kermit. Personally, I just can’t see past the, um, much deeper voice (!) and comic timing that is FAR too clever and contemporary to even remotely suggest the sweetness of Henson’s or even Whitmire’s renditions. He’s also the stiffest Kermit yet—barely jumps or gets excited at all. .

[Daniel]

Recount on Kermit's voice and the controversy:



Great vid. Pretty much sums up how I've felt about this. I really feel for Steve and the way it all went down. Whenever I watch Muppets Most Wanted, I always think how eerie life imitates art. Nice as it would be, I don't see Disney rehiring him.

[Daniel]

New edition of The Muppets Christmas Carol coming out October 20th:



No details but I'm thinking nothing new. Even the artwork is the same from the previous edition, just with a red background.

[Ben]

Blu-ray and no digital code? Not that I want or use that, but that seems to be the standard now, even while dropping the DVDs from reissues.

Now...the *only* thing that this *might* represent is the remastered full-length uncut version that Brian Henson alluded to a couple of years ago. He said that the extra footage had been thought to have been lost but that it had then-recently been rediscovered, hinting that Disney was aware of this and of the requests for the uncut version.

So there's that, which may be asking for too much but might be a nice surprise.

And then hopefully we can get them to add back the almost ten minutes from The Muppet Movie that’s been taken out of every version that’s hit disc since it was released. The original cut includes the "proper" version I saw originally and still have on VHS (which also marries up to the soundtrack album), not only running much better in a couple of important moments that seem rushed in the current wide release but also making all the dialogue (and very funny comments!) audible during the end credits, which are drowned out by the music on all the disc releases. In this case, I don’t know if Disney are even aware of a different cut of The Muppet Movie, but it exists somewhere!

[Daniel]

Disney+ has a good quality version of "When Love is Gone" as an extra, not reinserted in the film. That alone would be nice. Drags a bit perhaps, but it's still beautiful and makes the reprise at the end more poignant:

[Randall]

Blu-ray and no digital code? Not that I want or use that, but that seems to be the standard now, even while dropping the DVDs from reissues.

A little odd, too, when you see this other reissue coming this year:

[Ben]

Hopefully scrubbed free of the excessive DNR...!

[Daniel]

RIP Dame Diana Rigg... Lady Holiday in Muppet universe:

[Ben]

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"It's plot exposition, it has to go somewhere!"

Just brilliant. I have a fun Ms Rigg story to share sometime, in connection to the filming of Great Muppet Caper. She was a very kind and understanding lady. RIP.

[EricJ]

Just brilliant. I have a fun Ms Rigg story to share sometime, in connection to the filming of Great Muppet Caper. She was a very kind and understanding lady. RIP.

I'd like to hear it: Either it was an extreme example of Mrs. Peel-esque flipness, or I remember thinking Rigg just seemed bored onscreen, albeit not quite to the embarrassed level among foam pigs and frogs of Charles Grodin or Robert Morley.
If she did indeed have a good time making the movie, it would be that more comfortable to watch.

[Ben]

She was soooo not Emma Peel. The Muppet Caper set was one of the most fun and happy sets I have ever been on. Everyone was having a blast on that film, even if they knew — and were enjoying — how silly it all was. She wasn’t so much a fan, actually, of The Avengers but still did credit it for what it did for her career. She was an incredibly humble lady, and a super-sharp as a tack actress.

[gaastra]

Loved the great muppet caper.

[Daniel]

Can the Franchise Reckon With Its Boys' Club Culture? Some choice language so be warned. There's some very interesting revelations in the piece... if they're true. Brian hates "Rainbow Connection" for one. Wow! And again touching on the whole Steve controversy. Gossipy perhaps, but I can believe most of it.

When he played Kermit, Whitmire agreed. So much so, in fact, that when he learned that Disney was holding an audition for backup performers (it was hastily organized in 2005 after the voice of Winnie the Pooh's Piglet, John Fiedler, died without anyone lined up to take his place)

Yep, a lot people don't realize that. Which explains so much...