While it’ll still take a bit longer to get past the disappointment of Muppets Mayhem getting canceled at Disney+, such was the musical glee that show inspired, I’m holding to abundant hopes that the streaming service’s documentary Jim Henson: Idea Man jump starts a new era of Muppet-filled series and movies, among other concepts. But for all the goodwill that Henson himself was known for, former Kermit the Frog performer Steve Whitmire thinks the current state of the brand is severely lacking his beneficial spirit and influence.
What Steve Whitmire Is Saying About Jim Henson: Idea Man
Jim Henson Idea Man is set to debut for fans with Disney+ subscriptions at the end of May, a little over 34 years after the filmmaker’s untimely death, and is the result of years of behind-the-scenes efforts from director Ron Howard and the team of historians and curators poring over the plethora of creative efforts Henson brought to life throughout the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Steve Whitmire told TMZ the doc’s producers also reached out to acquire some of his own personal footage regarding Henson.
However, while they apparently took his footage and potentially used some of it in the finished project, he claims no one ever reached out for him to be directly involved in it through interviews or otherwise. And while that specifically isn’t a problem for him, it speaks to the overall issue. In his words:
It was my defense of the whole of Jim’s influence within The Muppets that ultimately got me kicked out. It doesn’t hurt to be excluded from a documentary, it hurts to see Jim’s spirit, the very spirit celebrated in a documentary such as this, wither unnecessarily.
Whitemire claims producers contacted him years prior to the documentary’s premiere date, and that they specifically discussed a selection of his home movies that featured Jim Henson and others, with some of those recordings going all the way back to 1978. The actor says he was perfectly fine with allowing access to it, and that he expected to be contacted again later on to take part in interviews, but that part of the communication process never happened.
Which would be one thing if Steve Whitmire was someone with only tangential ties to The Jim Henson Company and the puppeteer’s imaginative empire. But he took over as the key Kermit the Frog performer following Henson’s death in 1990, and held the role for 27 years, encompassing a wide variety of film, TV, and theme park performances, with the A+ holiday adaptation A Muppets Christmas Carol serving as his first major Frog-voicing project.
Why Did Steve Whitmire Stop Voicing Kermit The Frog?
Longtime Muppets fans likely recall the kerfuffle over Kermit the Frog’s behind-the-scenes changes when Whitmire was suddenly ousted in the summer of 2017, with the actor revealing that he was outright fired, with differing explanations for why his removal happened in the first place. Whitmire claims to have always argued for what Jim Henson would have wanted, while the latter’s son Brian Henson claimed there was “destructive energy” and that he regretted not firing Whitmire prior to the Disney acquisition.
For what it's worth, Steve Whitmire hasn't spoken out negatively about the current state of the Muppet brand in the way that Frank Oz has slammed the Disney era, and in his current complaints also stayed away from shining a negative light on where things are at now. (Frank Oz appears in the documentary, though, interestingly enough.) However, Whitmire maintained his viewpoint that the franchise lost something when he was fired, and that Henson's influence is only a dwindling presence now.
Check out the trailer for Disney+'s Jim Henson Idea Man below to see what side of the argument you fall on.
Fans can see for themselves just how authentic Jim Henson: Idea Man is regarding its genius subject’s intent whenever the documentary arrives on Disney+ on Friday, May 31. Head to our 2024 TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows are popping up on the small screen soon, and celebrate some of the many Muppet characters who don't get enough attention.
