The former Kermit the Frog actor says he was not injured and has been left out of the upcoming film Jim Henson Documentary… He’s hurt because he believes Jim’s soul inside The Muppets is dying.
Steve Whitmire — who took over the role in 1990 after Henson’s untimely death — tells TMZ … Producers approached him about the upcoming documentary “Jim Henson Idea Man,” about the famed puppeteer, a few years ago of home movies he shot dating back to 1978.
Whitmire says he happily handed over the tapes and expected the team to come back when they were ready to interview him — after all, he voiced the series’ most popular character from 1990 until he was fired in 2017 — but he says no. One follow-up.
Steve says he’s not upset that the studio left him out of the doc…but he says he’s upset that Jim’s influence is almost nonexistent when it comes to his creativity.
“It was my defense of Jim’s entire influence in The Muppets that ultimately got me fired,” Whitmer says. “It’s not painful to be left out of a documentary, it’s painful to see Jim’s spirit, the same spirit celebrated in a documentary.” Like “This, you wither unnecessarily.”
Basically, SW says the life Henson breathed into his character is fading… and — although Whitmire says he’s not bitter about the current state of “The Muppets” — he does think the show lost something when the company abandoned it . To the sidewalk.
ICYMI… Whitmire voiced the character for nearly 30 years, including in popular films like “The Muppet Christmas Carol” and “Muppet Treasure Island,” before Disney fired him in 2017.
The company claimed that Whitmer had demonstrated “unacceptable business conduct.” Steve asserts that he argued over the creative direction of characters he knew well, but it was never respectful.
“Jim Henson Idea Man” will premiere on Disney+ on May 31…but, as Steve sees it, Disney needs much more than a documentary to keep Jim’s legacy alive.
. “Professional creator. Lifelong thinker. Reader. Beer buff. Troublemaker. Evil problem solver.”