Frank Oz: "Disney Doesn't Want Me"

[thechase]

“I’d love to do the Muppets again but Disney doesn’t want me,” Frank Oz told The Guardian in an interview published today. That’s right, the man who brought to life Cookie Monster, Grover, Fozzie Bear, Bert and Yoda says he is not welcome in Disney’s Muppetverse.



What about that other tentpole of the beloved Jim Henson-created circus? “Sesame Street hasn’t asked me for 10 years,” said Oz.



“They don’t want me because I won’t follow orders and I won’t do the kind of Muppets they believe in,” he continued. Just how does Oz describe the new version of the Muppets?



“The soul’s not there,” he said. The soul is what makes things grow and be funny.”


After years of wrangling, Disney bought Henson’s beloved characters in 2004. Oz sees a “demarcation line between the Jim Henson Muppets and the Disney Muppets…There’s an inability for corporate America to understand the value of something they bought. They never understood, with us, it’s not just about the puppets, it’s about the performers who love each other and have worked together for many years.”



The center of that universe, Henson, died in 1990 of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome as he was negotiating a deal with then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner. Oz sees a connection.


“The Disney deal is probably what killed Jim,” he claimed to the Guardian. “It made him sick.”.



“Eisner was trying to get Sesame Street, too, which Jim wouldn’t allow. But Jim was not a dealer, he was an artist, and it was destroying him, it really was,” says Oz.



Disney never got the Sesame Street characters but, Oz laments, he’s not able to work with them, either.



“I miss them and love them,” he said.

deadline.com/2021/08/frank-oz-muppets-disney-doest-want-him-1234824670/

[Flo360]

If I ever turn into this kind of old person, I'd put a Shotgun in my mouth an pull the trigger with my feet!

Right Frank, back when you did it the Muppets where much different. -_- And by all accounts the performers hate each other nowadays. Maybe a 77 year old rich dude is not really needed on set? How do these people exist in the constant belief that the world should have stopped with their first divorce?

[James Fabiano]

Mmmmmmmm.....strong with the Bitterness, he is.

I do agree that neither franchise is what it used to be, though. Sesame is now mostly for selling toys to kids and lost its edge a long time ago.

Muppets is brilliant every so often, but yeah hasn't been the same without Jim.

And Henson didn't own Sesame Street, just supplied the Muppets, no?

[noobeast]

Imagine having been the voice of f***ing YODA, but still finding it in you to sit around and go "They ain't doin' them puppets right, I tell ya!"

Like...who gives a shit about the Muppets? Honestly. It's 2021, not 1991. I had no idea that the Muppets even still existed, and I'm willing to bet most people, especially those without children, don't either. And you know who doesn't give a shit about the "soul" of a bunch of puppets? The kids staring blankly at the bright colors and rapidly moving images, and the parents of those kids who are using this outdated nonsense to keep the kid busy while they try to grab a few minutes of peace between poops and emotional outbursts.

I just can't imagine walking around with a chip on your shoulder just because you don't think the people voicing a God damn red furry jackoff that talks like a baby are doing it with enough "soul".

I'm sorry for my outburst.

[Deleted]

Frank Oz also took my dog .

[Dr. T is an alien]

Disney does work with Oz though. He regularly still voices Yoda for them.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

I mean, Frank Oz can be notoriously difficult to work with. Hell, he even says it himself “I don’t follow orders”.

Well, general rule of thumb the dude who proudly (metaphorically) wears a shirt saying “Doesn’t Play Well With Others” generally doesn’t get phoned with a tonne of job offers no matter how skilled he is.

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

Aug 31, 2021 8:45:34 GMT -5 James Fabiano said:

Mmmmmmmm.....strong with the Bitterness, he is.

I do agree that neither franchise is what it used to be, though. Sesame is now mostly for selling toys to kids and lost its edge a long time ago.

Muppets is brilliant every so often, but yeah hasn't been the same without Jim.

And Henson didn't own Sesame Street, just supplied the Muppets, no?

I was mildly livid to see the Grub Hub commercials featuring the Sesame Street gang

The half hour format change really sucked the life out of it too.

[James Fabiano]

Aug 31, 2021 9:57:08 GMT -5 YAKMAN is ICHIBAN said:

Aug 31, 2021 8:45:34 GMT -5 James Fabiano said:

Mmmmmmmm.....strong with the Bitterness, he is.

I do agree that neither franchise is what it used to be, though. Sesame is now mostly for selling toys to kids and lost its edge a long time ago.

Muppets is brilliant every so often, but yeah hasn't been the same without Jim.

And Henson didn't own Sesame Street, just supplied the Muppets, no?

I was mildly livid to see the Grub Hub commercials featuring the Sesame Street gang

The half hour format change really sucked the life out of it too.

On one hand, yes. On the other, they used the characters we probably grew up with, without a sighting of today's signature characters (Elmo, Abby...)

Not to criticize the curriculum of today, but SS is now much less subtle and spells things out for the viewers to get its lessons across.

EDIT: I think years ago, they tried to recreate the lesson of death with Elmo and his dad. Not a patch on the Mr. Hooper episode.

[mrtuesday]

What killed Jim Henson was his refusal to go to the doctor when he had pneumonia.

f*** off, Frank. Don't you dare use his name like that.

[TWERKIN' MAGGLE]

“The Disney deal is probably what killed Jim,” he claimed to the Guardian. “It made him sick.”.

There should be a law about being this rich and this angry.

Someone get this motherf***er some pixie sticks, holy shit.

[Push R Truth]

He's got some corn kernel nuggets of truth in there but it's massively outweighed by the rest of the giant turd he pushed out.

[Paul]

Frank moved on from performing to direct movies years ago, and even before the Disney buyout The Henson Company was looking to recast his characters with performers who were more readily available. Also; frankly (pun intended...) Frank is now 77 and I doubt he'd want to perform on Sesame Street as often as would be required for all of his characters (much less all of the Disney/Muppets work on top of that).

Also; can I just say that Eric Jacobson (who took over the roles of Bert, Miss Piggy, Fonzie Bear, Grover...) and David Rudman (who took over Cookie Monster) are fantastically talented performers in their own rights? Because they are.

[Rumble McSkirmish]

You know if Oz is so sore about the way he's being treated he can always just go back to his old job at Jolliet Prison

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Good news, Frank, you're rich, famous, have a lot of name value and are well connected, if anyone could set out to make a successful puppet comedy in the spirit of the original muppets, it could be you.

[schizo]

Frank Oz: “Want me, Disney Doesn’t”

[Kevin Hamilton]

He's right.

[James Fabiano]

Aug 31, 2021 12:49:38 GMT -5 schizo said:

Frank Oz: “Want me, Disney Doesn’t”

It looks like he started the path from fear a long time ago.

[Cyno]

If both Disney and Sesame Street don't want you, maybe it's you.

Though Disney liked him enough as Yoda to have him play him in two movies and a TV show.

[jimmyjackezekiel]

Teh Butthurt is strong with this one.

(Note: I misspelled that on purpose.)