Matt Danner happy to speak for new version of ‘Muppet Babies’

Matt Danner has been working in animation for more than two decades, starting while he was still in high school. Over the years, he’s worked on a variety of programs, including “Gravity Falls,” “The Looney Tunes Show,” “Dan. Vs.,” “Wander Over Yonder” and “WWE Slam City.” None of those projects has excited him as much as being named the supervising director for the new version of “Muppet Babies.”

His excitement isn’t just being in charge of a franchise he’s loved since he was a youngster. It’s even more of a thrill because Danner will supply the voice of the young Kermit. His passion is so real for the group, in his office is the plush Kermit the Frog toy his parents would put in his crib with him.

“If I go back in time to the first TV friend I had, it would be Kermit because I grew up watching ‘Sesame Street.’ My first memories of comedy and character and friendship were with Kermit the Frog,” Danner says. “This is a long-time commitment to the franchise.”

As the supervising director of the new “Muppet Babies,” Danner has taken on a huge responsibility. He’s now riding herd over part of an entertainment franchise that dates back more than 60 years and has been presented through multiple television shows, movies and stage productions. Instead of thinking about all of the mistakes he could make, Danner is just concentrating on making the best product with the characters he’s loved his entire life.

“I think more about whatever we mine from the project comes from what made it pure in the first place,” Danner says. “There was no part of any of us when we were developing this show that said ‘Oh, I want to do my own version of “Muppet Babies.”‘ It was more what we liked it in the first place, where did it come from and then playing to those strengths.”

The biggest difference between this version and the original one in 1984 is the animation world has advanced and now the characters come closer to looking like puppets rather than two-dimensional drawings. To get the design right, the team went back to the 1984 film “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” where the idea was first shown. It was a dream sequence in which Miss Piggy imagined what it would be like if she and Kermit had grown up together.

The new series ages the babies just slightly to being toddlers for Kermit the Frog, Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and Animal. Joining the group is Summer Penguin, a new character designed to add a female perspective and a way of introducing young viewers to the group. Along with Danner as the voice of Kermit, the cast includes Jenny Slate as Miss Nanny, Melanie Harrison as Piggy, Dee Bradley Baker as Animal, Ben Diskin as Gonzo, Eric Bauza as Fozzie and Jessica DiCicco as Summer.

The gang will hang out in the playroom of an urban brownstone with an expansive backyard. This will give them everything they need to go on their fantastical adventures. The backyard is home to Kermit’s bouncy pond, Piggy’s dressing room, Summer’s art table, Gonzo’s chicken coop, Fozzie’s stage and a communal treehouse. In every episode, through a rainbow transition, the Muppet Babies use their imaginations to go into a fantasy sequence, each with a distinct style ranging from collage to comic book to classic cartoons to live-action footage.

Each episode will feature a theme centered on one of the characters. The story will use the zany comedy the Muppet Babies are known for to introduce young viewers to the problem-solving power of imagination.

Although Danner is excited he’s the voice of Kermit, the idea of him handling the vocals was not the original plan. Over the years, Danner has done an occasional cartoon voice, but the majority of the work would go to more seasoned voice actors. What he’s done over the years, as in the case of “Muppet Babies,” has been to provide the initial recordings used to begin the animation process. Generally, those early recordings are replaced by the voice actors.

“I assumed that we were going to hire real actors,” Danner says with a laugh. “But, then the people at Muppet Studios heard it and decided what I had done was fine so we just went with it. Once the show got picked up we had a huge casting call for the voices and I was encouraged by my team to try out.

“I decided to do it and I made every cut. They told me that for some reason my voice is very close to Jim Henson’s.”

His theory is having impersonated Kermit and many of the other Muppet characters over the years helped him be ready when the opportunity came along. It’s a good thing all that practice paid off because Danner now recalls how he would drive his parents crazy sitting in the backseat of the family car providing a voice for the Muppet puppet he had been given.

That Kermit puppet is also in Danner’s office surrounded by other merchandise he collected over the years. It will all serve as inspiration for Danner and his team to create the next production in the franchise with hopes there will be more youngsters out there who will be inspired by the Muppets the way he has been all his life.