Jim Henson Movies
For as long as he could remember, Mississippi born Jim Henson was a devoted fan of puppeteers and ventriloquists; his idols included Edgar Bergen, Burr Tillstrom and Bil and Cora Baird. While attending high school in Maryland (where his meteorologist father had been relocated), Henson was hired for the staff of the Washington, D.C. kiddy show Sam and His Friends. By the time he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, the lanky, goateed Henson was in charge of the TV show's puppets, with his future wife Jane Nebel as his assistant.It was during the Washington years that Henson hit upon the concept of the Muppet: part marionette, part puppet. His most popular character was Kermit the Frog, whom Henson fashioned out of his mom's overcoat in 1959. TV commercial appearances by the Muppets led to guest stints on The Jack Paar Show, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, and The Jimmy Dean Show. While Henson and his partner Frank Oz handled the voices for most of the characters, the ever-expanding Muppet cast required a retinue of willing (and quick-witted) assistants. Henson's first taste of movie-making was the Oscar-nominated 1965 short Timepiece, but at the time he preferred television to films. In 1969, the Muppets became a regular feature on the spectacularly popular PBS daily Sesame Street, which turned out to be both a blessing and a curse for Henson: his characters were now highly marketable, but he was being perceived as exclusively a "children's entertainer." As such, he lost a lot of adult-oriented assignments. This "kiddy" onus prevented ABC from picking up Henson's half-hour The Muppet Show in 1975, whereupon Henson offered the program to syndication. As a result, The Muppet Show became one of the biggest non-network hits in TV history, as well as a great international success. Capitalizing on the popularity of "star" muppets Kermit and Miss Piggy, Henson and his staff concocted the 1979 all-star feature film The Muppet Movie, which made scads of money. With 1981's The Great Muppet Caper, Henson made his feature film directorial debut; he would later direct Labyrinth (1986), and with Frank Oz, co-direct The Dark Crystal (1982). After many years of avoiding Saturday morning network TV, Henson collaborated with Marvel Studios on the weekly cartoon series Muppet Babies (1984), which added more Emmy awards to his already top-heavy trophy shelf; less successful was the 1986 animated version of Henson's HBO series Fraggle Rock. During the late '80s, Henson expanded his activities to designing "creatures" for other producer's projects, notably the 1990 movie blockbuster Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In May of 1990, Henson was poised to sell his Muppet empire to Disney Studios. Suddenly stricken with streptococcus pneumonia, Jim Henson checked himself into New York Hospital, where he died a few days later at the age of 53. The Muppet operation was taken over by Jim Henson's son Brian Henson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This educational collection offers skill-building number sequences from 1 to 12. ~ All Movie Guide
Travelling Matt, the leader of the teeny-tiny Fraggle civilization, continues to dispatch informational postcards during his journey into Outer Space (actually the "real" world) during season two of the live-action puppet series Fraggle Rock. As usual, there's a lot of activity in the world beneath the rock in the backyard of the house owned by human inventor Doc. The opening episode is the Dr. Seuss homage "Wembley's Egg," in which Wembley Fraggle protects a lost baby Tree Creature. Later, Travelling Matt returns from Outer Space, only to get into a personality clash with his jealous nephew, Gobo. And in other episodes, noise-sensitive Boober moves into the Cave of Boredom for peace and quiet; cloddish monstrosity Junior Gorg tries to get rid of the Fraggles' precious Trash Heap; Mokey Fraggle decides to live the life of a wandering minstrel; Doc's dog, Sprocket gets stuck in the tunnel between Outer Space and the Fraggles' world; the Doozers uncharacteristically enter into a building competition; Doc's radio causes confusion and disunity amongst the Fraggles; and a huge caterpillar saves Mokey from the evil Gorgs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Parkes, Lee Armstrong, (more)
- 1984
More lessons from the Sesame Street gang in this video about word relationships and rhyming basics. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1983
HBO's first original live-action children's series, Fraggle Rock debuted January 10, 1983, under the watchful eye and nimble fingers of Muppetmeister Jim Henson and his team of puppet manipulators. The action took place outside the home of an avuncular inventor named Doc. Unbeknownst to anyone but Doc's dog Sprocket, a tiny civilization lived beneath the huge rock outside Doc's house. This was Fraggle Rock, home of the fun-loving Fraggles, the hardworking Doozers and the dictatorial Gorgs. Eighteen inches tall and bearing furry tails, the colorful Fraggles wanted nothing more out of life than to eat radishes and enjoy themselves. The 6 inch tall Doozers were the "worker ants" of this community, constantly building towers. Ma, Pa and Junior Gorg were obese, overbearing monstrosities who ruled Fraggle Rock from their gloomy, Gothic castle. (Or at least thought they did!) Outside of Sprocket, who every so often accidentally tumbled into the tunnel that led to Fraggle Rock, the only liason between the Fraggles, Doozers, and Gorgs and the outside world -- or "Outer Space," as they called it -- was the resourceful Travelling Matt, leader of the Fraggles. Leaving his nephew Gobo in charge, Travelling Matt made several forays into the big world, sending back postcards describing the awesome wonders that he'd witnessed (commonplace to us, fascinating and overwhelming to him). A typical Muppetized blend of zany comedy and prosocial proselytizing, the 96-episode Fraggle Rock was seen in first-run on HBO for five seasons. Beginning in 1986, the series was rebroadcast on the TBS cable superstation; and in 1987, an animated version of Fraggle Rock premiered, also on HBO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Although kindly old inventor Doc is unaware that a tiny civilization lives beneath the rock behind his house, Doc's dog, Sprocket, is all too cognizant of this phenomenon. Thus is established the premise of the live-action puppet show Fraggle Rock, which launched its first season's worth of 24 half-hour episodes in January of 1983. The stories deal with the colorful, carefree Fraggles, the hardworking and industrious Doozers, and the gross, dictatorial Gorgs. The first episode, adroitly titled "Beginnings," finds head Fraggle Travelling Matt venturing out of Fraggle Rock and into "Outer Space" (aka the real world), sending postcards of the various wonders he's witnessed to his nephew, Gobo. In later episodes, Wembley Fraggle's willingness to be agreeable to everyone he meets plays right into the hands of the Gorgs; the Doozers are frustrated by the Fraggles' insistence upon eating their construction jobs; Gobo and Red Fraggle go on a treasure hunt; Boober Fraggle gets his feelings hurt once too often; the Fraggles' precious radish supply runs out; and Mokey's efforts to one-up the Gorgs culminate in her funeral -- even though she's very much alive! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Parkes, Lee Armstrong, (more)
Jim Henson ventures into Tolkien territory in his all-Muppet fantasy feature The Dark Crystal. The titular Crystal maintains equilibrium in a mythical kingdom. When the Crystal is broken, the evil Skeksis take over, killing off the good-guy Gelflings and enslaving everyone else. Two of the Gelflings have survived: Jen was raised by the all-knowing Mystics, while Kira grew up amongst the swamp-dwelling Podlings. Jen and Kira join forces to "heal" the precious Dark Crystal and restore order to their world. Adults may find the whole affair a little precious, while children may be disturbed by the film's mortality rate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, (more)
The Great Muppet Caper is the second Muppet film and it is considerably more complex than its predecessor, The Muppet Movie, which was essentially just a road movie. As the film begins, Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are reporters who have failed to bag a story of a London jewel heist, which happened under their watch. The real criminals managed to escape and frame Miss Piggy as the thief. Kermit, Fozzie and the Great Gonzo set out on a mission to solve the mystery and track down the criminals who stole the Baseball Diamond. There are fewer star cameos and songs in The Great Muppet Caper than in The Muppet Movie, although appearances from John Cleese and Charles Grodin are particularly memorable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Grodin, Diana Rigg, (more)
Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear, from of the large crew of loveably fuzzy characters created by puppetmaster Jim Henson, have embarked on a quest for stardom. They take a trip to Hollywood, riding in or on a wide variety of vehicles along the way. They begin their journey on a bicycle pedalled by Kermit, but friends accumulate along the way, and they change vehicles to accomodate them. They have the additional challenge of fending off the entreaties of the heartless Doc Hopper (Charles Durning), who wants Kermit to make some advertisements promoting fried frog legs. Kermit must also cope with his amorous feelings for Miss Piggy, and hers for him. This appealing children's adventure movie has numerous scenes which do homage to classic films, and features a huge cast of Hollywood greats, from Edgar Bergen to Orson Welles, in cameo roles. A great box-office success, this movie paved the way for a number of sequels. One of the film's many songs, The Rainbow Connection, was nominated for an Oscar. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Henson, Frank Oz, (more)
- 1977
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Featuring a heart-warming story, the trademark Jim Henson wit, and beautiful songs, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas originally aired as an HBO special. The story is a spin on the classic "Gift of the Magi," with the impoverished Emmet and his Ma each making a sacrifice in the hopes that it will help them win the yearly talent show, and enough money to buy the other a Christmas gift. Purists, take note: There have been multiple edits of Emmet Otter released over the years, with minor but noticible changes to dialogue, and the addition/removal of scenes featuring Kermit the Frog. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jerry Nelson, Marilyn Sokol, (more)
- 1972
The Muppets' adaptation of the classic fairy tale finds Kermit the Frog narrating the story of several animals who form a jazz group and seek independence from their master. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Featuring Kermit the Frog and all his Muppet pals, this is a sharp and funny retelling of the classic tale of an enchanted prince who is saved by a princess able to look beyond mere appearances. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Hey Cinderella! was one of several Muppets TV specials taped in Canada during the 1970s. In their own irreverent fashion, Jim Henson's cloth-and-foam creations retell the Cinderella yarn. The script keeps enough of the traditional story to please the kids, while still containing plenty of contemporary references to amuse the grownups. Kermit the Frog introduces the tale, doubling in the role of Cinderella's coachman, while the villainy is provided by a purple monstrosity called the Splurge. Though the budget was obviously tight, the production values maintain the veneer of lavishness throughout. The 54-minute Hey, Cinderella has since 1970 become a fixture of such cable services as Nickelodeon and Disney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
