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If Jim Henson were alive today, he would have turned 75 years old. A lot of us grew up on The Muppets, Sesame Street, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, the Ninja Turtles movies, and all sorts of other shows and movies. Jim Henson's contributions to the world certainly shaped my childhood.

Of course, the legacy continues - and happily - with the upcoming Muppets movie. But he's still missed.

I think his was the first celebrity I was aware of and thus the first celebrity death I was cognizant of despite being 5 years old. Many of the shows had little introductions by him, he was present on TV broadcasts of Muppet movies (which we had recorded on the VCR and watched too many times), and often the "making of" stuff for Sesame Street, Muppets, and related things were on TV. While I'm sure I didn't entirely grasp death at that age, I did understand that he was gone and not coming back, and there wouldn't be any more of those little specials where Jim Henson and a bunch of other puppeteers were being heckled by their own puppets they were holding up. I almost wonder if seeing all that garnered my appreciation more for the people behind the scenes than those on-screen or on-stage; I really didn't start learning actors' names until I was nearly in college, but I knew Jim Henson, Stan Winston, and Steven Spielberg when I was in 2nd grade.

The Muppet Movie is the best of the films in my opinion; it basically just takes road trip, throws in a dogging villain, and populates every corner with Muppets. The others tried to focus a little more on their plot stuff, which made them feel less focused when they did the Muppet chaos thing of ignoring the plot in favor of hijinks or songs. But the first three are all solid fun. Still haven't seen Muppet Christmas Carol. Muppets 3D at Disneyworld is a blast and I'm excited about the new movie.

Then there's the other stuff... so MUCH good stuff. The Dark Crystal is one of my favorite fantasy movies and captures the wildness I'd like to see more of in fantasy as opposed to LOTR rip-offs. Anyone who hasn't watched The Storyteller needs to see it on Netflix streaming before it vanishes; the Greek side made after Henson's death kind of sucks, but the older fairy tale bits hosted by John Hurt are each something special.

I'm also glad that Henson company is still doing good work today. Anyone who's seen The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy can appreciate the real animatronics used for the vogons, as opposed to CGI. I heard the actors certainly found it nice to have something in front of their faces to interact with. Where the Wild Things Are is probably divisive story-wise, but the special affects were brilliant. So like Nick said, there's a strong legacy, and I hope the new Muppets movie will end the whole "insert Muppets into existing story" trend they've had for a few movies, so we can get on with good stuff.

Cause I really fucking love the Muppets. I didn't get the show when I was young; it went over my head. I gotta watch the seasons at some point and laugh at what I was missing.

Unquestionably well said, sir. I tip my hat to you. Another somewhat forgotten great movie that came from the Muppet Studio was MirrorMask (written by Neil Gaiman and directed by Gaiman's friend, Dave McKean). While I never got into the show, the studio also did some great work on Farscape. Not to mention some amazing children's television that's still going today.

Heck, one of my favourite Christmas movies (aside from Gremlins and Die Hard) that I never get tired of watching is The Muppet Family Christmas.

One show I forgot to mention that I loved as a kid was Dog City.

Here are two videos from Jim Henson's memorial. The first is unbelievably sad.

I like to think that the second one gives us a glimpse at the sort of working environment that Jim Henson fostered.


And here is a video about making puppets. One of the things I find fascinating is that in Jim Henson's world, there is no barrier between the puppets and making puppets. He shows everyone exactly how they are made. It's an ordinary process. And yet, the puppets just happen to animate and interact with the process of making new puppets. And Henson doesn't miss a beat when it happens.

You gotta hand it to Brian Henson, Jim really couldn't have asked for a better person to carry on his legacy. So often children of incredibly creative people just shit all over their parent's creations.

Google put up a muppet doodle on their main page, people have put it to good use.

Been thinking Muppets pretty much all day and something came to mind. Since there's a new movie coming out, depending on its success (and it will be greatly successful, judging by the hype), what if they brought back a new show?

Here's some random ideas I have regarding it:
1) Have it on late-night Sundays, in a similar timeslot with Simpsons and Family guy. Get it on NBC, if humanly possible (as that's where the original Muppet Show aired).
2) To pop those ratings early on, you bring in the big guns. I'm ashamed to admit it, but you'd have to have, say, Justin Bieber or Taylor Lautner. Could be fun, though. You could have Bieber sing a duet with Canadian Muppet sensation, Justin Beaver. Lautner could do a sketch with a pack of Muppet wolves.
3) Not sure about the format, but I rather liked The Muppets Tonight style, with it being a television station.

What do you guys think?

I really enjoyed Muppets Tonight.

What the hell was Clifford supposed to be?

I loved Muppets Tonight. Although I've gone back and watched it since and it wasn't as great as I remembered.
(How come Pepe is still around but Seymore just disappeared after the show?)
I think Clifford was just... a Rastafarian guy.
I still think the Muppets need to host the Academy Awards. I would actually watch that year.

They could have The Muppets be the theme of the next Academy Awards. Have Muppets all over the place throughout the show and give Henson the Lifetime Achievement award.

http://www.retroist.com/2011/07/10/nbcs-muppet-pipes/

Pretty cool story (with videos) of when Frank Oz and Jim Henson were at NBC studios in 64 and, bored, painted a bunch of pipes with characters. A glimpse at their brilliance. Bringing bland pipes to life.

Frankie Williamson said:

You gotta hand it to Brian Henson, Jim really couldn't have asked for a better person to carry on his legacy. So often children of incredibly creative people just shit all over their parent's creations.

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Totally agree. He's always been a positive influence, even back when Jim Henson was still there.

There are those who would argue that Brian Henson has ruined the Muppets. I am not one of them.

I think the Muppets franchise had some hiccups, like the straight-to-DVD adaptations of things like Wizard of Oz. But the studio itself has always been strong. Now, thanks in large part to Jason Segel, I think things are back in the right direction.

Brian Henson = Partly responsible for Farscape.

LOVE 'IM!

ThatNickGuy said:

I think the Muppets franchise had some hiccups, like the straight-to-DVD adaptations of things like Wizard of Oz. But the studio itself has always been strong. Now, thanks in large part to Jason Segel, I think things are back in the right direction.

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Oh yeah, I won't even watch that one. And Its a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is pretty god-awful, especially compared to Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Family Christmas (when are they going to finally release that? I want it, dammit)
But I so often hear all this hate for post- Jim Henson Muppets, like Muppets Tonight and Muppet Treasure Island, and Muppets From Space were abominations that should be shot into the sun or something, and I think those people are just seeing the Muppets through nostalgia goggles. I get that its not the same Muppets that they grew up with, and okay; the voices are different and the new puppeteers aren't getting the characters the same as the old ones, but I think they've done a very good job of evolving the Muppets' formula to remain relevant in the media. And I don't think the differences in the voices or the slight nuances in the acting are really that important, because they're performing for a new audience.
I'm part of that new audience, really. I'm old enough to have seen the Muppet Show and love it too, but I'm still young enough to have grown up more with Muppets Tonight than with the Muppet Show, and I absolutely love Muppet Treasure Island. I think they're doing a great job.

I bow deeply before Jim Henson and always shed tears when watching the clips from his memorial. Especially this one:



On a brighter note one of my all time favorites:

ThatNickGuy said:

I think the Muppets franchise had some hiccups, like the straight-to-DVD adaptations of things like Wizard of Oz. But the studio itself has always been strong. Now, thanks in large part to Jason Segel, I think things are back in the right direction.

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It was actually made-for-TV, which to me is somewhat worse.

It had a couple of good moments, but really failed from start to finish. Muppet Treasure Island was flawed, but it wasn't a bad movie.