Jim Henson, the “father” of The Muppets, was a creative but frustrated genius. Throughout his lifetime, he was forever coming up with new ideas for movies and TV shows featuring his furry friends. He often neglected his family while bringing joy to the rest of the world. In late 1989, Henson agreed to sell his company and all of his Muppet characters (except those featured on the PBS series, Sesame Street) to the Walt Disney Company in hopes of having more time to develop more creative stuff while leaving the business end of things to Disney to figure out. Unfortunately, Henson passed away shortly thereafter on May 16, 1990, soon to find out what was on the other side of the “Rainbow Connection”. He was only 53.
In late May, Disney will honor this visionary with the documentary film, Jim Henson Idea Man to be presented on the Disney+ streaming service. The Disney Original Documentary (in partnership with Imagine Documentaries) is directed by Ron Howard. The film shares Henson’s life story from his early days appearing on local television to his last projects he worked on with Disney and beyond. It was created “with the full participation and cooperation of the Henson family” says a recent press release, “and will present a fascinating and intimate look at Jim’s illustrious career creating treasured characters and revolutionizing television and film.”
In addition to footage from Henson’s various productions from his 36-year career, the film features a number of new interviews with some of the puppeteer’s closest (human) friends and children. Some of those who appear in the film include Brian Henson (Jim’s son), Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth), Rita Moreno (one of the first guest stars on The Muppet Show), Kagga Jayson (Upside Down Podcast) and puppeteers Frank Oz (Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy), Dave Goelz (Gonzo), Fran Brill (Prairie Dawn for Sesame Street) and Karen Prell (Red Fraggle for Fraggle Rock).
The documentary also features never-before-seen materials from Jim’s personal archives—including home movies, photographs, sketches, and diaries. In the film, Henson talks about how Kermit the Frog was created from his mother’s old wool coat and a ping pong ball cut in half and how his work was less of a nine-to-five job and more of a “every moment of one’s life” type of job.
“Jim Henson has impacted our culture for generations, and his creative legacy continues to live on,” said Javadi, VP of Disney Original Documentary. “As iconic storytellers in their own right, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes are the best auteurs to share Jim Henson’s story with the world. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the team at Imagine Documentaries and the Henson family on this undoubtedly inspirational film.”
While stories about his time working on shows like Sesame Street and The Muppet Show; and movies like The Muppet Movie, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth will be covered, let’s hope that we’ll get some insight on what the inspirations were for such characters like Cookie Monster, Grover, Miss Piggy and Gonzo the Great.
Jim Henson Idea Man debuts on Disney+ on May 31, 2024.
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