This past weekend, the Museum of Moving Image, in conjunction with The Jim Henson Legacy, and support from The Walt Disney Company, Sesame Workshop and the Jim Henson Company, finally unveiled their much anticipated new addition, The Jim Henson Exhibition. While this exhibit certainly took much time to finally unveil, the wait was ultimately worth it, resulting in a brilliant, beautiful and perfect exhibit to highlight the incredible life and works of Muppet creator Jim Henson.
Photo by Mitchell Stein
Since being purchased by Disney in 2004, the Muppets have been a welcome addition to the company, with a few spectacular productions under their belt. However, as this exhibit is focused primarily on the life of Jim Henson, those Disney-specific projects are not mentioned, of course — even those that were in conjunction with Disney prior to their purchase, which was the case with The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island. This is to its benefit, as the museum is focused on the legacy of the man who was such a creative visionary and so brilliantly ahead of his time.
Many people view Jim Henson as ‘the creator of the Muppets’ or the performer of Kermit the Frog, but what many people forget is that Jim was truly an experimental filmmaker. Like Walt Disney, he was a creative visionary ahead of his time, with innovative ideas that would revolutionize cinema, or predict the direction in which cinema would go before it would even get there. The exhibit begins with Henson’s early years and creations before quickly showcasing Jim as an experimental filmmaker with ideas that almost won him an Academy Award. His journey is presented in nearly chronological order, making its way from Jim’s experimental films right down to his final released project, Muppet-Vision 3D. Within the confines of the museum, this truly makes an impact, as guests aren’t merely presented with a collection of puppets and information about Henson, they’re given a story, and the opportunity to take this small journey through the life of Henson. Guests will witness firsthand the legacy and brilliance that this man shared with the world, and the legacy he left behind. This brilliant exhibit is for anyone that has ever been touched by one of the ingenious creations of Jim Henson (which is everyone, unless you’ve been living under a rock, and not one inhabited by Fraggles).
Photo by Mitchell Stein
On display at the museum is a stunning array of restored and preserved puppets, most of them beautifully restored from their original form. Some of the most shocking and impressive were a few from Henson’s early years, like the La Choy Dragon and Yorick from Sam and Friends. There is also a section dedicated to Sesame Street, which has a full size Big Bird restored puppet, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Prairie Dawn. The section devoted to The Muppets features original puppets from The Muppet Show, including The Swedish Chef, Statler and Waldorf, Zoot, Nigel the conductor, and a band of Koozebanians. The area also has an original logo arch from the Muppet show (which is the famous logo that Kermit usually appears through at the start of each episode) and a restored puppet of Miss Piggy in her wedding gown from The Muppets Take Manhattan. It’s difficult to explain how beautiful these puppets look in person and how they did on The Muppet Show, particularly since seeing them on the low-quality resolution film doesn’t nearly capture how detailed and beautiful these puppets are. Many of the puppets on display in this section were originally designed by Bonnie Erickson, who also oversaw the restoration of these puppets before being displayed, so it is especially exciting to see these incredible detailed masterpieces come full circle.
The exhibit goes further to explore Henson’s other non-Muppet works in the section titled ‘Immersive Worlds’, which devotes space to the works of the fun and colorful Fraggle Rock, to the dark and creepy world of The Dark Crystal and to the goofy and scary world of the cult classic, Labyrinth. These three productions are given plenty of attention, with several original restored Fraggles on display, including Cantus Fraggle, Gobo Fraggle, and Uncle Traveling Matt, as well as four Doozers (including fan-favorite, Cotterpin Doozer). Elsewhere, The Dark Crystal includes a jaw-dropping full-size Skeksis, and an array of artwork and mechanics that went into designing and creating the film, largely attributed to designer Brian Froud. Labyrinth is also featured, with a full costume display of the wardrobe worn by David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly in the film.
The exhibit wraps up with two final pieces. One side of the room is titled ‘Looking Ahead’, which is a quick wrap up of all the final productions that Jim worked on until the end of his life. These projects included the canceled The Jim Henson Hour and Muppet Vision 3D. Disney Parks fans will be interested in seeing the animation-puppetry technology that Jim debuted for the Jim Henson Hour and incorporated into theme park film for the character of Waldo C. Graphic, the spirit of 3D, which translated puppetry movement into rendered digital animation.
Wrapping up the exhibit is a beautiful video montage showing elements of the legacy that Henson left behind and the people he worked with. It’s always incredible to put into perspective what we often take for granted, and that these brilliant creations that have touched the hearts of millions could not be possible without the vision of this man. Jim Henson once said that his goal was to “leave the world a better place than it was when I got here”. By the time you walk out of this exhibit to the end of the video montage, a video of Jim holding Kermit on the set of Muppet Family Christmas and saying “Bye-bye” into the camera, you’ll certainly agree, that Jim has definitely succeeded in his goal.
The Jim Henson Exhibition is a brilliant testament to a brilliant legacy, and it’s the perfect experience that any Muppet fan or Disney fan should certainly make an effort to visit. The narrative of Jim Henson’s innovative work and his many collaborations is beautifully realized by the museum’s exhibition curator, Barbara Miller and design director, Wendell Walker. Just like Henson’s films, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll be inspired by Henson’s beautiful world. Nearly everything about the exhibit is everything we could have asked for, and we’re thrilled that the legacy of Jim Henson is in such capable hands.
The Jim Henson Exhibition is now open at the Museum of Moving Image.