Jim Henson

There can be no denying that American-born puppeteer and filmmaker, Jim Henson was, undoubtedly, a man of vast creativity and wide imagination. Henson's conception of the endearing Muppets is definitely living proof of his unquestionable genius.

In this engaging bio-documentary the viewer is given a close-up look at the busy life and fast-paced career of a multi-talented man who created such memorable characters as Kermit the frog, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and Miss Piggy (to name but a few).

Jim Henson died in 1990 of organ failure. He was just 53 years old at the time.

It has been close to 25 years since Jim Henson passed away. This profile on PBS uses archive footage to paint an excellent profile capturing the spirit and drive of an greatly unique entertainer. Henson never worried about being on camera himself. His goal was entertaining people and he accomplished that many times over.

This special recalls some of the great times and programs Henson was responsible for putting on the air, and how they were received. It paints a man driven to succeed in a way no one else could ever picture besides him. We owe a lot to Jim Henson for a revolution in children' programming as he came along and filled a needed gap in it. The amazing work came in a way at a high price as he ignored his own health to run the production company he created.

Henson gave us a lot more than Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. The world would have been less bright without the spirit he brought to television. A lot of the early life material here is of special interest as it is not as well known as Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and The Muppet Show. Henson was the goal others aspire too but very few reach. He was the boss who was more of a team member and put people together in teams to get things done. Great footage of Edgar Bergen who is becoming forgotten in this special too.

This explains why the Eisner-Disney deal for the Children's Television Workshop too until long after Jim Henson's death to complete. It is a timely reminder of what a great creative person can do when they have the opportunity. Our world is better off for that.

An extremely polished and well put together documentary, this paints a very clear picture of Jim Henson in a mere 60 minutes; his ambitions, his talents, and more importantly, his legacy. On this basis alone, it's a 10. You hear from pretty much everyone he had a working relationship with and get the full story of The Muppet Show in a concise package.

The one thing that felt strange is that this isn't told in his own words, but everyone else's; which stands in contrast to the name of this series. And maybe this is because he's no longer with us, but his words are relegated to quotations that flash onto the screen. And they're good quotes, just not a lot of them.

That said, if you're looking for a documentary, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one. This is a very touching piece.

10/10