In Honor of Jim Henson's Birthday, Five Mindblowing Muppet Revelations
It's Jim Henson's birthday today -- he would have been 73 -- and to celebrate the Supreme Creator of that most sensational, Muppetational universe, we thought we'd pull together five things you may not have known about his beloved Muppets. They're after the jump.
1. Nothing escapes The Magic Triangle
Actually, the 'magic triangle' isn't some mysterious expanse of ocean between Sesame Street, Thra and Fraggle Rock into which small aircraft regularly disappear; it's just the term used by Muppeticians to describe the placement of Muppets' eyes in relation to the nose and mouth. That juxtaposition is considered the single most important factor in creating a character's innate Muppetness. According to The Art of the Muppets, correct positioning "creates a central focal point essential to bringing a puppet to life in the eye of the camera -- and therefore the viewer."
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Time for silliness!
Next you'll be telling me the Muppets aren't real.
i might just make that cookie monster pic my avatar
When both "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth" failed upon their initial release, Jim Henson asked his own children, "Where did we go wrong?"
WOW! Thanks for this.
Bonus revelation: Miss Piggy's carpet matches her curtains.
Happy birthday Jim Henson.
Like every kid from my generation 1969. We all grew up with the show and all the characters, We have learned our first letters and words thru the friendly personal way the characters captured our attention.
WOW! 40 years, Thanks for the memories and GOD BLESS...JIM HENSON
Happy Birthday Jim! I love the muppets. Jim Henson was a creative genius,what a sad loss that he is gone. 🙁 It's because of his talent that the Muppets have lived on all these years without him. He was always a class act!
Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock were the best shows on TV when my children were young. Thanks to S S, my oldest decided that her favorite letter was "Q". and that is her nickname to this day.
She is almost 40, lol.
Both of these shows not only entertained my children, but myself as well. I remember the day Jim Henson died, and the color and innocence left our world. Perhaps he is creating creatures and fun for another generation in another world. God Bless Jim!!
The muppets have always had the best musical guests. Did you ever see Ben Stiller dressed as a slice of cheese singing People In Your Neighborhood? Sheryl Crow. I seem to remember Melissa Etheridge singing to the letter U about her underwear. And goo goo dolls as well.
Jim Henson was a womanizing drug addict whose shenanigans were overlooked by a sympathetic press during his lifetime. Funny how his little peccadilloes never seem to surface much in discussions about him in the media even 20 years after his death, whereas Walt Disney, a man who remained faithful to his one and only wife his entire life and drove his kids to Sunday School, is regularly demonized by the very same media.
Oh, well. Guess it helps to have the right politics!
What better way to celebrate than with a Muppets cupcake? http://geekpadshow.com/2009/09/25/20-muppet-cupcakes/
I want to be imortalised as a muppet. He will play guitar in the band and will not go bald. :-/)
I have no idea weather or not the "Kermit as drug-mule" story is true or not. It very well may not be. Thing is though, there was always something about him that reminded me of a hippie. I gathered this from reading some of Henson's philosophy's, looking at photographs of him from when he was living, not to mention actually watching the entertainment he produced (Everything from the Muppets to the Labyrinth to the Dark Crystal). So if he conformed to stereotype, drugs aren't entirely out of the question.
i LIKE IT WHEN THEIR HEADS EXPLODE
Yep - Walt Disney a union-busting, gay-bashing right-wing crypto-fascist who regularly took credit for the work of others (look up the story of Disney and Ub Iwerks, sometime) and exaggerated or modified his personal history, or outright lied about the creation of some of the iconic "Disney" characters.
Great example for kids - not like Jim Henson who actually *did* create what he's credited with, never took credit for the work of others, and was held in high regard, if not outright love, by everyone i know who knew him, and went out of his way (at some personal inconvenience) to meet with a group of kids at a World Science Fiction Convention.
*****Bonus revelation: Miss Piggy's carpet matches her curtains.*****
--In color and quantity.....
Been reading through your site for a couple hours now. Lot of great posts.
i;m doing a project on jim henson !!!!! (: 🙂