Muppet Master! On-Air Film Review of ‘Jim Henson Idea Man’

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Rating: 5.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Ben Thompson on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on May 30th, reviewing “Jim Henson: Idea Man,” directed by Ron Howard and featuring Frank Oz and The Muppets. Streaming on Disney+ beginning May 31st.

Jim Henson was born in Mississippi and raised there and in Maryland. He answered an ad for a Washington, D.C. television station in the 1950s … they were looking for a puppeteer … and astoundingly, Henson got the job with no previous puppetry experience. Partnering with Jane Nebel, who would eventually become his wife, the two created the beginnings of the Muppet phenomenon by gearing their comedy towards adults. Eventually forming a company, Jim and Jane were able to get by through commercials and TV work through the 1960s, until Henson practically invented Sesame Street in 1969. Always itching for new avenues of creativity, he launched “The Muppet Show” in 1976, and began the juggernaut that he was about to sell to Walt Disney Studios right before his death. Along the way he continued his fascination with pushing the boundaries of creativity and his own imagination with cohorts like Frank Oz (voice of Miss Piggy) and Carroll Spinney (Big Bird).

Jim Henson: Idea Man
Photo credit: Disney+

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com reviewed “Jim Henson: Idea Man” during the Morning Mess with Ben Thompson on WBGR-FM, Monroe, Wisconsin, May 30th, 2024 …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Critic/Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com