If you read this, you'll know why Jim Henson is my Hero
Written: Mar 02 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great biography and history of a unique, gentle genius
Cons: I'm wearing out my copy!
The Bottom Line: Jim Henson: The Works is the definitive volume on an extraordinary creative genius whose talent and dreams deserve to be read and remembered
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Christopher Finch - Jim Henson: The Works The Art... |
The full title of this book is actually "Jim Henson: The Works; The Art, the Magic, the Imagination", and it's filled with all of the above.
I was a casual Muppets fan for my entire life, and always enjoyed the Muppet Show, Sesame Street, the Muppet Movies, and I had always enjoyed Jim Henson's works as a major creative force behind the Muppets. He was, after all, their creator.
On May 16, 1990, Jim Henson passed away after a brief illness. I'll never forget that I was sitting in the living room, and the newsreader on the Today Show almost casually announced his death, and then "went to Willard" for the weather. I was stunned. Shocked. I think it was at that point that I made the switch from the Casual Muppet Fan to the Full-On Muppet Freak that I am today.
In psychoanalyzing myself (which is always dangerous) I think it stems from two things:
1) I always had a happy childhood, despite my tales of being chained to water heaters and being lowered down books and gruel in a bucket...and I like to hang on to those memories. The nice ones, not the water heater ones.
2) When Jim Henson died, I had an overwhelming fear that he and his creations would be forgotten, would become just relics of the past the way I think about Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Will that happen to Kermit, Piggy, Bert and Ernie and all the rest of these great characters that in my messed-up mind I consider my friends? I was determined not to let that happen, so I started collecting Muppet Memorabilia (NOT an easy task in the pre-internet, pre-eBay years) and devoted time in every week to watching Muppets of some form or another.
In 1993, Random House came out with THE definitive volume of Jim Henson and his contributions to entertainment, education, and the world. It's a hefty tome, 250 pages long, and an oversized volume. It's a wonderfully assembled book with multiple color illustrations and photographs on every page. It's written by Christopher Finch, who had worked with Jim Henson, and there are wonderful insights into Jim's character and life.
There are ten chapters, arranged chronologically, but there's an introduction and a pre-chapter one section before that, and several sections after chapter ten, so it's more like 15 chapters.
The chapters cover the important events and cycles of Jim Henson's life, including:
Childhood/Family Life, etc...
Sam and Friends (his first Television Show...Kermit was on it in the 1950s!)
Commercials, Experimental Films
Sesame Street
The Muppet Show
Muppet Movies
Jim Henson Productions/Corporation
Dark Crystal and Labyrinth
Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies
The Jim Henson Hour and other Later Works
The Legacy of Jim Henson
Thoughts from Jim Henson
Chronology
When I pick this book up, I don't usually put it down for hours, because there are SO many wonderful details in it. There are sketches that Jim himself drew of what certain Muppets could look like, and one of my favorites is what Big Bird should look like and how he should be operated. To be offered a glimpse inside such a creative mind is really a treat.
Jim's history is full of successes and failures, and we get to see how these impacted his business, creative, and personal lives--and he had difficulties in all three areas at times. Something I admire about him is the way he was always able to rebound from the failures and depressions, and was ultimately very optimistic and supportive of his friends, family, and co-workers.
Another thing we learn is that Jim didn't really want to be KNOWN as the puppet guy, but when Sam and Friends was his first hit, and that was using puppets, he got locked into that. He wanted to explore other things, but ended up with the Muppets. Which was wonderful, but probably not as fulfilling as Jim would have ultimately hoped.
One of my favorite parts of the book is in the final pages "Some thoughts from Jim Henson"...he wrote them in 1986, and they were intended for a never-published book titled "Courage of Conviction" to which he was asked to contribute. In these few paragraphs, he gives basically his statement of what life should be, and how we should live, and I think it's a beautiful statement. Here's an excerpt from it:
"At some point in my life I decided, rightly or wrongly, that there are many situations in this life that I can't do much about--acts of terrorism, feelings of nationalistic prejudice, cold war, etc. --so what I should do is concentrate on the situations that my energy can effect.
I believe that we can use television and film to be an influence for good; that we can help to shape the thoughts of children and adults in a positive way. As it has turned out, I'm very proud of some of the work we've done, and I think we can do many more good things.
When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here.
It's a wonderful life, and I love it."
Jim Henson is a wonderful man who deserves to be remembered as a person who DID make a difference, and still does, in the lives of millions of children and adults. The characters and situations he had a key hand in creating are driving Sesame Street in it's 32nd season on PBS, and the company he founded and set into motion is still creating new programming to benefit children. (and I hear that Farscape show is pretty good, too)
If you don't have this book (and at a 40.00 price point, you probably don't), you should at least stop by a library and check it out. If you don't have a library, stop by a bookstore with a comfy chair and curl up with it for a few hours. And if you're even a casual Muppet fan, you should own it. You'll get insight into the mind of a great man, and learn things about the characters he created that you'd never thought of before.
Recommended:
Yes
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JediKermit
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 in Movies, Kids & Family, Books |
 - Top 100 |
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Reviews written: 1995
Trusted by: 591 members
About Me:
Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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