Jim Henson: Idea Man (2024)

“When we get an idea, we have to look at it from every direction.” – Jim Henson

Number of Times Seen – 1 (13 Jun 2024)

Brief Synopsis – Documentary about the life and career of the man who changed the face of educational TV in ways no one could imagine.

My Take on it – Such a fascinating documentary that is able to tell a story that has helped shaped the lives of millions and millions of people over the past 60 years. The movie does a wonderful job showing the impact that Jim Henson and his ideas had on the children’s education through the medium of TV and film. The film utilizes interviews with Henson himself over the years along with many of his family, friends and colleagues who reflect back on the way that he was so influential with his activism and work. They give some nice tidbits about the creation of many of the characters from The Muppets including some explanations of the ‘origins’ of their names, shapes, voices and even personalities in a very thoughtful way. This film gives a very unique perspective on Henson’s life and work and is very poignant in what it manages to do here.

Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – This is the origin story of all of these characters,” Howard says of the film. “Kermit started as his mother’s coat, the fabric from some old coat she was throwing away. They didn’t even know he was a frog for a long time. They didn’t know what he was. He just fit Jim’s hand, and Jim could create funny reactions, and the character could be an alter ego for Jim. And then, slowly but surely, they decided he was Kermit the Frog.” (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)