It’s Definitely Been Too Long Since You’ve Seen This

If there was some list of the most pioneering and beloved artists of the 20th Century, Jim Henson would have to top the list.

It’s probably somewhere between 5 and 10 times per year that the thought “Oh man, if only Jim Henson had lived longer….” hits me.

What can you say? Just one of the all-time astonishing beacons of human creativity, ingenuity. brilliance, and, well, human-ness.

This guy managed to infuse more humanity (humor, pathos, idiosyncracy, feeling etc. etc.) into animals, monsters, fraggles, skeksis – anything he and his team covered in felt or foam, really – than about ninety nine percent of human actors, directors, and writers ever do.

Kermit and Jim

The thing that strikes me most now, watching this incredible little scene from The Muppet Movie, is how masterful Jim and Frank Oz are at the unbelievably specialized thing that they do.

Fozzie and Frank with Muppet financier Lord Lew Grade

Watching it as a kid was one thing (and trust me, I loved it then), but seeing it as an adult, and as a creative being – it just blows me away

And I mean, come on – that Big Bird cameo?! One of the best in movie history.

What a punchline! They just don’t write ‘em like that anymore. (It’s in the clip.)

And what a song!! (Kudos to Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams).

 
Here’s to Jim, Frank, and the whole Henson universe.

Wakka wakka wakka!