Looking back now, I mourn the hole that his passing left in the entertainment landscape of the last two decades. We needed Jim Henson, even if we didn't totally realize it when he was alive and working. Not just for his sense of humor or his dedication to education or even for his finely attuned moral compass, a genuine rarity in this industry. No, we needed him because he was fiercely devoted to original storytelling, the creation of characters, and the way technology enabled storytellers to build new worlds and do things that seemed impossible. He was a visionary, and he was ahead of most people in the rush to embrace digital tools both for post-production and for on-screen character work. It's not just his films that we've lost in the last 20 years... it's the ripple effect that his work would have had, and that's where I think the entire industry has suffered for having lost him.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
KEEP BELIEVING, KEEP PRETENDING: Twenty years ago this week -- yes, we're getting old -- Jim Henson passed away. Wired's GeekDad blog has some touching tributes -- including footage from his memorial service (which, to be clear, is the model in spirit if not in scope should anything unfortunate ever happen to me) -- but it's Drew McWeeny who may capture Henson's essence most succinctly and accurately:
My favorite Jim Henson tribute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boQXulIFKXU
ReplyDeleteAs many of y'all know, I have much younger siblings. 20 years ago, I was 17, while my brother and sister were 6 and 9, respectively. And I was the one sobbing during the "Goodbye to Jim Henson" show. Truly, an amazing sendoff. And I still work at inculcating Love of Muppets in small children. And so should we all.
ReplyDeleteSomeday, we'll find it---the rainbow connection---the lovers, the dreamers, and me!
Isn't McWeeny just describing Pixar?
ReplyDeleteThe show they did for kids and families to watch, where the Muppets all had to learn who Jim was in order to put on a tribute for him, and then read letters kids had written to Kermit saying how sad they were that his friend Jim had died, and then Kermit finally came out and they sang "If Just One Person Believes In You..." Wow. That still is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking tributes I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteMaret, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olHV1o9TE-8&feature=related. So good.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing spirit to create so many characters that we love 20 years later and now get to share with our kids. My daughters agree on just about nothing... expect that an episode of The Muppet Show can always make you feel better.
I gotta say the two current shows I love watching with my son are poth from Henson Productions; Sid the Science Guy ans Dinosaur Train. I miss Jim Henson and I also really miss Henson writer Jeff Moss, both gone way too early
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