A wonderful exhibition celebrating the magic of Jim Henson

On July 22, the Museum of the Moving Image added a new permanent exhibit on Jim Henson. This is an amazing celebration of the life of Jim Henson. 

It starts off showing Henson’s humble beginnings. It was interesting to see that the comic Pogo was one of his influences. There were some examples of his cartoons and artwork. 

Next was his first foray into TV with Same and Friends. You could see the beginnings of Kermit the Frog in some of these first Muppets. There are some examples of his commercial work and the first appearance of Rowlf the dog in the Jimmy Dean Show. A section on Jim Henson experimental films. Very interesting and abstract films.

Of course next was the show that really put Henson on the map: Sesame Street. In this area, there was a little exhibit to make your own Muppet. It was pretty cool.

There was the Muppet Show. This was the highlight of the exhibit. There were plenty of Muppets on display and some really cool sketches of the early designs of the Muppets. Some set designs and the Muppets movies. 

A nice section on Fraggle Rock.

Finally, there were Henson’s more adult films like the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. It was really cool to see the technological advances Henson made for these films.

There are some other cool things to do at the museum that are related to the exhibition. For the kids, there is a section to make your own puppet, a coloring station, and a stop animation section. Plus there are different screenings daily of different Jim Henson film.

The exhibition has a permanent home at the Museum of the Moving Image. It’s definitely worth the trip but it’s best to plan your trip in advance as it gets crowded fast.

For more information on Jim Henson Exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image, including admission and time, check out their website.

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By Brian Isaacs - Executive Editor / Publisher

An avid comic collector/reader for over 50 years and self-proclaimed professor of comicology, Brian originally started up the site Pendragon's Post to share his voice. Well, that voice has been shared and evolved into The Fanboy Factor. Brian is an advocate for remembering comic roots, and that we don't forget what was created in the past, and encourage everyone to read it as well. When not swimming in geek culture, he can be seen corrupting..introducing his young son to comics, much to his wife's chagrin.