James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).
Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson in 1955. Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host of the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show and a featured role on Sesame Street. He has appeared in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements through the years. He also served as a mascot of The Jim Henson Company and appeared in various Henson projects until 2004.
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. Originally owned by the Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the franchise was purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2004.
Frank Oz is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Star Wars, as well as his directorial work in feature films and theater.
Dinosaurs is an American family sitcom television series that aired on ABC. The show, about a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Television in association with Walt Disney Television and distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc. The characters were designed by Henson team member Kirk Thatcher.
The Jim Henson Hour is an American television series that aired on NBC in 1989. It was developed as a showcase for The Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the Muppet characters.
Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, commonly known by the shortened title Muppet Babies, is an American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions and Henson Associates. The show portrays toddler versions of the Muppets living together in a nursery under the care of a woman known as Nanny, involving the concepts of the power of imagination and creative problem-solving. The show's main target group is for children aged 2–5. The idea of presenting the Muppets as children appeared in a dream sequence in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), released two months before Muppet Babies debuted. The idea was a success, and it transformed into a spin-off.
The Jim Henson Company is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.
The Muppet Movie is a 1979 musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film to feature the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the film was written by The Muppet Show writers Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns. Produced between the first and second half of The Muppet Show's third season, the film tells the origin story of the Muppets, as Kermit the Frog embarks on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles, encountering several of the Muppets—who all share the same ambition of finding success in professional show business—along the way while being pursued by Doc Hopper, a greedy restaurateur with intentions of employing Kermit as a spokesperson for his frog legs business.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a 1992 American Christmas musical film directed by Brian Henson from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. It is the fourth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. Adapted from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, the film stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz. Although artistic license is taken to suit the aesthetic of the Muppets, The Muppet Christmas Carol otherwise follows Dickens's original story closely. It is the first Muppet film to be produced following the deaths of Muppets creator Jim Henson and performer Richard Hunt; the film is dedicated to both.
Imagine Entertainment, formerly Imagine Films Entertainment, also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard.
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz is a 2005 musical fantasy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher, and the third television film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor, Quentin Tarantino, David Alan Grier, Queen Latifah, as well as Muppet performers Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, and Eric Jacobson. A contemporary adaptation of the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, the story follows young Dorothy Gale, who works in her Aunt Em's diner, but dreams of becoming a singer somewhere beyond her small Kansas town. Swept up by a tornado, in her trailer home with pet prawn Toto, she lands in Oz and embarks on a journey to meet the Wizard who can help make her dreams come true.
Jane Ann Henson was an American puppeteer and the wife of Jim Henson.
The Muppets Studio, LLC is an American entertainment production company and subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, that owns and produces media content for The Muppets franchise. The division was previously formed as The Muppets Holding Company, LLC in 2004 through Disney's acquisition of The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House intellectual properties from The Jim Henson Company.
Christopher Weekes is an Australian film director, film producer, actor, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing, directing and acting in the 2008 film Bitter & Twisted and for topping the 2009 Hollywood Blacklist with his spec screenplay "The Muppet Man".
Michael Mitnick is an American playwright and screenwriter.
Muppets Haunted Mansion is a 2021 American comedy Halloween special based on the Disney properties The Muppets and The Haunted Mansion. It was released on October 8, 2021, via Disney+. It is the Muppets' first Halloween special. The plot stars Gonzo and Pepe as they face the challenge of staying in a haunted mansion for one night. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
