Jim Henson Idea Man Trailer Released By Disney

Disney has released a trailer for the documentary Jim Henson Idea Man, which looks at the life and career of the man responsible for creating The Muppets.

Taking audiences through Henson's 36-year career, the film explores his roots in puppeteering on local television, through to his global acclaim. Academy Award winner Ron Howard is directing the series, while Lisa Henson—Jim Henson's daughter and CEO of The Jim Henson Company—produces.

Henson created The Muppet Show, which originally ran for five seasons between 1976 and 1981. He designed and performed many of the series' key characters, including Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, the rockstar Dr Teeth, and The Swedish Chef. The subsequent Muppets franchise consists of television series, feature films, video games, music releases, and theme park rides.

Henson is also known for his directing, writing, and performing work on Sesame Street, as well as the feature films The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).

Jim Henson Idea Man includes interviews with friends, family and key collaborators. This includes the puppeteer and performer Frank Oz, and Labyrinth‘s Jennifer Connelly. The documentary also features never-before-seen materials from Henson's personal archives.

Henson also founded the Jim Henson Foundation in 1982. The Foundation's stated aim is to “promote and develop the art of puppetry in the United States.”

At Deadline's Contenders Television: Documentary + Unscripted event, Howard said the family's archives allowed him to see “that the creativity for him [Henson] never stopped. It existed in his home movies. It existed in all of his drawings. It existed in his notebooks, that weren't sketches for design necessarily. They were just him keeping track of things. And even those were reflections of this creative energy. And it just dazzled me.”

Jim Henson Ideas Man is released on Disney+ on 31st May 2024.