Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets

Context & Trivia

This documentary functions as a primary source for the history of puppetry on television because it captures Jim Henson in a direct interview format — rare for someone who almost always appeared alongside or behind his characters. Henson explains that he never planned to be a puppeteer: he came to puppets through art and television, finding in them the ideal meeting point for both. That visual artist's eye led him to rethink how a hand puppet is filmed on video, favouring tight close-ups and minimal mouth movement — a technique he first tested with Kermit, a puppet built specifically to explore that single, subtle gesture.

The film recovers black-and-white footage of Henson's earliest work, including Sam and Friends, co-created with Jane Nebel — later his wife — while he was a university student, and the Wilkins coffee commercials, his first professional commissions, where he refined his economy of movement. Original concept sketches for Big Bird and behind-the-scenes footage from The Muppet Show are also featured. Frank Oz details the precise technical division that sustained characters such as Ernie and Bert or Miss Piggy: Henson operated the right hand, Oz the left hand and head — a synchrony that fused two performers into a single expressive voice. Master puppet builder Don Sahlin is identified as the craftsman who sharpened the physical quality of the Muppets' construction.

Produced by Platypus for Welsh broadcaster S4C and also aired on PBS, the documentary includes workshop footage showing props and characters from The Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock, and Labyrinth at various stages of fabrication. The 2010 Lions Gate DVD adds as a bonus The Amphibian 1985/86, the company's internal yearbook — a Henson initiative inspired by George Lucas to document and celebrate the work of his creative team.