What Is It About The Muppets?

[mblackwell]

Thats Odyssey

[PRNYouth]

*Originally posted by Vestal Blue *
In addition to all the other attributes, I think it’s that the muppeteers are trained differently in how they move them. The closest I’ve seen to muppets in motion are those made by Kevin Klash. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he also work with Henson at one point?

Kevin Clash is still a Muppeteer. In fact, he is the performer behind (or under:D)a couple of characters mentioned here already – Sesame Street’s ever-present red monster Elmo, and the ultra-hip Clifford.

Kevin has served and maybe still serves as puppeteer trainer and puppet coordinator for many Henson productions.

[Persephone]

I remember my amazement when I found out that Kevin Clash does Elmo and Clifford. My goodness, that’s a radical change!

IMHO, The Dark Crystal is probably the most underrated Jim Henson production ever. That movie is awesome. I suppose it freaks people out because it’s so dark and un-Muppet, but man! I had real trouble trying to figure out whether or not the Gelflings were humans or Muppets.

[PRNYouth]

Originally posted by Persephone**
IMHO, The Dark Crystal is probably the most underrated Jim Henson production ever. That movie is awesome. I suppose it freaks people out because it’s so dark and un-Muppet, but man! I had real trouble trying to figure out whether or not the Gelflings were humans or Muppets. **

Agreed that it’s underrated. I’ve read that Jim himself was quite disappointed with public reaction to it, but it’s developed a little bit of a cult following, sort of – nothing along the lines of Rocky Horror Picture Show, but at least there was enough interest to release this film on DVD. I recently bought a DVD player and The Dark Crystal as well. The extras are kinda neat – additional scenes at the Skeksis funeral, and some scenes with the languages originally performed. IIRC, Jim’s original vision was to have each of the groups speak in their own language and have the film subtitled. They decided that would further alienate audiences, though.

Labyrinth is in large part the result of TDC’s failure. It’s got some of the same sort of fantastic elements, but introduces human characters in order to bridge the gap between the world of the film and the world of the audience.

[Vestal_Blue]

*Originally posted by PRNYouth *

Labyrinth is in large part the result of TDC’s failure. It’s got some of the same sort of fantastic elements, but introduces human characters in order to bridge the gap between the world of the film and the world of the audience. **

And a fantastic job it did, too! David Bowie was perfect for the part. And thanks for the info on Kevin Klash; I didn’t realize he was that involved with Henson, but in retrospect, I’m not surprised.

[Persephone]

Wow. I’m a huge fan of Labyrinth, too. But I think it’s because David Bowie looks just amazing with all that hair. The plot is a little weak, and the girl is kinda lame, but otherwise, it’s a neat show! The troll spraying for fairies is damn funny!