Muppet Mayhem: A Day at Jim Henson Studios

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go to Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood. Usually the only way one can go on a tour of Jim Henson Studios is if you do the duo tour of Walt Disney Studios and Jim Henson Studios, which gets very expensive! However, my step mom had connections to get us into the studio (which I could not thank her enough for!) Being there was an amazing experience and gave me a feel for what the Jim Henson Company is all about.

The funniest thing about the studio is that it is not big. The buildings are pretty close to each other and fairly easy to get to. But no matter where you turn there is something to see. It could be something big like a dinosaur peeking out of bushes or something as little as seeing some Muppet monsters drawn on a wall. Just being inside the studio gates was exciting for me and I was lucky enough to go inside most of the buildings too!

Inside these buildings were anything from hand drawn drawings by Jim Henson to murals of the Muppets to even some of the Oscars Jim Henson has won. All the buildings were made before Jim Henson took over the studio. The buildings were erected over an orange grove in 1918 Hollywood by the famous silent movie actor Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin made some of the greatest silent movies out there and they were filmed all in this studio!

One of the buildings I was able to see was their sound stage. In there they have a huge empty space where in the early 1900s they filmed Charlie Chaplin's movies. Today it is used to do motion capture filming where they take movements from actors and turn them into characters such as Sid the Scientist. On the sides of this stage they have areas where puppeteers operate a digital puppet with hand held controls connected to a computer. I was able to try one of these out and it s very hard but very fun. We then went over to see Brian Henson's office, which was in a word: remarkable!

Inside Brian Henson's office is memorabilia from all the Jim Henson classics such as the Muppets, Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, and Dark Crystal. It was amazing to see the Emmy awards he has won for Muppets Tonight and original posters from Muppet movies like The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island. Any true Muppet fan would be in awe if they saw Brian Henson's office and all the amazing collectibles he has.

As I walked around the studio today I couldn't help but be in awe and wonder, like I was a little kid again. And in a way, I think Jim would have wanted that. Jim Henson was a man who created the idea that puppets can be more than just a toy. He used puppets to create joy and a sense of wonder into the hearts of children. He used puppets to teach children and, even after his death, create a legacy and hit television series that continues to reach out to children today. The creativity he brought into our lives will never be forgotten and we can only hope that his traditions of happiness will be passed on to our own children so that they can live creative and meaningful lives.