Focus on Jim Henson

By: Seb Neylan
Date: 3rd Sep 08
Ambience: Indoor
Difficulty: Won't hurt a bit

What:
Focus on Jim Henson

Where:
ACMI

When:
Thurs Sept 4 - Sun Sept 14

How much:
Single sessions $10 / $13
6 session package $48 / $60

Win:
We have a dbl pass to Muppet History 101 (Fri Sept 5, 7pm) and a dbl pass to The World According To Sesame Street (Fri Sept 5, 9pm) to give away! To enter, email win@threethousand.com.au with the subject line 'songs about rainbows!'

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew here at Muppet Labs, where the future is being made today. And what a sad day it is too, for Beaker, my fickle and wayward assistant, has gone missing. Drama. Pathos! The Muppets are so much more than a bunch of anthropomorphic creatures with hands up their patooties. They are entertainers.

Who but Gonzo could turn the consumption of a rubber tire into musical theatre? Who but M. Piggy could retain a certain chubby grace while karate chopping a frog? Over the past half century, these puppet people have shared the stage with everyone from Gene Kelly to Brooke Shields and have become rockstars in their own right. Kermit has hosted The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, shot a German advertisement for BMW, and been given a special Brazilian title - Caco, o Sapo!

This is just one part of Jim Henson's legacy though. His was an imagination that extended way beyond the homoerotic domestic life of Bert and Ernie. ACMI's showing us how by screening some of Henson's more experimental works, ranging from existentialist cubes to vicious goblins. To help make sense of it all, they have also invited international Henson historian Craig Shemin. (You could also visit Muppet Encyclopedia.)