How are you a Henson-Muppet fan?

[Redsonga]

*pulls topic back on topic*
Remember, this isn't so much a 'my favorite one' topic so much as it is a record of the order of when everyone saw what shows and how it effected their pov. I think for me, because of what I saw first, I see the muppets as being much more little hearted, and link things more with them being out in the world or in a normal house setting than on stage or broadway

 

[Super Scooter]

ok so i've got a chronology question then...because 1990-91 was the last year i watched ss, but i distinctly remember 14 Carrot Love, and he says he's Benny in that skit. muppet wiki has him only appearing as a generic bunny until 1993, but i was definitely not watching then...so maybe you knew benny from 1991 too?

Gee, that's a good question. I know I wouldn't have been able to watch Sesame Street from probably '93 to '95 (no TV), but I know I saw the "around the corner" seasons, despite being (technically) too old for it. I distinctly remember Ruth Buzzi's character and the Furry Arms Hotel. I also remember I didn't really like Ingrid and Humphrey at the time, though now I think they're kinda funny.

About a year after I started coming onto this site I started really getting into Jim Henson's experimental work (till have to see Youth '68 and The Cube). Besides that, my current Muppet fandom status is filling in the gaps. Discovering the old that I missed out on. Technically, my Muppet fandom began with The Muppet Show, but I just hadn't seen very much of it until recently. This is the trouble of being a broke kid who grew up in the Muppet-starved (or rather, Muppet-malnurished) '90s.

 

[The Shoe Fairy]

Gee, that's a good question. I know I wouldn't have been able to watch Sesame Street from probably '93 to '95 (no TV), but I know I saw the "around the corner" seasons, despite being (technically) too old for it. I distinctly remember Ruth Buzzi's character and the Furry Arms Hotel. I also remember I didn't really like Ingrid and Humphrey at the time, though now I think they're kinda funny.

About a year after I started coming onto this site I started really getting into Jim Henson's experimental work (till have to see Youth '68 and The Cube). Besides that, my current Muppet fandom status is filling in the gaps. Discovering the old that I missed out on. Technically, my Muppet fandom began with The Muppet Show, but I just hadn't seen very much of it until recently. This is the trouble of being a broke kid who grew up in the Muppet-starved (or rather, Muppet-malnurished) '90s.

Well, The Cube is available on Google Video. That's where I saw it.

 

[Grundgetta2800]

I'm a Muppet-Humor fan. Plus I'm a Jim Henson Historian and I like the advance puppetry in The Dark Crystal and Labrynth. That was cool.

I remember Dark Cystal being one of my favorites as a kid, but also being really scared of it at the same time. I think in most of Henson's work there was a dark element. Even in SS.

 

[Grundgetta2800]

That's awesome, that! The arts are very underappreciated at my school, they couldn't be bothered with you, unless you're one of those kids who are in every single thing possible and your parents are wealthy and stuff. -_- Of coarse, there's some decent teachers (my faves are my science teacher, my literature teacher and my old drama teacher, they actually treat me like a human being) but most of them are over-the-top feminists (even the males at times), who think everything is "un-Christian". XP Lol, I was a hobo too in a play! Well, a music performance, it was about two years ago... can't remember the song right now though, too "blah".

Somehow I can relate with this a little bit. I had to experience moving up to Maine when I was 16 from my native state of MD. I had a very artist backround, and the art teacher in Maine rejected me because I wore a lot of black and skeleton pendents. Hang in there!

 

[Kiki]

Thanks. but are you serious? How can people be so judgemental?

Oh yeah, I saw The Cube at a screening of Henson's early works. I found it rather depressing, and I thought it went fer too long. But hey- that's just my opinion.

(Oh- and about the muffining, sah-ree y'all )

 

[frogboy4]

Maybe the order of seeing Jim’s fantasy films or the fact of viewing them in the theaters leads me to appreciate them in descending order, but I feel it comes down to aspects of human nature. For some the lack of people in the Dark Crystal kept them at arms-length from the action. For others the lack of scary moments and jeopardy kept them from enjoying Labyrinth as Jim intended.

I remember seeing the Dark Crystal in the theater. I remember initially wanting more Muppety edge (I was a kid) but found myself quickly absorbed into the entirely human-less alien world that Jim, Frank and Froud had created. Of course all of this was before the age of GC. That means beautiful matte paintings and intense planning in the preproduction phase. It is such a well crafted film. The one criticism I've heard has to do with some viewers’ inability to connect with the characters. There was a leap the audience had to take in accepting the Gelflings as the humans that occurred with some more than others. The film had a story, a history and a sense of purpose. There was urgency, jeopardy and destiny. I am proud to call this one of my favorite films.

On the other side we have Labyrinth many years later. I adore the Bowie tunes (I am a fan), the look of the film, the humor and the characters. I also like the addition of human cast members this time out. The one issue I had with the picture was that it seems to be constantly floating in one of Jereth's bubbles. I didn't feel enough fear or jeopardy in the story. I would have liked an additional layer of creepiness contained in the moodier Storyteller episodes. Toby just never seemed to be in trouble and I really felt it as a teenager sitting in the theater. It's a beautiful film and I love it very much, but it's not on any of my top spots. I never understood why Jim didn't comprehend that bit. Kids like to be scared and there just wasn't enough written in the screenplay. The film often makes me want to take my own journey away from the camera set up. There's so much wealth in the margins and characters, just not enough intensity in the plot for me.

 

[Redsonga]

For me I had no trouble seeing the characters in DC as humans even if they weren't, that was never my trouble. In fact I love non-human heros, and have no trouble connecting to them, weather they are elfs, fairies, animals, or fraggles...
My trouble is that the world of the DC was very pretty, but so much of it is not talked about and just goes by, and I feel like I am missing a lot..and as a writer that annoys me...It's like if Star wars or Star Trek had stopped at one movie or episode and the makers had said 'there's the universes world, understand it!' ...It's not the fact that their not human, it is that a lor of depth is lost IMHO, and poor Jen's character sort of feels a bit cardbroady because of it to me (which any character would if you take away/don't show a lot about their race, even humans. If humans were in a fantasy I'd still like to feel what made them themselves).
DC felt to me like it was more in a bubble than Labyrinth ever was (not that that is a bad thing). I could feel there was danger in Labtrinth but it is more understated, it's not the same type. Sort of like how Jareth is not is not the same type of villain..and I won't want him to be . But I am one of the few fans that even as an adult thinks that the labyrinth is a real place vs. just being Sarah's dream and that still thinks the ending was a real let down (Somehow there seems to be this idea that as an adult fan you're suppose to love the ending and think that baby Toby and Sarah staying there would have been the worst thing ever but, meh. If I was Sarah's age and that happened to me, I would have stayed. Yes, I know, selfish, selfish, baby hater, boo hiss -.- I guess at heart I think Jareth and I would have fun fighting with each other :3) For all the 'growing' that Sarah is said to do she does not seem to change at all to me, she's still just reading from the book :\.

But that is what I meant about Labyrinth being understated, it is really an evil that makes you think...DC's evil was just evil evil that had all its goodness split from it (not that there is anything wrong with that)

 

[Super Scooter]

I like The Dark Crystal, but from what I've seen of the original cut, it could have been so much better. I don't think a more general audience would have liked it as much, but it just makes sense to me. I love the idea of telling a story with only visuals and music. Some of the original dailogue (what little there was) seemed better, too. I think I would have enjoyed Jim's original vision alot more, though what was created was unique and I do enjoy the experience of watching it very much.

I think part of The Dark Crystal was not knowing much about their environment, but accepting it as fitting to the characters. I think not understanding the world adds to its depth. That's something George Lucas talked about when making the Star Wars movies. He liked the idea of being dropped into a completely different culture and trying to understand it. That's why his movies are partly influenced by Akira Kirosawa's work. It's an interesting experience to suddenly find yourself absorbed in another country's culture and sensibilities when you're so used to something different. That's sort of the way I view The Dark Crystal.

I think Labyrinth could have used a bit more creepiness. But maybe that was left out because of the reaction to The Dark Crystal. I like Labyrinth alot, probably more than The Dark Crystal, but I do think it could have been darker and edgier while still keeping its sense of humor (and music). The overall look of both films is incredible. Jim Henson was really a master at creating a visually amazing film.

I remember seeing both of these films for the first time on bad VHS copies. They're so much better in their widescreen format, and I hope I'll get the opportunity to see them on the big screen one day.

 

[Redsonga]

I think part of The Dark Crystal was not knowing much about their environment, but accepting it as fitting to the characters. I think not understanding the world adds to its depth. That's something George Lucas talked about when making the Star Wars movies. He liked the idea of being dropped into a completely different culture and trying to understand it. That's why his movies are partly influenced by Akira Kirosawa's work. It's an interesting experience to suddenly find yourself absorbed in another country's culture and sensibilities when you're so used to something different.

It's interesting, but sometimes interesting just isn't enough for me... It's not so much being told things that I would have wanted as being shown things about the world and history that linked up more so I could feel for the characters more. Even in Fraggle Rock, you did get the feeling that the world had been around for a long time and you were only visiting, but those visits and how the characters acted and did things did show the veiwer more about its world than DC IMHO. I do think that the Star Wars world also did that more than DC, even if George Lucas would rather not think so, he does add depth through understanding :3.

Anyway, it's just a small peeve, I'm not saying DC doesn't look wonderful or isn't a good movie, just what I think (to me) would have made it even better as a fantasy lover who always picks hobbits and centaurs over humans