Behind-the-scenes secrets Jim Henson did keep

[minor muppetz]

It's often been noted that when it comes to behind-the-scenes information, Jim Henson didn't keep many secrets, and was usually willing to explain how things were done. But on occasion there have been instances where he remarked that the viewers would have to figure them out for themselves.

Here's a few instances I know of Jim keeping a secret on how something worked:

• In a 1971 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, after explaining that it took two performers to perform Mr. Snuffleupagus, Cavett asked if Thog was performed by just one person, and Henson said he may never reveal (though I think that might have just been a joke; The only way Thog could have had two performers would be if a little person was on the back of another little person).
• In Down at Fraggle Rock, a clip from Wembly's Water Whoopee (or whatever the title is) is shown, with Wembly laying on top of water that's being squirted above from the ground (it's hard to describe this), and Henson says "This is something you'll have to figure out for yourself" (though I don't think it'd be that hard to figure out... they could have shot the scenery, then shot Wembly being up in the air, and then shot a fountain of water or whatever, and matted them).
• In The Secrets of the Muppets, Henson explains how the bicycle sequence in The Great Muppet Caper was done. When showing Kermit and Miss Piggy riding bicycles in circles, he says "That was so complicated you're going to have to figure that one out on your own" (of course I wonder if he was keeping that a secret because of how complicated it was, or if it was just too complicated to explain).

Any other examples?

 

[D'Snowth]

I can understand Jim intentionally keeping some things a secret: people like that don't want to ruin the "mystique" of the work like that... or at least, that's what that gay guy on Rachael Ray's talk show said when he refused to do the voice of that singing fish from those McDonald's commercials ("GIMME BACK THAT FILET-O-FISH, GIMME THAT FISH"... and the guys who came up with those commercials DID admit they were drunk when they thought of it).

One thing I'd really like to know is HOW do they perform characters in the water? I'd have to imagine the performers dress up in scuba gear, and they have like waterproof monitors under there to show them the scene... but then, on the behind-the-scenes featurette of KYS, they show a brief glimpse of a scene where Kermit's swimming in a pond, and the camera angle allows you to make out the top of Steve's head under the water, and he appears to be wearing just a ball cap, so... I dunno.

 

[minor muppetz]

One thing I'd really like to know is HOW do they perform characters in the water? I'd have to imagine the performers dress up in scuba gear, and they have like waterproof monitors under there to show them the scene... but then, on the behind-the-scenes featurette of KYS, they show a brief glimpse of a scene where Kermit's swimming in a pond, and the camera angle allows you to make out the top of Steve's head under the water, and he appears to be wearing just a ball cap, so... I dunno.

There's a number of behind-the-scenes info out there that explains how Frank Oz did Miss Piggy's underwater ballet in The Great Muppet Caper. Jim Henson's Red Book once did an article on it. The Muppet Wiki page for The Great Muppet Caper gives a bit of info as well.

It seems the people at The Jim Henson Company have been a little less enthusiastic on revealig things than Jim Henson has. I once asked Jim Lewis how the effect for Bill the Bubble Guy's bubbles worked, and he chose to keep that a secret. At henson.com's old "Ask Henson.com" feature somebody asked how Bear was performed (mainly if it was one or more performers), and it was said that they wouldn't reveal much on how the character was performed, before saying that it was just one performer and his performance was similar to how Big Bird is performed (of course, recently when Noel MacNeil was interviewed for Tough Pigs, he pretty much revealed everything, but by then the show had been off the air for a long time, and the franchise seemed to have lost its popularity).

 

[CensoredAlso]

One thing I'd really like to know is HOW do they perform characters in the water?

If I remember correctly Frank Oz talked about that in the Great Performances special. Man, I wish I still had that on tape, lol.

 

[D'Snowth]

Funnily enough, I think I may have come up with an ingenius, albeit rather unusual, solution for water scenes and such.

 

[Skekayuk]

I think one has to bear in mind that to the performers themselves it is "Work" and sometimes they might not actually remember how something was done months or years after the event. They aren't necessarily trying to "keep secrets", but they don't always remember the finer details that us fans want to know. And why should they remeber these details? It's just their job after all. I thinlk sometimes for them it's just something they figured out how to do, did it, got the effect, end of story.
Also, as Jean Cocteau once said "An artiste cannot talk about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture". I think this statement roughly translates to , a puppeteer might instintively know exactly what to do with their hands to get a particular effect, or how to operate a particular animatronic, but if you try asking them cold, when they don't have that particular puppet, or piece of technology infront of them, to describe how they would operate it, they would have no idea how to put that into words, all they know is that if faced with the item they can do it.

 

[dwayne1115]

Well as for as much as I know Jim was in a little submrenie when filming the Muppet Movie in the Swamp. Othere than that I would have no clue, but I'm going to be checking some of the things you all said.

(Runs off to Muppet Wiki)

 

[Animal31]

Well as for as much as I know Jim was in a little submrenie when filming the Muppet Movie in the Swamp. Othere than that I would have no clue, but I'm going to be checking some of the things you all said.

(Runs off to Muppet Wiki)

HaHaHa - I remember reading somewhere that Jim Henson was in a "reversed" fish tank under the stump and the puppet was placed on his hand once he was in place. They shot it again after he was out and cut the footage together...

Scenes where muppets were swimming, or in a boat, I think may have been done with puppeteers in scuba gear. Air hoses were run under the water and to shore for them to breath...

 

[D'Snowth]

HaHaHa - I remember reading somewhere that Jim Henson was in a "reversed" fish tank under the stump and the puppet was placed on his hand once he was in place. They shot it again after he was out and cut the footage together...

See, that's kind of how I envisioned them doing such water scenes... or at least, like if it was a limbo puppet set, they did the body of water like a little waterbed or something, with a special glove or something for the puppeteer to stick his hand into for the puppet in the water.

Scenes where muppets were swimming, or in a boat, I think may have been done with puppeteers in scuba gear. Air hoses were run under the water and to shore for them to breath...

Wow... that's... wow. Lol.

 

[Animal31]

HaHa, I'm sure it wasn't the most "comfortable" of jobs at all times.........."let's get Frank's stunt-double in the pool please"?