Jim's Last Projects

[Princeton]

Has anyone else found that the last few projects that Jim worked on were pretty underwhelming? I'm mainly referring to Storyteller, Jim Henson Hour, Mother Goose Stories, Ghost of Faffner Hall, and Dog City.

 

[D'Snowth]

Jim kind of wasn't in a good frame of mind during that period: after DARK CRYSTAL and especially LABYRINTH did so poorly, he went through a serious depression, because he was trying so hard to do different things to show the world he could do more than just Muppets, and he poured his heart and soul into those projects (as he did with almost everything that he did), so that was just really crushing him - with a lot of those projects that you mentioned, I don't believe he really gave them his all at that point. I believe there was also other factors at play, especially with network interference regarding JHH - stuff that Jim wasn't accustomed to; gone were the days of conducting business with a simple handshake or a verbal agreement to seal the deal - especially in the days of Lord Grade - Jim was having to deal with a lot more corporate influence which was taking a toll on him as well, which was one of the main reasons he was going to sell the Muppets to Disney in the first place, so Disney could worry about all of the business aspects of the enterprise, freeing him up to concentrate solely on just the artistic aspect.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Has anyone else found that the last few projects that Jim worked on were pretty underwhelming? I'm mainly referring to Storyteller, Jim Henson Hour, Mother Goose Stories, Ghost of Faffner Hall, and Dog City.

By Dog City, do you mean the special from 1989, because I really liked that one, I thought it was really creative and funny.

 

[Princeton]

By Dog City, do you mean the special from 1989, because I really liked that one, I thought it was really creative and funny.

I didn't realize that the animated series was different from the 89 special, so no, that wasn't what I meant.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

I didn't realize that the animated series was different from the 89 special, so no, that wasn't what I meant.

They had Dog City which had Rowlf as the narrator and then in 1992 the animated series that was based off of that special. I don't think Jim had anything to do with the animated series or very little as it came out two years after his death.

 

[minor muppetz]

Would you say that Jim's last few Muppet projects, outside of JHH, were underwhelming (I'm referring to A Muppet Family Christmas, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, and Muppet Vision 3D)?

 

[TheMuppetFan]

Would you say that Jim's last few Muppet projects, outside of JHH, were underwhelming (I'm referring to A Muppet Family Christmas, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, and Muppet Vision 3D)?

I know that I'm not the creator of this thread, but I don't think so. In fact, those 3 specials were honestly some of my favorite Muppet specials growing up, and they still are. I especially have a place in my heart for Muppet-Vision-3-D. Every time I go to Disney World, I watch that at least 29 times.

 

[Princeton]

Would you say that Jim's last few Muppet projects, outside of JHH, were underwhelming (I'm referring to A Muppet Family Christmas, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, and Muppet Vision 3D)?

Universally MFC is a great special but I personally don't care for it, but I agree that the other two aren't great efforts, though I still enjoy them.

 

[Princeton]

I just recently re watched the entire Storyteller series and I think that the reason why it doesn't come off so well is not just because of the writing but the fact that Jim didn't really seem to be able to compromise his budget like, say, Brian was. Now in terms of the writing I would have liked it to be a little more funny. I'm not suggesting they go full out Fractured Fairy Tales with it, but it definitely needed a little lightening up. Of course this is coming from someone who has never liked jAnthony Minghella as a writer. Another special I just recently saw for the first time is Song of the Cloud Forest. I liked it but I would have liked it more if it was a little longer. But at its current length I really don't understand what the purpose of it was.