The FUTURE of puppetry in Television!

[mrhogg]

Can I ask you what makes you think art is in a rut? Also, do you mean some aspect of mainstream art, or the progression of it anywhere?

 

[staceyrebecca]

Three things in my little brain floating around...

"And one thing that bugged me a lot is that each time someone had a puppet program on, they would feature muppet-style puppets. I feel that's copying Jim's style."

Jim Henson did not invent moving-mouth hand puppets. He copied others. His was only the most famous for our generation. I do wonder if those in generations older than ours would have said of the muppets on television "oh, its fine, but he's just copying Bil Baird."

We've all learned from someone. Our generation simply had the Jim Henson Company to look up to.

"But unfortunately, I do believe that art in general did peak awhile ago and is currently stuck in a rut. That's just my opinion of course."

1st, I'm really glad you say it's just your opinion. 2nd, do you know of the amazing folk art revolution that is taking place? There's a huge emphasis on handmade and art in general. It's lovely. This statement really caused me to double-take what I had read.

There's nothing new under the sun...nothing.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Jim Henson was like a Picasso, or a Matisse or a Brando. He was one of those artists who comes along once in a generation, smashes the existing mold of an artform and chartes a new course for other artists to follow. That's an extremely difficult thing to do and there are few people who can.

It's very true that Jim didn't invent moving-mouth puppets, he did what all artists and innovators do...he took the work other people had done and put his own, unique spin on it. That being said, there is a classic Muppet style - I'm thinking of the style you still see on Sesame Street - and there are a lot of people who blatantly copy it. That makes sense, because most people when they get in to an art form they start out imitating the work of artists they admire. Gradually, over time, they branch out and explore other approaches and develop there own style.

I've been organizing some puppetry workshops lately and most of the people involved happened to all be puppet builders. We had a day where everyone brought in examples of puppets that they make and something I thought was unbelievably cool was that each one has their own, unique totally un-Muppety style of building puppets. It was a very cool thing to witness.

What made the Muppets so popular - even before Sesame Street and the Muppet Show - was that they were so completely original and different compared to what came before. I think it's fantastic there's all this puppet stuff emerging on the web, but I don't think there's anything completely original and breathtaking...yet.

The real lesson to learn from the Muppets and Jim Henson is to keep exploring, keep trying new things and be an original. I think if you focus on that the rest takes care of itself.

 

[puppetsmith]

The older I get the more I realize that I'm a Jim Henson fan, more so than a Muppet fan. And I believe that to be the case because of the spirit behind the work. Jim Henson himself was not the best puppet builder and I don't think the Muppets were such a success because of the technical skill of the puppet builders in the Muppet workshop. I agree with mrhogg that Jim Henson was an idea man - a very good thing to be. And behind those ideas was a drive and a spirit of bringing the world together, making it a better place, following your dreams but more importantly helping others to achieve theirs. I think Walt Disney himself had a similar, but not identical, spirit. That is what makes Jim's work (or the work done under Jim's direction) so powerful. He transcends markets, peoples, national borders, political and social barriers, etc. because he didn't bother with the pettiness of the world we live in. He looked past it and saw the good and tried to show others the same view.

On that note, think about the earlier Muppet stuff. The early Sesame Street, the Muppet Show, the first three Muppet Movies, Fraggle Rock. All of them have that same spirit of togetherness. Unfortunately the Jim Henson Company and Sesame Street today has not produced anything of late that even resembles the same spirit. Sesame Street is geared for a younger audience than it was originally and dumbed down so much that it's no longer entertaining for adults and children alike...so adults leave the room! Puppet Up!...children leave the room! Tinseltown...heterosexuals leave the room! What happened to bringing people together? What happened to marketing to the entire human race? Appealing to what makes us all ultimately human and part of a whole?

 

[MGov]

"Many of the things I've done in my life have basically been self-taught. I think we, as the Muppets, broke new ground because we approached puppetry from a different angle. I had never worked with puppets when I was a kid, and even when I began on television, I really didn't know what I was doing. I'm sure this was a good thing, because I learned as I tackled each problem. I think if you study - if you learn too much of what others have done, you may tend to take the same direction as everybody else."

- Jim Henson


"Jim was a dreamer... but he was pragmatic enough to make the dream happen. He was just absolutely determined to do that. There were certainly elements of both. But a dreamer was what he really was."

- Jerry Juhl


"Jim inspired people to be better than they thought they could be. To be more creative, more daring, more outrageous, and ultimately more successful. And he did it all without raising his voice."

- Bernie Brillstein

 

[puppetsmith]

"Muppet Style Humor" goes back, for all intents and purposes, to Vaudeville.

 

[frogboy4]

Neither art nor puppetry is created in a vacuum. Jim Henson took what was around (as artists do) reformatted it and made a more palatable brand of puppetry with the Muppets and then, of course, started the Creature Shop. To say any artist copies another is true, but also short-sighted. That's how all art works including puppetry. However, there is taking established methods to a new evolution, homage and then there is blatantly ripping off an idea and omitting credit where it is due.

What Jim Henson did with the Muppets created another world for puppetry. I don’t believe that it would be as highly regarded and prevalent today without Jim’s efforts. When younger I used to claim really liking Henson’s work and the Muppets, but not necessarily puppets. Since then, because of my love for Muppets, I have searched out more non-Henson puppetry and can no longer state that that. I have seen some beautiful puppets and puppetry of all sorts.

However, Jim Henson’s Muppets will always be my favorite. I feel his characters transcend the puppet genre in a unique way.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Neither art nor puppetry is created in a vacuum...I feel his characters transcend the puppet genre in a unique way.

Puppetry is an art form, not a genre! But I understand what you mean.

 

[CBPuppets]

My fellow Muppet fans, I implore you! What will be the future of Puppetry! It has been far too long since the primetime reign of the Muppets! I miss those days. I want to return to them. I want puppets back in primetime television. I want fresh, new blood, new puppeteers to band together and make something that everyone, adults, children, even geezers can enjoy! Yes. Even geezers.

Amen ! That's exactly why I decided to produce my Inside the Cube show. I guess great minds think alike.

 

[Klarkkent]

Hey everyone. Been awhile since I've logged on. I have to say what great community this forum has. Such a wealth of creativity and information. I think I might even have missed you guys in some way...

I'm in the middle of developing and producing a puppet based television show. Our intention is to put together a formidable pitch package and shoot a few initial episodes and take them to PBS. We're going through all the motions of sticking to an educational guideline set for ages 5 and up.

I was just curious if anyone on here has ever had any interaction with PBS and their pitching process. We just want to make sure that we're meeting all the requirements for solicitation.

We've considered, as has been mentioned in this thread, going the webisode route. We've purchased the .com and .tv domains and are developing the site, but like most of us on here I am of the Sesame/Muppet generation and would love to to get our show into that television box. It really is the best venue for a puppet program. The tiny internet video windows just seem so limiting when trying to fit more into that screen.

I am, however, aware of the power of a viral Youtube campaign can be and that it seems like it's the easier route to go when trying to get your material noticed or picked up. Course the freedom that comes with being the final say in the creative and the content is hugely appealing not to mention retaining all the rights.

I would just love to cling on to that notion that there still is a possibility to get through to those networks, even if I don't know anyone that can give us that in. I'd like to hope that anyone with a truly original and viable idea can find away.

I am one of those dreamers. Where does reality get off trying to burst my balloon?

Any suggestions?

If anyone is interested in hearing more about what we're working on feel free to pm me or email me. Serious inquiries please. Due to the nature of the project I'm not able to give away any serious details unless you're willing to sign an NDA.