Jim Henson: The Works - The Art, the Magic, the Imagination by Christopher Finch Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Jim Henson: The Works - The Art, the Magic, the Imagination
Book Review: Letting the lights shine warmly on Jim Henson
Summary: 5 Stars
It's hard to believe Jim Henson has now been gone for over 16 years. Christopher Finch's book stands as a great testament to Henson's amazingly prolific work and his larger-then-life existence. Despite Henson's natural shyness and reticence and quiet manner, the thing that strikes you in the book is how many lives this guy touched. He bestowed livelihoods on literally thousands of people. Their gratitude is expressed in these pages time and again in fervent, emotional recollections. To say Jim Henson inspired devotion only begins to get at what this guy meant to his family, friends and employees.
My hat is off to Christopher Finch for this wonderful collection, which is still available here as a beautiful and hardily-constructed first-edition hardback. Mr. Finch gets an extra level of respect for the decision (of which he no doubt had a say) to keep his name off the dustcover front. He's graciously stepped aside to let the lights shine warmly on Jim Henson.
Book Review: To Jim...
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember the day Jim Henson died. I was in complete shock. In fact, I sat there, first in disbelief and then before I knew it, I was sobbing. Did I know him, personally? No. Not really. I only knew the man through his creativity through his artistry, through what he gave to me as a child, a teenager, and as an adult. It seemed that no matter what age I was, the muppets and Jim Henson were always there.
My first introduction to them was through, of course, Sesame Street. My favorite characters were Bert and Ernie. In fact, my dad, to this day, feels as though my whole life has been patterned after Ernie. I did, love Ernie's sense of humor and his willingness to always laugh at himself no matter what he went through. I haven't always done this, but during those times when I took myself and the world too seriously, I always seemed to have "disastrous" results, but during those times where I have approached things with levity and with humor, I always felt as though I was more in control of the situation than instead of the situation controlling me. That's how the Ernie character was. He was always "in control" of things because he could laugh at things...even those things he felt scared of or worried about or frustrated over. Sometimes I watch clips of Sesame Street and I am always amazed at "human" those skits were. Even though they were acted out by muppets, they were things that a child or even an adult might be feeling about certain things. Those skits always had a deep sense of humanity about them. They were never condescending or degrading. They always spoke to the spirit of the individual and that is a very rare thing to be able to pull off and pull off consistently and effectively.
Jim Henson seemed to have his finger on the pulse of the human soul. He knew it in its folly and in its wisdom. Kermit the Frog is a character that, I heard, mostly resembles Jim Henson. He seems to be surrounded by craziness and disorder and chaos. But instead of being consumed by it, he deals with it. He makes the most of it. And isn't that really what we are to do in any given situation? I think sometimes we "fight" too hard, when really, maybe what we really need to do is throw up our hands and let the "stream of Life" take us to where we need to go....
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Life is but a dream
And then there were the Muppet Movies. Even though I was in my early teens when the first one came out, I secretly went to it. I loved Jim Henson's humor. It was gentle and non-abrasive and yet there were, at times, sarcastic undertones. Not that he was being malicious or mean-spirited, but sometimes in our exasperation or frustration, we do get sarcastic because sometimes things are so absurd, so strange, so ultimately crazy, that sarcasm is warranted in that particular situation.
Jim Henson left this world at such a young age. I believe he was only 54. But with everything he did, he gave the world all of himself. He never held back, he never skimped out, he always gave each and every production he was involved with, his all. Maybe it's something we can learn to do, as well. To stop looking at how we'll be compensated or reimbursed, but to just start knowing and feeling that the universe will always take care of the details and that we will be compensated many times over if we give the world all of our mind, all of our heart, all of our soul because like the universe itself, our minds, hearts, and souls are connected to that which is Infinite, Inexhaustible, Immeasureable...we are all connected to Life Itself.
Jim Henson knew this. Jim Henson lived this. And I thank him from the bottomless bottom of my heart. I know that he is not resting in peace, because that wasn't his style, but he probably has the next life "in pieces" with his humor, his creativity, and his joy for life Itself.
Peace and Blessings, Fellow Beings of Light and Love...
Book Review: A Great Inspiration
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone who knows me as an adult thinks that I must have been a huge Disney fan as a child. While I've always enjoyed Disney films and shorts, my childhood was focused mainly on three things: Peanuts, Star Wars, and The Muppets.
This week's book spotlight is Jim Henson, The Works - yet another of my most prized books in my library. In it, we not only read biographies and histories of the characters that we've grown to love, but we also learn about some of the projects that he would have like to have produced and how much of an artist and visonary Jim Henson really was.
The book contains some of the most creative and unique page layout designs that I have ever seen. I especially enjoy the small "Jim Henson: The Early Years" book which is about a quarter of the page dimensions of the rest of the book which is tipped-in to the binding. The entire volume appears to have been assembled as thoughtfully and lovingly as you can imagine Jim doing all of the projects during his life.
In a nutshell, I would highly recommend this book-not just to people who are fans of the Muppets, like myself, but to anyone who likes to have a peek into what makes creative people tick, and maybe glean some inspiration in the process.
What made me decide to comment on this book-besides seeing it on my bookshelf every day at work-is my recent purchase of The Muppet Show: First Season on DVD. I was a little nervous when I first got it that I wouldn't enjoy the humor as much as an adult as I did when I was a kid, but I couldn't have been more mistaken. It is so nice to see the sophisticated wit in the writing of this show that still makes me laugh out loud. I was also happy to see that my 5 & 7 year old daughters also laughed quite a bit at the show and often ask to watch them over again. The shows still have value today as great entertainment and I would highly recommend them.
Book Review: If you didn't know beforehand why Jim Henson was so great,
Summary: 5 Stars
... you will after you read this book!
I had this book overdue from the library for a MONTH. I know, I know... but really, it's gorgeous, just looking at the pictures, and the text made me long to work for Jim Henson Productions. You need to read this book, you NEED to learn about this wonderful man.
Book Review: A Precious Gem!
Summary: 5 Stars
No Muppet fan should be without this book.Total history of how the muppets began.How the muppets really got started,nothing at all like the way it was portrayed in The Muppet Movie of course.Though it only goes up to the release of A Muppet Christmas Carol,it' still worth it for any major muppet fan,with some of the best behind-the-scenes photographs ever seen.