Synopsis
Jim Henson Idea Man (2024) is a documentary by Ron Howard you can watch online on iFILM. Running 108 minutes, it draws on Henson's personal archives — footage, journals, home recordings — to trace the life of the man who built Kermit, Miss Piggy and an entire universe of felt and wire.
Howard's access is remarkable. Henson's children Brian, Lisa, Heather, Cheryl and Sherry speak at length, as does longtime collaborator Frank Oz. Julie Andrews, Harry Belafonte and George Lucas add their perspectives. What emerges is not a children's TV legend in soft focus but a driven, restless creator who launched his first TV show in 1955 at age 19, transformed children's broadcasting with Sesame Street, and died at 53 with several major projects unfinished.
Howard doesn't smooth over the complications — the toll of obsessive work, the corporate negotiations that soured, the distance from family. For anyone who grew up with the Muppets, this plays less like a tribute and more like finally understanding who was behind them. Watch Jim Henson Idea Man (2024) online on iFILM.
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