Ron Howard Explains What Made Jim Henson a Once-in-a-Generation Talent
Ron Howard has been a Hollywood star as both an actor and a director for six decades. Still, when he set out to tell the story of Muppet’s creator Jim Henson for the new Disney+ series Jim Henson Idea Man, even he was awed by visionaries “one-in-a-generation-talent.”
Photo: D23
“I have long admired Jim and found his work ethic to be extremely influential to my own. As I began researching deeper into his creative history, I learned things about Jim that I felt needed to be recognized wholeheartedly. I was drawn to re-telling the story of this one-in-a-generation talent while still relishing in the challenge of compacting the story of this creatively complex individual in 105 minutes,” Howard said.
Diving Deeper Into Henson’s Career
To tell Henson’s story, Howard wanted to go beyond the Muppets and dive into Jim’s impact on other aspects of Hollywood.
“I have always been a fan of Jim’s work and was very excited about the opportunity. Many people have felt impacted by his work. Yet there is still an entire generation with lesser knowledge on his contributions to cinema, television, and pop culture. I hope this story is an honest reflection of Jim’s immense creativity and serves as a catalyst for opportunity for audiences to feel inspired by.”
Henson’s Creative Spirit
The more Howard dug into Henson’s history, the more impressed he was with his indomitable creative spirit.
“Jim operated on the assumption that creativity has no bounds and it reflected in all his projects. I hope my film creates opportunity for audiences to go back to his work and see just how far he was able to stretch his ideas across various mediums. To my surprise, this restless and burning creative spirit became more apparent than ever as I dug deeper into the creation of this film.”
Teaming Up With Disney
So, why tell the story on Disney+?
“There has always been a natural synergy between The Walt Disney Company and Jim Henson. Beyond Imagine Entertainment and me, I wanted to ensure Jim’s children and The Henson Company felt confident in their collaborators,” Howard explained.
Photo Credit: English Heritage
“In this search, it became increasingly evident that Disney — with their amassed knowledge of Jim and their continued support of his work — was the best fit.”
(Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Jim Henson Idea Man is now streaming on Disney+.
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