The Jim Henson Company
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![]() The Jim Henson Company Lot in Los Angeles | |
Formerly | Muppets, Inc. (1958–1976) Henson Associates, Inc. (1976–1987) Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (1987–1998) |
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Company type | Private |
Industry | Entertainment |
Founded | November 20, 1958 |
Founders | Jim and Jane Henson |
Headquarters | Jim Henson Company Lot, Los Angeles, California , U.S. |
Key people | Brian Henson (Chairman) Lisa Henson (President & CEO) |
Products | Puppetry, Animation, Computer graphics, Digital puppetry, Entertainment |
Brands |
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Owner | Henson family |
Parent | Independent (1958–2000, 2003–present) EM.TV & Merchandising AG (2000–2003) |
Divisions | Jim Henson's Creature Shop[broken anchor] Henson Recording Studios Henson Alternative |
Website | www |
The Jim Henson Company is an American entertainment company. It started with Muppets, LLC. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson. Henson is the creator of The Muppets.[1] The Muppets helped the company become popular worldwide. They were well known in family entertainment for more than forty years.[2]
In 1969, the company started making characters and more than 20 short movies for the popular children's show Sesame Street.
One of the company's first characters regularly on national television was Rowlf the Dog. He was first made for Purina Dog Chow commercials. He became famous when he became a regular character on The Jimmy Dean Show from 1963–66.
In 1976, British media mogul Lew Grade asked Jim Henson to make a weekly show based in England, which became The Muppet Show. The success of The Muppet Show led to many movies, specials, videos, and more.
In the early 1980s, Jim Henson also formed Jim Henson's Creature Shop. It made characters for shows such as The Storyteller, Farscape, and Dinosaurs; and movies such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. It was also in the 1980s that Jim Henson produced new television series such as Fraggle Rock and The Jim Henson Hour.
In 1990, Jim Henson was talking to The Walt Disney Company about selling his company. Henson died during the week that he was going to sign the contract. His family decided to have the company keep the rights to the characters.[3][4] However, on December 18, 1991, The Walt Disney Company bought the distribution rights to the entire Jim Henson Company library up to that time.[5]
In 2020, Jim Henson’s children sold the company to the German media company, EM.TV. In January 1, 2021 they sold the Sesame Street Muppets to Sesame Workshop. In 2023 Henson's children bought back the company.[6] In 2024, they sold the rights to The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House characters to The Walt Disney Company.[7] The Walt Disney Company now owns all Muppet-related trademarks, including the word “Muppet”.
Filmography
[change | change source]Films
[change | change source]Production company | Title | Release date | Production partners | Distributor |
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Muppets Inc. | Time Piece | 1965 | Pathé Contemporary Films | |
The Cube | February 23, 1969 | NBC | ||
Henson Associates | The Muppet Movie | June 22, 1979 | ITC Entertainment | Associated Film Distribution[a] |
The Great Muppet Caper | June 22, 1981 | Universal Pictures[a] | ||
The Dark Crystal | December 17, 1982 | Universal Pictures[b] | ||
The Muppets Take Manhattan | July 13, 1984 | TriStar Pictures[c] | ||
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird | August 2, 1985 | Children's Television Workshop[d] | Warner Bros. | |
Labyrinth | June 27, 1986 | Lucasfilm | TriStar Pictures | |
Jim Henson Productions | The Witches | August 24, 1990 | Lorimar Film Entertainment | Warner Bros. |
Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D | May 16, 1991 | Walt Disney Imagineering | Disney-MGM Studios Walt Disney Attractions | |
The Muppet Christmas Carol | December 11, 1992 | Walt Disney Pictures | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution | |
Gulliver's Travels | February 4, 1996 | Hallmark Entertainment | NBC | |
Muppet Treasure Island | February 16, 1996 | Walt Disney Pictures | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution | |
Jim Henson Pictures | Buddy | June 6, 1997 |
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Sony Pictures Releasing |
Muppets from Space | July 14, 1999 | Columbia Pictures[c] | ||
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland | October 1, 1999 |
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Rat | October 6, 2000 (UK) |
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Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story | December 2, 2001 | Hallmark Entertainment | CBS | |
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | November 29, 2002 | Universal Pictures[c] | ||
Good Boy! | October 10, 2003 |
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Five Children and It | October 15, 2004 |
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Capitol Films | |
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars | October 17, 2004 | Hallmark Entertainment | Syfy | |
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz | May 20, 2005 | ABC | ||
MirrorMask | September 30, 2005 | Destination Films |
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The Jim Henson Company | Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby | March 4, 2008 |
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Genius Products |
Unstable Fables: Tortoise vs. Hare | September 9, 2008 | |||
Unstable Fables: The Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Show | December 16, 2008 | |||
Sid the Science Kid: The Movie | March 25, 2013 |
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PBS NCircle Entertainment | |
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | October 10, 2014 |
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Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | |
Lily the Unicorn | June 26, 2015 |
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Amazon Prime Video | |
Turkey Hollow | November 21, 2015 | Lifetime | ||
The Star | November 17, 2017 |
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Sony Pictures Releasing | |
Dinosaur Train: Adventure Island | April 10, 2021 |
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PBS Universal Pictures | |
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio[13] | December 9, 2022 |
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The Portable Door | April 7, 2023 | Story Bridge Films | ||
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip | TBA |
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Disney+ | |
Untitled Labyrinth spin-off sequel[14] |
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Sony Pictures Releasing | ||
Muppet Man | Walt Disney Pictures | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | ||
The Buried Giant | Netflix |
Television
[change | change source]![]() The Jim Henson Television logo used from 1997 to 2006. | |
Company type | Division of The Jim Henson Company |
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Industry | Television production |
Founded | 1955 |
Founder | Jim Henson |
Defunct | April 28, 2006 |
Fate | Disbanded and folded into The Jim Henson Company |
Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Television series |
From 1969 to 2000, Henson was contracted to design and create Muppet characters for Sesame Street. With the exception of occasional appearances in the Muppets franchise, the characters were used exclusively for Sesame Street, but Henson legally owned these characters prior to their acquisition by Sesame Workshop. The only exception was Kermit the Frog, who was featured in other projects prior to Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop retains the rights to use any Sesame Street footage featuring the character.
The sale ended any direct affiliation between The Muppets and Sesame Street, although the series retains use of the term "Muppet" under license from Disney. Many of the puppeteers continue to perform with both The Muppets and Sesame Street franchises. While no longer owning the Sesame Street characters, Henson continues to design them.[15] This list excludes pre-2001 Sesame Street co-productions outside the United States.
TV series
[change | change source]Production company | Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Release date | Production partners | Network |
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Henson Associates, Inc. | The Muppet Show | Jim Henson | 1976–1981 | Associated Television ITC Entertainment |
ITV (UK) Syndication (US) |
Fraggle Rock | 1983–1987 | CBC (Canada) HBO Television South |
CBC (Canada) HBO (US) ITV (UK) | ||
Muppet Babies | Jim Henson (d): Jeffrey Scott |
1984–1991 | Marvel Productions | CBS | |
Little Muppet Monsters | Jim Henson | 1985 | |||
Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series | Jim Henson (d): John Semper & Cynthia Friedlob |
1987 | NBC | ||
Jim Henson Productions, Inc. | The StoryTeller | Jim Henson (d): Anthony Minghella |
1988–1990 | TVS | NBC (US) Channel 4 (UK) HBO (US) (Greek Myths) |
The Jim Henson Hour[c] | Jim Henson | 1989 | NBC | ||
The Ghost of Faffner Hall | Tyne Tees Television | ITV (UK) | |||
Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories | 1990 | Television South West | ITV (UK) The Disney Channel (U.S.) | ||
Dinosaurs | Michael Jacobs Bob Young (d): Jim Henson |
1991–1994 | Michael Jacobs Productions Walt Disney Television |
ABC | |
Dog City | Jim Henson (d): Peter Sauder J.D. Smith |
1992–1995 | Nelvana Limited | Fox Kids (USA) YTV (Canada) | |
CityKids | Jeffrey Solomon | 1993–1994 | The CityKids Foundation | ABC | |
Secret Life of Toys | 1993 | The Disney Channel (U.S.) BBC (UK) | |||
Jim Henson's Animal Show | 1994–1998 | Fox Kids (seasons 1–2) Animal Planet (season 3) | |||
Muppets Tonight | 1996–1998 | ABC Disney Channel | |||
Aliens in the Family | Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz |
1996 | The Stuffed Dog Company | ABC | |
The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss (characters) | 1996–1998 | Nickelodeon | ||
Jim Henson Television | Bear in the Big Blue House[f] | Mitchell Kriegman | 1997–2006 | Shadow Projects | Playhouse Disney |
Brats of the Lost Nebula | Dan Clark | 1998–99 | Decode Entertainment Wandering Monkey Entertainment |
The WB (U.S.) YTV (Canada) | |
Mopatop's Shop | (d): Jocelyn Stevenson | 1999–2003 | Carlton Television | ITV (CITV) | |
Construction Site | |||||
Farscape | Rockne S. O'Bannon | Hallmark Entertainment | Nine Network (Australia) Sci-Fi Channel (USA) | ||
The Fearing Mind | Billy Brown | 2000–01 | Angel/Brown Productions | Fox Family | |
The Hoobs | Jocelyn Stevenson Brian Henson |
2001–2003 | Decode Entertainment | Channel 4 (UK) TVOKids (Canada) | |
Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola | 2001 | Hallmark Channel | |||
Bambaloo | 2002–03 | Yoram Gross-EM.TV | Seven Network ABC TV | ||
The Jim Henson Company | Animal Jam[g] | John Derevlany | 2003 | TLC Discovery Kids | |
Frances [h] | Russell Hoban (d): Alex Rockwell Halle Stanford |
2008 | HIT Entertainment | ||
Sid the Science Kid | 2008–13 | KCET (2008–09) KOCE-TV (2010–12) |
PBS Kids | ||
Jim Henson's Pajanimals | Jeff Muncy and Alex Rockwell | Sixteen South John Doze Studios Ingenious |
PBS Kids Sprout | ||
Dinosaur Train[17] | Craig Bartlett | 2009–20 | Info-communications Media Development Authority Sparky Animation FableVision Snee-Oosh, Inc. (uncredited) Tail Waggin' Productions |
PBS Kids | |
Jim Henson's The Possibility Shop | Courtney Watkins | 2009–2011 | |||
Hot Dog TV | 2010 | Cartoon Network | |||
Me and My Monsters | Mark Grant Claudia Lloyd (d): Rebecca De Souza |
2010-2011 | Tiger Aspect Productions Sticky Pictures |
Network Ten (Australia) CBBC (UK) | |
Wilson & Ditch: Digging America | Joe Purdy Craig Bartlett |
2010-2012 | PBS Kids | ||
That Puppet Game Show | Jamie Ormerod | 2013–14 | BBC Entertainment | BBC One | |
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge | 2014 | Syfy | |||
The Doozers | 2014–2018 | DHX Studios Halifax | Hulu (US) Kids' CBC (Canada) | ||
Hi Opie! | Barbara Slade | 2014–2016 | marblemedia | TVO Kids | |
Dot. | Randi Zuckerberg | 2016–2018 | Industrial Brothers | CBC Kids (Canada) Universal Kids (USA) | |
Splash and Bubbles | John Tartaglia | 2016–2018 | Herschend Studios | PBS Kids | |
Word Party | Alex Rockwell | 2016–2021 | Netflix | ||
Julie's Greenroom | Julie Andrews Emma Walton Hamilton Judy Rothman |
2017 | |||
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance[18][19] | Jim Henson (characters) (d): Jeffrey Addiss Will Matthews |
2019 | |||
Fraggle Rock: Rock On! | 2020 | Apple TV+ | |||
Earth to Ned[20][21] | 2020–2021 | Marwar Junction Productions | Disney+ | ||
Duff's Happy Fun Bake Time | Duff Goldman | 2021 | Discovery+ | ||
Harriet the Spy[22] | 2021–present | Apple Studios Postworks New York Wellsville Pictures Titmouse, Inc. |
Apple TV+ | ||
Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock[23] | Jim Henson (original series) (d): Matt Fusfeld Alex Cuthbertson |
2022–present | New Regency Fusfeld & Cuthbertson Regional Entertainment | ||
Slumberkins[24] | Alex Rockwell | 2022 | Factory | ||
The Storyteller[25] | Jim Henson (original series) | TBA | Fremantle | ||
Lore Olympus[26] | Rachel Smythe | TBA | Webtoon |
As a contributor
[change | change source]- The Tonight Show (1955-1961)
- Sesame Street (1969–present)[d]
- Saturday Night Live (Season 1)
- "The Land of Gorch" segments (1975-1976)
- The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange (2012–2014)
TV specials
[change | change source]- Hey, Cinderella! (1969)
- The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970)
- The Frog Prince (1971)
- The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
- Out to Lunch (1974)
- The Muppets Valentine Show (1974)
- The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975)
- Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)[c]
- The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)
- John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979)[c]
- The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981)
- Of Muppets and Men (1981)
- The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show (1982)
- Rocky Mountain Holiday (1983)[c]
- The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)
- The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986)
- The Christmas Toy (1986)[c]
- A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)[c]
- Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting (1989)
- The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
- The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
- Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995)
Direct-to-video
[change | change source]- Jim Henson Play-Along Video (1988)[c]
- Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear: A Comedy Show Starring Fozzie Bear and You
- Mother Goose Stories: Miss Muffet, Songs of Sixpence, Little Boy Blue (1987–1990)
- Neat Stuff... To Know and Do
- Peek-A-Boo, A Big Surprise for Little People[27]
- Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along: Rowlf teaches kids about music
- Wow, You're a Cartoonist!
- Muppet Sing Alongs
- Muppet Classic Theater (1994)[c]
- Jim Henson's Preschool Collection (1995)[c]
- Mother Goose Stories: Humpty Dumpty
- Mother Goose Stories: Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Muppets on Wheels
- Yes, I Can Be a Friend
- Yes, I Can Learn
- Yes, I Can Help[30]
- Kermit's Swamp Years (2002)
Web content
[change | change source]- The Skrumps (2007)
- The Sam Plenty Cavalcade of Action Show Plus Singing! (2008)
Henson Alternative
[change | change source]The following list contains projects of The Jim Henson Company under its Henson Alternative banner.
Movies
[change | change source]Title | Release date | Production partners | Distributor |
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The Happytime Murders[31] | August 24, 2018 |
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STX Entertainment |
Television series
[change | change source]The first eight series are produced under its Henson Alternative banner exclusively in North America before premiering worldwide in 2015.
- Tinseltown (2007)
- Alt/Reality (2010-2011)
- Simian Undercover Detective Squad (2012)
- Late Night Buffet with Augie and Del (2006)
- Del's Vegas Comedy Binge (2007)
- Late Night Liars (2010)
- Marvin E. Quasniki for President (2011–12)
- Neil's Puppet Dreams (2012–13)
- Ketchup with the Hot Dogs (2013–14)
- Good Morning Today (2013–14)
- No, You Shut Up! (2013–2016)
- The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (2018)
Stage shows
[change | change source]- Puppet Up! - Uncensored (2006–present)
- Stuffed and Unstrung (2010-2013)
Other productions
[change | change source]- The Muppet segments of the Nintendo Digital Event, shown during E3 (2015).
- Star Fox Zero commercial (2016).
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The film's home media, TV, and digital distribution rights were purchased by The Jim Henson Company from ITC Entertainment in August 1984.[8] The film rights were then acquired by Walt Disney Studios upon their parent company's acquisition of the Muppets franchise in 2004.[9] Currently, Universal Pictures handles theatrical distribution[10]—due to prior contractual obligations with the former Associated Film Distribution and ITC—but the film's ownership and copyright are controlled by Disney, with home media reissues of the film branded as a Walt Disney Pictures release.
- ↑ The film's home media, TV, and digital distribution rights were purchased by The Jim Henson Company from ITC Entertainment in August 1984.[8] Currently, Universal Pictures handles theatrical distribution[11]—due to prior contractual obligations with the former Associated Film Distribution and ITC.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 The film's home media, TV, and digital distribution rights were not purchased by The Jim Henson Company from Walt Disney Studios upon their parent company's acquisition of the Muppets franchise in February 2004.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Sesame Street Muppets only.
- ↑ After the Muppets' acquisition to Disney in 2005.
- ↑ The Walt Disney Company acquired Bear in the Big Blue House from The Jim Henson Company in 2004.[16] The transaction included all of the series' characters, television library, copyrights and trademarks.
- ↑ The Walt Disney Company is filmed on location at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to help Animal Jam from The Jim Henson Company in 2002. The transaction included all of the series' characters, television library, copyrights and trademarks by Jim's company itself.
- ↑ Co-produced by The Jim Henson Company and HIT Entertainment. Both companies co-own the copyright.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Willman, David (1992-07-26). "Jim Henson's Children Put Together a String of Big Deals to Keep Alive". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ↑ Gritten, David (1990-08-19). "The Next Muppetmeister?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ↑ Zonana, Victor F. (1991-04-18). "Henson Heirs Allege Disney Is Illegally Using Muppets". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ↑ Citron, Alan (1990-12-14). "Miss Piggy and Friends Won't Get Together With Mickey and Minnie". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ↑ New York Times
- ↑ Verrier, Richard (2003-05-08). "Muppets Returning to Hensons' Hands". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ↑ Disney Corporate
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jay Jones, Brian (2013). "Chapter 12: Twists and Turns". Jim Henson: The Biography. Ballantine Books (Random House). pp. 374–375. ISBN 978-0345526113.
- ↑ Thompson, Simon (July 25, 2019). "Remembering 'The Muppet Movie' At 40 With Gonzo". Forbes. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ↑ "Make the Rainbow Connection Again as 'The Muppet Movie' Returns to the Big Screen in Honor of its 40th Anniversary on July 25 and 30". prnewswire. Fathom Events. June 3, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
- ↑ "The Dark Crystal Returns to Movie Theaters". Fathom Events.
- ↑ "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ↑ Lang, Brent (October 22, 2018). "Guillermo del Toro Directing 'Pinocchio' for Netflix". Variety. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
- ↑ Fleming, Mike (May 26, 2020). "Scott Derrickson Set To Direct 'Labyrinth' Sequel For TriStar Pictures; Maggie Levin To Write Script". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ↑ James, Meg (February 18, 2004). "Kermit Is Now Part of Magic Kingdom". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
- ↑ "The Walt Disney Company And The Jim Henson Company Sign Agreement For Disney To Buy The Muppets And Bear In The Big Blue House". The Walt Disney Company and The Jim Henson Company. February 17, 2004. Archived from the original on 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ↑ Burlingame, Russ. "Craig Bartlett on the Dinosaur Train Movie". CB ComicBook. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- ↑ Petski, Denise (May 18, 2017). "'The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance': Jim Henson Prequel Series Set At Netflix". Deadline. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ↑ Hibberd, James (December 17, 2018). "Netflix's The Dark Crystal prequel reveals first photos, huge voice cast". Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ Petski, Denise (October 25, 2019). "Disney+ Teams With Jim Henson Co. On New Puppet Talk Show". Deadline. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ↑ "Jim Henson Co. Sets New Puppet Talk Show at Disney+ (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- ↑ Alexandra Del Rosario (August 12, 2020). "'Harriet The Spy' Kids Animated Series Starring Beanie Feldstein, Jane Lynch & Lacey Chabert Ordered By Apple". Deadline.
- ↑ Heldman, Breanne L. "Dance Your Cares Away! Apple TV+'s Fraggle Rock Reboot Teaser Recreates the Original Intro". People.
- ↑ Haring, Bruce (August 29, 2022). "Apple TV+ Sets Kids & Family Fall Slate Spotlighting Animated Series, Live Action Lineup". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (February 19, 2019). "'The Storyteller' Reimagining In Works by Neil Gaiman, Jim Henson Co. & Fremantle". Deadline. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ↑ "'Lore Olympus': Webtoon And The Jim Henson Company Will Partner For YA Animated Series'". Deadline. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
- ↑ "Videos". Muppet Central.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
- ↑ Zad, Martie. "Muppet Group Offers Eight New Songs." The Washington Post. (November 25, 2013).
- ↑ Maes, Nancy. (March 7, 1996) Tish Hinojosa's Music Bridges Two Cultures. Chicago Tribune. Accessed on November 26, 2013.
- ↑ Martie Zad. (July 2, 1995) "Muppets, Kids Join in Series For Preschoolers." The Washington Post. 1995.
- ↑ Knapp, JD (July 1, 2017). "STX Sets Dates for 'Molly's Game' and 'Happytime Murders'". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
Characters |
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Television series | Sam and Friends (1955–1971) · Sesame Street (1969–2001) · The Muppet Show (1976–1991) · Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) · Muppets Tonight (1996–1998) · Bear in the Big Blue House (1997–2001) · The Hoobs (2001) | ||||
Feature films | The Muppet Movie (1979) · The Great Muppet Caper (1981) · The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) · Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird (1985) · The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) · Muppet Treasure Island (1996) · Muppets from Space (1999) · The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) · The Muppets (2011) · Muppets Most Wanted (2014) | ||||
Related |
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