The Jim Henson Company

(Redirected from Jim Henson Productions)

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]

The Jim Henson Company
Formerly
Muppets, Inc. (1958–1976)
Henson Associates, Inc. (1976–1990)
Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (1990–1998)
Private
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedNovember 20, 1958; 65 years ago (1958-11-20)
FoundersJim and Jane Henson
HeadquartersJim Henson Company Lot,
Los Angeles, California
,
U.S.
Key people
Brian Henson
(Chairman)
Lisa Henson
(President & CEO)
ProductsPuppetry, Animation, Computer graphics, Digital puppetry, Entertainment
Brands
OwnerHenson family
ParentIndependent
(1958–2000, 2003–present)
EM.TV & Merchandising AG
(2000–2003)
DivisionsJim Henson's Creature Shop
Henson Recording Studios
Henson Alternative
Websitewww.henson.com

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 2000, Jim Henson’s children sold the company to the German media company, EM.TV. In January 1, 2001 they sold the Sesame Street Muppets to Sesame Workshop. In 2003 Henson's children bought back the company.[6] In 2004, 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

Feature Films

Production company Title Release date Production partners Distributor
Muppets Inc. Time Piece 1965 Template:CEmpty Pathé Contemporary Films
The Cube February 23, 1969 Template:CEmpty 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 Template:CEmpty 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 Sony Pictures Releasing
Muppets from Space July 14, 1999 Columbia Pictures[c]
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland October 1, 1999
Good Boy! October 10, 2003
The Jim Henson Company Rat October 6, 2000 (UK)
Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story December 2, 2001 Hallmark Entertainment
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie November 29, 2002 Universal Pictures[c]
Five Children and It October 15, 2004 Capitol Films
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars October 17, 2004 Hallmark Entertainment
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz May 20, 2005 Walt Disney Television
MirrorMask September 30, 2005 Destination Films
Unstable Fables: 3 Pigs and a Baby March 4, 2008
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
  • Nine Eye Stone Productions
PBS
NCircle Entertainment
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day October 10, 2014 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Lily the Unicorn June 26, 2015 Amazon Prime Video
Turkey Hollow November 21, 2015 Template:CEmpty Lifetime
The Star November 17, 2017 Sony Pictures Releasing
Dinosaur Train: Adventure Island April 10, 2021 PBS
Universal Pictures
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio[13] December 9, 2022
The Portable Door April 7, 2023 Story Bridge Films
Untitled Labyrinth spin-off sequel[14] TBA
Muppet Man
  1. 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.
  2. 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. 3.0 3.1 3.2 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. The Sesame Street Muppets only.
  5. After the Muppets' acquisition to Disney in 2005.

The Jim Henson Company Media

References

  1. Willman, David (1992-07-26). "Jim Henson's Children Put Together a String of Big Deals to Keep Alive". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-07-26/business/fi-5359_1_jim-henson. Retrieved 2010-10-18. 
  2. Gritten, David (1990-08-19). "The Next Muppetmeister?". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-08-19/entertainment/ca-3047_1_jim-henson-s-line. Retrieved 2010-10-18. 
  3. Zonana, Victor F. (1991-04-18). "Henson Heirs Allege Disney Is Illegally Using Muppets". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-04-18/news/mn-172_1_jim-henson. Retrieved 2010-10-18. 
  4. Citron, Alan (1990-12-14). "Miss Piggy and Friends Won't Get Together With Mickey and Minnie". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-14/business/fi-6567_1_jim-henson. Retrieved 2010-10-18. 
  5. New York Times
  6. Verrier, Richard (2003-05-08). "Muppets Returning to Hensons' Hands". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/may/08/business/fi-muppets8. Retrieved 2010-10-18. 
  7. Disney Corporate
  8. 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.
  9. Thompson, Simon (July 25, 2019). "Remembering 'The Muppet Movie' At 40 With Gonzo". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2019/07/23/remembering-the-muppet-movie-at-40-with-gonzo/#3e9d2dc61eef. Retrieved July 25, 2019. 
  10. "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. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/make-the-rainbow-connection-again-as-the-muppet-movie-returns-to-the-big-screen-in-honor-of-its-40th-anniversary-on-july-25-and-30-300860866.html. Retrieved May 15, 2020. 
  11. "The Dark Crystal Returns to Movie Theaters". Fathom Events. Archived from the original on 2022-05-27. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
  12. "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  13. Lang, Brent (October 22, 2018). "Guillermo del Toro Directing 'Pinocchio' for Netflix". Variety. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  14. Fleming, Mike (May 26, 2020). "Scott Derrickson Set To Direct 'Labyrinth' Sequel For TriStar Pictures; Maggie Levin To Write Script". Deadline Hollywood. https://deadline.com/2020/05/labyrinth-sequel-scott-derrickson-director-maggie-levin-write-script-doctor-strange-1202943188/. Retrieved May 26, 2020. 
  1. REDIRECT Template:The Muppets