Comments on: WEIRD TALES: The 85 Weirdest, Day 48: Jim Henson

By: Stina Leicht

Stina Leicht — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:34:33 +0000

loved the muppets. loved them. thanks for the clip. i needed that.

By: RaeBryant

RaeBryant — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:12:50 +0000

OMG! Laughter and tears. I had forgotten just how fun they are. All my faves in one act! That was such a great way to start the day–mucho thanks!

By: Mike F

Mike F — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:46:05 +0000

No. That was great. Beaker can really hit the high notes. I guess that should be expected. Animal really got into it. He looked so sad.

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:32:45 +0000

Oh, Beaker... Have you seen Beaker sing Danny Boy with the Swedish Chef and Animal?

By: Mike F

Mike F — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:48:45 +0000

One of my favorites was Beaker. Something bad happened to him in every episode but he always bounced back. And those eyes! Plus, he had a great part in The Twelve Days of Christmas song.

By: Julia

Julia — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:34:41 +0000

Mahna mahna…doo DOO doo-doo doo…

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:17:55 +0000

Oh! Statler and Waldorf. I loved them.

By: RaeBryant

RaeBryant — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:15:02 +0000

I have a confession. My favorite muppets were the grouchy old men that made fun of everyone. Them and Animal. Well, then there was the Swedish Chef . . .

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:11:33 +0000

I think Julia’s right that there are rods coming straight down from the feet and that they handle stepping on the little guy by passing the rod upstage of him.

By: Julia

Julia — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:00:43 +0000

I’ll admit that, as a child, I always looked for the strings, wires, and other support mechanisms on the Sesame Street cast, which is why I’m hypothesizing about the dancing inchworm. But that was just because I wanted to know how it all *worked*, not to ruin it. I used to just study them over and over, reruns and everything, just because. And yet I still did not know the half of what went on underneath the screen!

Puppetry really is so amazing. It looks so deceptively simple, and anyone can play with finger puppets and hand puppets, but the really cool stuff is just so expertly technical. I intensely admire anyone who’s any good at it.

By: RaeBryant

RaeBryant — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:57:08 +0000

How does the puppet turn around like that? That seemed pretty impressive.

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:52:52 +0000

That sounds about right.

By: Julia

Julia — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:48:45 +0000

I’m also thinking below, but way to the back of the puppet. So that most of the foot can step on the puppet and make you think all of it is, but it’s really not.

Having watched all of the Special Features on my copy of Labyrinth, I’m so impressed with Henson puppeteers. Wonderful stuff.