Jim Henson: The Works - The Art, the Magic, the Imagination

by Christopher Finch

The ultimate gift for Muppet lovers everywhere, this extraordinary tribute celebrates 40 years of Henson's creative genius--from his best-known inventions to his lesser known but equally fascinating notions for everything from designs for futuristic nightclubs and homes to experimental films. 500 color illus.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Art, Film, Tv, Reference, History

268 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 1993

About the author

Christopher Finch was born in Guernsey in the British Channel Islands, and now lives in Los Angeles. He is an artist and a photographer who has had one person shows in New York and California, and he is the author of almost thirty non-fiction books including the best sellers Rainbow: the Stormy Life of Judy Garland, The Art of Walt Disney, Jim Henson: the Works, and Norman Rockwell's America. Recently he has embarked on a series of noir-inflected mystery novels set in New York in the late 1960s and featuring the private investigator Alex Novalis. The first of these, Good Girl, Bad Girl, is to be published by Thomas & Mercer in 2013. These books draw on his own experiences in the New York art world at a time when today's SoHo was an urban wilderness with rats frolicking in the gutters and artists eking out a living in barren loft spaces. He is married to Linda Rosenkrantz, an author and a co-founder of the website Nameberry.

Reviews

[Brigid ✩ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a few months ago, and realized I forgot to add it (which is good news, because I'm still struggling to meet my 50-book yearly goal!).

I was very lucky to find a copy of this book on sale in the used book section of my library. (Apparently it was originally worth like $50 and I bought it for like $2 so that's a pretty sweet deal.) I gave it to my dad for his birthday––but also, I really wanted to read it because I'm a huge Jim Henson fan myself.

This book is a really thorough overview of pretty much everything Henson ever did––from his very early commercials, to the lovable Muppets and Sesame Street, to his whackier ventures like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. There's so much detailed info about the effort that went into each of his projects, and how Henson revolutionized puppetry. There are a ton of wonderful photos, concept art, you name it. I can't stress how cool it is.

So if you're a Jim Henson fan, I really recommend this. I loved it so much and I could easily read it over and over again.

[Gerlin Heestermans · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3 <3 <3

[Jade Can't Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning the timeline of projects Jim Henson worked on, as well as all the people he got to work with. The captions got a bit repetitive at times repeating the same information stated in a previous page. The pictures were fun inclusions to show the reader the planning process of projects but they tended to interrupt the main story. (Id have to flip back and reread where the last paragraph left off because certain sentences were cut off by larger pictures and captions) But overall I loved learning behind the scenes information on all my favorite Muppet shows.

[Carmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my daydreams I am a puppeteer/puppetmaker for Jim Henson in the 1970s and 1980s. What an amazing thrill it would be to be a part of the first episodes of Sesame Street or the Muppets. To be backstage at the filming of Labyrinth or the Dark Crystal. This was a fun peek behind the scenes at the very long career of the magical Jim Henson. It sounded like he ran his company with a lot of humor and love and to delight children and adults around the world.

[Jifu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between the wealth of information and the gorgeous collection of photos and drawings, what's not to love? This is a gem of a book that is a definite must-have in the personal library of any Muppet fan.

[Erin Phelps · Rating 2 out of 5]

That rating is not a reflection of the content of the book. I love Jim Henson. I would seriously consider naming a child after him (Henson, not Jim). Having said that, this book is as frustrating as it is awesome. I think you're just not expected to read it straight out - it's more of a pick up and flip to any given page to find some greatness. Because it jumps around (visually) with narrative, pictures, character sketches, and boxes of text, it's hard to follow. I will probably return it to the library soon and just buy it. Then I will look for a more traditional biography.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Henson is one of my most favorite people, ever. He did so much in his life and created so many memorable characters. I believe Jim wanted to entertain and make a difference in peoples lives. He has definitely inspired me. This book is for any Jim Henson fan. My favorite parts about the book were Jim Henson's artwork/sketches and behind the scenes pictures. I also liked reading about his family and relationship with Frank Oz. Oh, and I need the Jim Henson created Muppet Christmas cards.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me awhile to read, but it’s mostly because it’s not an easy book to carry with me. I enjoyed all the different stories and the background to Jim Henson that I didn’t know. I’ve been a Muppets fan my whole life, but didn’t know much about Jim himself. I learned quite a lot over the course of the book about what he did before the Muppets came to be, and lots of things he was involved in that I wasn’t aware of.

My only quibble was that sometimes the set up was annoying-page spreads that broke off the main line of narration-but all the information was interesting. I would recommend to any fan of Henson.

[April]

No rating, because I'm just using this as a coffee table book, and enjoying the pictures. It did get me to watch specific Muppet Show episodes, which was fun!

[Mark Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that I formed an extremely partisan crowd of one for this book. I have always loved the Muppets, and so I was partial to reading the book, but how could anyone not love this book?

"The Works" is a huge undertaking, covering the career of one of the most prolific artists since Walt Disney. It has large, thick, glossy pages full of vibrant colour and even texture, thanks to the many muppet faces peeking out of every page. It is just a pleasure to hold, to flip through, anything. Even Henson and his familiar bearded crew came to look like fuzzy muppets; as we got to know them and see them always surrounded by their creations, they all started to blend together.

The text takes us through Henson's fairytale career. From the early days as a cartoonist and puppeteer, making commercials and short films for TV; through the creation of Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, which has been seen in over 120 countries around the world, making it the most widely seen TV show in history; to the Hollywood days, making movies like "The Great Muppet Caper," "The Dark Crystal," and "Labyrinth," the book gives us a fascinating behind the scenes look at the work of this genius. A picture emerges of the two sides of Jim Henson: the creative man who always surrounded himself with talented people who saw him as the leader or director who could lend his vision to their creations, giving them shape; and the businessman who controlled a corporate empire based on a mega-marketing and merchandising phenomenon.

Peppered throughout the text are excerpts from interviews with Jim's friends and collaborators (generally one and the same) sharing their memories of working with him or knowing him, etc. I found this very effective, breaking up the strings of text, and imitating the collage of images in the pictures on each page, with a collage of narrative styles. It is more than biography, more than a tribute.

I had no idea of the extent of Jim Henson's success or genius until I read this book. I find I am fascinated by the stories of geniuses--in any field, but especially the arts. I just think these people function on another level, and it is really intriguing to get inside their heads. This book is all-around great and I recommend it equally to the die-hard Muppets fan and the "What the hell are Muppets?" person. If I didn't already have it, I would have loved to get this as a Christmas gift.

[Elvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty comprehensive. Covers the work of Jim Henson with tons of pictures. It's not the deepest biography but the main points are all here. The book really focuses on the works as the title says as opposed to Henson's personal life.

This taught me a lot. I learned about the man and his work, but also the key collaborators that we don't talk about but were key to the Henson's success. There was Frank Oz developing and voicing key characters like Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. There were all these people who developed the style of the design of the Muppets and built all these characters. There were the executives that provided the money to realize these projects.

Henson was a genius, starting his career with little resources and no experience as a teenager and finding immediate success in puppetry for television. It was a slow and steady ascent to world fame with his creations becoming bigger and bigger.

Now I wish I started young, making stuff and releasing it all out in the world. Oh well. Figures like Henson are far and few and few works become as phenomenal as his creations.

This was an insightful and enjoyable read as I learned a lot and was inspired. It just felt good to learn about how Henson grew as an artist and see the developments of some of my favorite works of popular culture.

[Lisa]

I've renewed my absolute love and admiration for Jim Henson.

[Wren Emrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth the read if you don't know barely anything about Jim Henson or his works. Someone who is well-versed and has seen most of his work and productions will find it more a boring read or a recap. I am in the shoes of the person who has seen most of his work and been an enthusiast of his work for years. I was hoping for some clarity on how they make the puppets, concept art, and things most people wouldn't know going into the world of Jim Henson. This is not that book. This book is more of a description of Jim, who he was, what he did. Which is fine, just not what I personally was looking for. I found the format of this book to be confusing, and the way the information was presented was difficult to understand the timeline of events (There is a timeline at the back of the book that makes it make more sense) and a lot of information seemed to be repeated often. There was also odd moments in the book where pages would cut away to talk about a different topic entirely and then return back to the main passages, only to repeat half of the information that was said in the "pop-ins". There are a lot of really nice photographs in this book, and it entertains with colorful large-scale photos of his puppets and characters. Since this book was published in the late 90's the book stops describing work past "The Muppets Christmas Carol". I also wish the book touched on the work that the Jim Henson Creature Shop did for "The Neverending Story" because the work done in that film as far as puppetry is astounding. I love Jim Henson dearly, and it was good to read through a book that walked me through his life and the productions he did, but it did not wow me in any sense.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little read I picked up for when work was slow and I needed something to do. It isn't that deep or comprehensive a biography, but it was enjoyable and would make a good coffee table book for those interested in Muppets and their history.

If you are looking for a good biography on Jim Henson, I hate to say it but this isn't it. You will be much better off picking up the biography by Brian Jay Jones. That book is more detailed and much more interesting to read. I also think this book suffers a bit from being written in the 90s and being so close to the death of Jim Henson. Some of the things the book shared were very interesting to read and I hadn't heard of them before now, however some of it felt like it was more corporate marketing for a show that never really took off.

Christopher Finch seems VERY focused on selling you Jim Henson as a great person and genius creator, which is fine. I agree with that statement and I am a huge fan of him. However, I feel as though he is too eager to paint Jim's life with a rosy tinted brush. He is always hyping up every project Henson worked on as some sort of groundbreaking project and always sell you on Jim Henson as though he never made mistakes or had faults. The biography, while good, is essentially a coffee table puff piece on Jim Henson's work and his life. Again, this is fine if you're looking for an easy and fun biography that has pretty pictures, but just be aware before you pick it up what you are getting into.

[Krysta MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this overall. I'd be curious to see a newer version; this one, published in 1993, I believe, is full of detail of the technical advancements and colourful contributions that Henson made to the industry, but it is missing, of course, most of the works since his death, and I'd have liked to see more details about some of the offshoot projects he had a hand in, as well as his personal life. Still, the book was interesting and very visually appealing. Don't try to read this cover to cover; that was an exercise in frustration thanks to the layout and inserts that split up sections and even paragraphs. Still, overall this was very enjoyable. The images alone are worth owning, and like any good book of this type, I found myself saying, "Huh" and "Did you know...?" throughout the reading of it, to anyone unfortunate enough to be in my immediate vicinity.
This would be an excellent gift for any Henson fan.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent depiction of the life and career of Jim Henson. Each chapter focuses on a theme or stage of his career, and the overall story is told in mostly chronological order (some of the time periods for certain chapters overlap a bit). The author knew Henson and consulted with his family and colleagues while putting this together, and the result is a personal, positive look at Henson’s work and life with plenty of inside details. I also got a fuller look at both early and late-career works of his that I wasn’t as familiar with. The book is also a visually beautiful coffee table book, with plenty of eye-popping color pictures and creative layout design. I’m a bit biased because I’ve been a Henson and Muppet fan for all of my life, but I recommend this to any fan of Jim Henson or his creations.

[David Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent fun book. It gives great background on Henson himself and on the creation of his many astounding works. Given the upbeat nature of the book, it tends to see everything that Henson did very positively. While there are innovative and creative advances to be found in his later works, however, it is really Henson's original Muppets that will be most remembered and probably represent his greatest achievement (an astounding achievement indeed). I wish this book were just a little more honest in looking critically at some of the later works and speculating on why they did not work like Jim's creations for Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. But that is quibbling. It is a fun book that I would recommend to any fan of Henson and The Muppets, an appropriate apprecation of his work.

[Jo Besser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going in I knew a lot of this information about Jim Henson and the Muppet Creature shop. However, I felt that there was more to learn. I enjoyed reading the information, seeing the behind the scenes pictures and the sketches of characters.

If anything, this book made me binge watch a lot of muppet movies. (This is not a bad thing.)

Though my only complaint was as someone who read this book cover to cover, some of the captions on photos were then copy and pasted into the narrative. There were a few times where I was reading and I thought to myself, "I feel like I have read this before." Sure enough, I did. It was a caption on a page two pages before.

I definitely recommend picking this up if you're a muppet fan.

[Arjun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally no faults with this smile-inducing book, one of my favorites as a kid, and my Dad's too. Jim Henson I think is just one of those geniuses who knew how to include everybody without being purposefully or falsely inclusive just for the sake of it. His heart shines through his work, and a testament to that is the never-fading popularity of the Muppets themselves. 🌈

[Juan V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun and colorful book about one of the greatest imaginations to ever exist in my opinion. He knew how to captivate an audience of all ages with his timeless antics and vision. I like this book for all the high quality images and hidden secrets like the mini mugs zine within the book. A must read and add to a collection for any Muppets/Jim Henson Fan.

[Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are very many awful fun pictures and sketches in this book, a lot of interesting information about the mechanics of the projects that went on in Henson-world, and some very charming anecdotes. This is the only "coffee table book" I've ever read, and it deepened my already very great admiration for this brilliant and beautiful man.

[Ryan Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book on the wild breadth of creativity in Jim Henson and all the people involved with his work. There's beautiful full color photographs that give context to the wonderful write ups of all the things he's created.

[Laurie's Story · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!
I checked out this book to be used as a reference to a paper I was writing for my film history class and enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy to keep. I highly recommend it!
BTW... I got an "A".

[Karin Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

well-researched and comprehensive - excellent
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[Kermit · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 stars

Plenty of photographs and information about all of Jim Henson's creations.

[Steve Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Jim Henson and the Muppets. Great book. A sad loss when he died.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

repeats it's self in sidebars, also could use an update, needs more tmnt info. But other than that this over 400 page book is so informative and interesting, really fun read. 8.3/10

[Sarah Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

My childhood! I was 11 years old I discovered it in my orthodondist's waiting area, and I would pick it up at every visit. It is now on my coffee table. ❤

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoyingly awful design. Sometimes a sentence would stop in the middle and you’d have to skip 5 pages to finish it. Good information, but more of a collection of memories than solid.

[Zayn Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

kermit is super god