‘Jim Henson: Idea Man’
Whether or not you grew up with The Muppets, Ron Howard’s new Jim Henson documentary—Jim Henson: Idea Man, which began streaming on Disney+ on Friday—will make you smile, laugh, and cry. Howard walks viewers through Henson’s prolific career, beginning as a young puppeteer on local television, to creating the smash-success of the Sesame Street puppets, to The Muppet Show, and beyond. Filled with archived interviews with Henson himself, and new interviews with his longtime creative partner Frank Oz, and his now-grown children who still run The Jim Henson Company to this day, the film is a delight from start to finish. There’s no better way to celebrate the beauty of creativity than by celebrating Jim Henson.