Director Ron Howard to make Muppets documentary

Virgin Radio

2 Apr 2022, 14:08

Director Ron Howard - and longtime creative partner Brian Grazer - are working on a documentary about 'Muppets' creator Jim Henson.

Henson passed on May 16th, 1990 at the age of 53. As well as being the creator of The Muppets characters, he was beloved globally as the creator of Fraggle Rock and several key Sesame Street characters. He was also the director of puppet fuelled classics like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

The Henson family announced last week, “The Jim Henson Company’s archive is a treasure reflecting our father’s work, personal life and inspirations, and has been carefully maintained for the last 30 years under the leadership of archivist Karen Falk.”

His Muppet catalogue was bought out by Disney in 2004.

The statement continued, “It will be thrilling to see the story that emerges from these materials in the hands of a truly great filmmaker like Ron Howard, who has the perfect spirit and personality to tell Jim Henson’s story.”

Howard, in his own statement said, "Jim Henson transcends generations through his iconic characters, and it’s one of the many reasons why I have been a lifelong fan. I can’t wait to share a side of him and his career that people have never seen before. Henson’s limitless imagination and restless creativity is like few others and has influenced so much of our world as we know it. I’m humbled to be able to share a deeper look into his life and story.”

Howard started off as an actor, staring in Happy Days as the preppy Richie Cunningham, before making the move into writing and directing. He won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Director for helming A Beautiful Mind, which also garnered wins for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. Other hits on his resume include Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code and Frost/Nixon.

In recent years he's put his hand to documentaries too, with credits including The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (2016), and Pavarotti, a film that chronicled the life and career of opera singer Luciano Pavarotti (2019).

The Muppets are no strangers to the big screen, with Muppets Most Wanted in 2014 being the last movie to enter the franchise. No news on a follow up just yet.

Minah minah!