The Jim Henson Company
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | New York (1958) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California; offices and production facilities in New York City and London |
| Key people | Brian Henson, Co-Chair & Co-CEO Lisa Henson, Co-Chair & Co-CEO |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Website | www.henson.com |
The Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. As of 2009[update], Jim Henson's children Brian, Lisa, Cheryl, John and Heather run the company: Brian and Lisa serve as co-chairs and co-CEOs. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim[by whom?] in family entertainment for more than four decades. The company's units include Jim Henson's Creature Shop, a renowned animatronics and visual-effects workshop.
The Jim Henson Company used to include a short-lived international television distribution arm, Henson International Television founded in 1989; it became HiT Entertainment in 1990.
Henson originally founded his company as Muppets, Inc.[citation needed] The name later became Henson Associates (commonly abbreviated as ha!), then Jim Henson Productions in 1988, and finally "The Jim Henson Company" in the late 1990s.[citation needed] In 1999, the company, along with Hallmark Entertainment, launched Odyssey Network (a cable-television channel). In 2000, the Jim Henson Company sold its interest in the channel to Crown Media.
Nine months before Jim Henson's death on May 16, 1990, he had started negotiating the sale of his company to The Walt Disney Company for a reported[citation needed] $150 million. However, the deal fell through after his passing and the company remained independent.
On February 21, 2000, it was announced[citation needed] that German media company EM.TV & Merchandising AG bought The Jim Henson Company for $680 million. Soon after, EM.TV's stock began to plummet — it put Henson up for sale a year later.
On May 7, 2003, the Henson family repurchased the Henson Company for $78 million. Nine months later, they sold the rights to the classic Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House to The Walt Disney Company (15 years after the announcement of the first Disney-Muppet deal).
Kermit the Frog served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company until the sale of the Muppet characters to Disney.
Charles Chaplin built the Jim Henson Company Studios at La Brea Avenue in Hollywood (formerly the Chaplin Studios) in late 1917 and sold them in 1953. The site once housed A&M Records. In 1983, it[clarification needed] got together with Columbia Pictures to form Jim Henson Pictures.
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[edit] List of shows and movies
- Fraggle Rock: The Movie (2011, distributed by The Weinstein Company)
- The Sam Plenty Cavalcade of Action Show Plus Singing! (2008-present)
- Jim Henson Outtakes (2008-Present)
- Unstable Fables (2008-2009)
- The Skrumps (2007)
- Frances (2006)
- MirrorMask (2005)
- The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)
- Play with Me Sesame (2002-2003)
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
- Kermit's Swamp Years (2002)
- The Hoobs (2000-2002)
- Sid the Science Kid
- Construction Site (1999-)
- Farscape (1999-2003)
- Mopatop's Shop (1999-2002)
- Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
- Muppets From Space (1999)
- Brats of the Lost Nebula (1998)
- Buddy (1997; co-production with American Zoetrope)
- Bear in the Big Blue House (1997-2003)
- Muppets Tonight (1996-1998)
- Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
- The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996-1998)
- Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
- Secret Life of Toys (1994)
- CityKids (1993-1994)
- Dog City (1992-1994)
- The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
- Dinosaurs (1991-1994)
- The Witches (1990)
- Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories
- Jim Henson's Pajanimals
- The Jim Henson Hour (1989)
- A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
- Puppetman (1987)
- The Storyteller (1987)
- The Christmas Toy (1986)
- Labyrinth (1986; co-production with Lucasfilm)
- The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986)
- Follow that Bird (1985)
- Little Muppet Monsters (1985)
- Muppet Babies (1984-1992)
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
- Fraggle Rock (1983-1987)
- The Dark Crystal (1982)
- The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
- The Muppet Movie (1979)
- The Muppet Show (1976-1981)
- Sesame Street (1969-2001) (A production of Sesame Workshop. Still in production)
This list excludes Sesame Street co-productions outside the United States.
In 2001 Sesame Workshop bought the rights to all Muppets used on Sesame Street, except Kermit the Frog, who was no longer featured Sesame Street. Because Kermit was not created for the exclusive use of Sesame Workshop and a major character on the Muppets as well, his case required a special agreement; he would go back to the Muppet Show character roster, but in exchange, his previous appearances on Sesame Street can still be shown on Sesame Street. This deal ended any affiliation between with Jim Henson Company and Sesame Street. The deal also ended any direct affiliation between The Muppets and Sesame Street, other then having many of the same puppeteers, and the agreement that Sesame Street may still use the term Muppet.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Henson.com - Official website
- HDPS Wiki: The Jim Henson Company
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