The Muppets recently celebrated their 70th anniversary, and the Walt Disney Family Museum is ready to celebrate the legacy of the Jim Henson Company. This event will take place Saturday, June 14 at 3pm in the ILM Theater.
In 1955, a young man named Jim Henson created a television show featuring puppets called Sam and Friends and the rest is history. The Jim Henson Company has entertained multiple generations of children and adults, with television shows including The Muppet Show (1976–81), Farscape (1999–2004), Dinosaur Train (2009–21), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), and most recently Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (2021– present) along with memorable films, including The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022).
Joining the presentation is puppet designer and costumer Bonnie Erickson. Erickson is a trustee and Past President of The Jim Henson Legacy, a foundation dedicated to preserving and perpetuating Jim Henson’s contributions to the worlds of puppetry, motion pictures, special effects, and media technology.
Also joining the presentation is The Jim Henson Company’s Archives Director Karen Falk. Falk has served in this role since 1992, and is also Vice President of The Jim Henson Legacy. She is the author of Jim Henson’s Imagination Illustrated and the main contributor to The Jim Henson Company website “Jim’s Red Book.” With The Jim Henson Legacy, she has organized numerous Henson programs and exhibits, and works closely with the Worlds of Puppetry Museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of The Moving Image in New York where she serves on their Board.
Puppeteer and voice actor Dave Goelz will also be part of the panel. Goelz joined Jim Henson in 1973 as a puppet designer/builder, and eventually became a code Muppet performer. He performs The Great Gonzo, Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Beauregard, Waldorf, Chip, Boober, and Traveling Matt Fraggle, along with many others. He has starred in most Jim Henson and Muppet television programs and feature films since 1973, including The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.
Producer Alex Rockwell began her career working for Jim Henson as his creative assistant. In 1992, she was named Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs for the Jim Henson Company charged with overseeing the creative on all television, film, and home productions. She developed a variety of projects including primetime series Dinosaurs, Muppets Tonight, and Farscape. She also developed Muppet feature films including The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppets Tonight Treasure Island, and Elmo in Grouchland, in addition to an array of children’s series including Bear in the Big Blue House. From 1998 to 2008, Rockwell worked as an in-house producer and consultant for the Jim Henson Company. In 2008, Rockwell became a freelance writer/producer.
CEO of The Jim Henson Company and daughter of Jim Henson, Lisa Henson is also joining the panel. She oversees all television and feature film production, from early development through post-production. She recently produced the critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix, and Alexander and the Terrible, No Hood, Very Road Trip starring Eva Longoria and Cheech Marin for Disney+. Lisa’s other feature film credits include MGM’s Good Boy! (2003), The Jim Henson Company’s MirrorMask (2005) and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005) starring Ashanti, Sony Pictures Animation’s The Star (2017), and Henson Alternative’s The Happytime Murders (2018). She is currently developing the highly anticipated sequel to the classic fantasy film Labyrinth and a television adaptation of Webtoon’s Lore Olympus.
Hosting the presentation is Yvette Nicole Brown. She is an Emmy®-nominated actress, writer, producer and host best known for her roles on the television shows Community, The Mayor, Drake and Josh, The Odd Couple, Big Shot, and Act Your Age, and films including Dreamgirls (2006), Tropic Thunder (2008), Avengers: Endgame(2019), and Disney’s Disenchanted (2022). In the voiceover world, she can be heard in Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 (2024) in addition to animated shows as varied as Pupstruction, Frog and Toad, My Dad The Bounty Hunter, FireBuds, and the newly announced Among Us. She is also a 2020 NAACP Image Award®-nominated writer for Always a Bridesmaid—the romantic-comedy she penned and executive-produced that is streaming on Netflix and BET+. Brown sits on the national boards of Donors Choose (where she is Vice Chair), EMILY’s List, and MPTF Next Gen, and is also a caregiver and advocate.
Tickets for Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of The Jim Henson Company are now available as follows:
- Walt’s Circle Donors: Tickets are available now by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
- Supporter, Founding, and Friend-level members: Tickets are available now by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
- All member levels: Tickets are now available via the Member Portal.
- Public (non-members): Tickets are available now online.
Join as a member or upgrade your current membership to receive priority access and discounts to programs like these. For more information, please visit the Membership page.
What do you think of this special Jim Henson Company presentation? Are you planning to attend this event? Let us know in the comments.
