The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company is an
American company founded in
1958 by puppeteer
Jim Henson, creator of
The Muppets. The company is now run by his son
Brian and daughter
Lisa, who serve as co-chairs and co-CEOs. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades. The company's units include Jim Henson Pictures, Jim Henson Television, Jim Henson Records, and
Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The Jim Henson Company used to have a international television distribution arm, Henson International Television, however, its use was shortlived only to be sold to members of TJHC (The Jim Henson Company) and renamed
HIT Entertainment.
The company was originally founded as
Muppets, Inc. The name was later changed to
Henson Associates (commonly abbreviated
ha!), then to
Jim Henson Productions in
1988, and its present name in the late
1990s, as a tribute to Jim Henson, who died at the start of the decade.
Nine months before Jim Henson's death on
May 16,
1990, he was negotiating the sale of his company to
The Walt Disney Company for a reported $150 million. However, the deal fell through after his passing and the company remained independent.
In
February 21,
2000, it was announced that German media company
EM.TV & Merchandising AG would buy The Jim Henson Company for $680 million. Soon after EM.TV's stock began to plummet and Henson was put up for sale a year later.
In
May 7,
2003, the Henson family repurchased the Henson Company for $78 million. Nine months later they sold the rights to the Muppets and
Bear in the Big Blue House to
The Walt Disney Company, 15 years after the first Disney-Muppet deal had been announced.
Kermit the Frog served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company until the sale of the Muppet characters to Disney.
In
March 15,
2005, The Jim Henson Company announced that they are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the company with a number of events, starting with screenings of
The Dark Crystal and
Labyrinth on
April 23 at the
Newport Beach Film Festival.
2005 marks 50 years since the premiere of
Jim Henson's first show on TV,
Sam and Friends.
The Jim Henson Company produced the television show
Farscape for the Sci-Fi channel. The many puppet characters on Farscape were created in the Henson Creature Shop.
The Jim Henson Company also produced
MirrorMask, released in 2005, which was written by popular author
Neil Gaiman.
America's Next MuppetBear in the Big Blue HouseChristmas Eve on Sesame StreetThe Christmas ToyConstruction SiteThe Dark CrystalDinosaursDog CityElmo in GrouchlandElmo Saves Christmas
*Elmo's World
*Farscape
*Follow that Bird
*Fraggle Rock
*Global Grover
*The Great Muppet Caper
*The Hoobs
*The Jim Henson Hour
*It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
*Labyrinth
*Mirror Mask
*Mopatop's Shop
*Muppet Babies
*The Muppet Christmas Carol
*The Muppet Movie
*The Muppet Show
*The Muppets Take Manhattan
*Muppets Tonight
*Muppet Treasure Island
*Play with Me Sesame
*Secret Life of Toys
*Sesame Street
*The Storyteller
*The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss''
*
Official web site - The official website of
*
Muppet News Flash - An unofficial Henson Company News Blog
