Ron Howard introduced his new Disney+ documentary about The Muppets creator Jim Henson at Cannes promising big surprises – and he delivered at least one: Cookie Monster used to have teeth. Big, sharp, terrifying ones. Suffice to say, removing them may have been one of Henson’s very best ideas.
Other surprises, though, are rather thin on the ground in an upbeat portrait of the eternally boyish creator of The Muppets, Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. Grown-up kids of a certain age – well, most ages – will leave with a warm glow. I welled up a little during the ‘Rainbow Connection’ bit. Yet it’s all very Disneyified and polite.
As the title implies, Howard zeroes in on the ideas as much as the man, adopting Henson’s animation styles to add snappy visual flourishes to its bland chronological framework. And from his zany, anarchic early marionette shows, to the notion of creating a music hall revue show in an old theatre and filling it with bickering felt creatures, those ideas were endless. Of course, everyone thought The Muppet Show was bonkers at the time, but, as Ideas Man revels in showing, such is the nature of genius.
You’d have to be Waldorf or Statler not to find something to warm the heart in it
The depths of the man remain hidden, though. There’s lots of archive footage showing him as a loving partner to his wife and creative collaborator Jane Nebel, his life as a devoted family man, and the highs and lows as a creator forced to take on immense business responsibility. Family members, including his wife, share insights in talking head interviews, along with key collaborators like Frank Oz and Labryinth’s Jennifer Connelly
But by skirting over Henson’s grief over the sudden death of his brother in a car crash, and his decision to leave his wife, hole up in a New York apartment and begin life as a single man, Ideas Man misses the chance to let us into the soul of its hero. When it comes to great American lives, Howard is a burnisher not a bloodhound.
Still, if his doc is as toothless as Cookie Monster 2.0, it’s still a nostalgic treat to spend time with the man who gave us Kermit, Big Bird and the Goblin King. You’d have to be Waldorf or Statler not to find something to warm the heart in it.
On Disney+ May 31.