American Film
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It’s going to be a muppety month. With MUPPETS MOST WANTED opening nationwide on March 21st and JIM HENSON’S CREATURE SHOP CHALLENGE debuting on the Syfy channel on the 25th, we thought we’d look back at Jim Henson’s interview with American Film™ in November of 1989. In the quarter century since Henson sold the Muppets to The Walt Disney Company, the furry bunch has appeared in six movies: THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992), MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND (1996), THE MUPPETS WIZARD OF OZ (2005), A MUPPETS CHRISTMAS: LETTERS TO SANTA (2008), THE MUPPETS (2011) and now MUPPETS MOST WANTED directed by James Bobin. Earlier Muppet productions are also available on DVD. The new film features a villainous Kermit the Frog lookalike who masterminds a European jewel heist during the Muppets’ world tour. The cast is crammed with stars, including Celine Dion, Tina Fey, Lady Gaga, Zack Galifianakis, Ricky Gervais, Tom Hiddleston, Salma Hayek, Frank Langella and Stanley Tucci. The following “Dialogue on Film” interview is full of puppet particulars and some interesting insights on the origins of our favorite frog. Henson closes the interview by saying “There are still a lot of things to do.” Sadly, he died of pneumonia the following year.