A brief history of felt

Here is a psychology test.

I’m going to tell you three words and you make note of your immediate reaction.
Ready?

Muppet. Film. Festival.

If your response was a sequel of glee or an excited yelp then congratulations, you are a reasonable human being. If you responded with an indifferent silence or grunt, than you are some sort of cold, heartless monster and I want nothing to do with you.

For everyone remaining, know that we all share a common bond. We all, in one form or another, love the Muppets. Whether it’s Sesame Street, The Muppet Movie, Labyrinth or those commie Fraggles, everyone has some sort of connection with the imaginative creations of the certified genius Jim Henson.

So it’s only natural to get excited for the upcoming NW Film Center retrospective, Muppets, Music & Magic: Jim Henson’s Legacy.

The collection of films, playing throughout May, draws together classic fare like The Muppet Movie and The Dark Crystal with rarely seen Henson material such as black-and-white commercials, television pilots and even experimental short films. You might correlate Muppets with children’s entertainment, but most of the material here holds up no matter your age.

Highlights include a few vault-digging compilations and lesser-known Muppet works that don’t feature the beloved characters Kermit, Fozzie or Gonzo.

Two of these compilations, Muppet History 101 and the accurately titled Commercials and Experiments, will be presented in person by Muppeteer David Goelz, who has worked in the Muppet universe for over 30 years. These two programs draw together very early appearances by the Muppets before they learned to ride bicycles and dance on stage. It’s enlightening to see the infancy of characters we know and love as they hock meat products and spout corny jokes on forgotten 1960s television programs.

These films are essentially clip after clip, presented with little flair, but this sparse presentation actually works for the better. The rare look into Muppet history says more than talking heads or fancy editing could. The material speaks for itself. It’s not all exemplary and much of the early material it is dry and obtuse, but the spark is still there.

The experimental portion of the festival takes us out of the Muppet world and into the early work of Henson. Time Piece is eight minutes of soundscapes and avant-garde editing that attempts to tell a story without traditional narrative devices. That and some of the other non-Muppet material tends to drag, but for movie and TV buffs it provides a clear context of Henson’s evolution as an entertainer.

Of course the showcase also features perennial favorites that most of us grew up on, such as two of the early Muppet movies, the 1980s fantasy films Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal and a few of the beloved Muppet fairytales, including the 1971 classic The Frog Prince.

Enjoy those, but just make sure not to miss Dog City & The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death. These two post-The Muppet Show television series, shown back to back, give an idea of the depth of Henson’s mind. Sure he knows how to use wacky songs and funny voices, but The Soldier and Death (a particularly existential episode of the great series The Storyteller), and Dog City (a film noir staring wacky dogs), show his ability to immerse us in worlds we had never considered, where every detail feels true.

Henson died in 1990, but his creations are still going strong. Children are still raised on Sesame Street and the Muppet cast still pop up now and again in movies and on television. These are creations that will never die. What Jim Henson, Frank Oz, David Goelz and the whole Muppet team gave, and give, to the world is pure joyful entertainment that makes us smile and feel like the world is an OK place. And they do it all with just some felt and strings. 

This retrospective reminds us of that genius once again.