Muppets & NW Film Center (Jim Henson Fest)

The Muppets for the month of May. We are truly blessed here in Portland. Thank you, Northwest Film Center. And now to make sure this is in your head the rest of the day …

It’s time to play the music
It’s time to light the lights
It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight.

It’s time to put on makeup
It’s time to dress up right
It’s time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show tonight.

Why do we always come here
I guess we’ll never know
It’s like a kind of torture
To have to watch the show

And now let’s get things started
Why don’t you get things started
It’s time to get things started
On the most sensational inspirational celebrational Muppetational
This is what we call the Muppet Show

The Northwest Film Center presents:
MUPPETS™, MUSIC & MAGIC: JIM HENSON’S LEGACY
May 2-24

The Film Center is pleased to present a retrospective of the innovative film and puppetry work of the legendary Jim Henson (1936-1990), creator of the lovable Muppets and a host of other characters that have been childhood icons and grown-up delights for decades. The retrospective presents a treasure trove of Henson’s extraordinarily imaginative work, including TV pilots, shorts, commercials, promotional films, feature films, and rarities galore. To further explore the magic of Henson’s world of fantasy, Emmy Award-winning collaborator Dave Goelz will host “Muppet History 101” and “Commercials and Experiments,” and answer your every question. One of the principal Muppeteers for over 30 years, Goelz has designed and performed dozens of beloved characters, including the Great Gonzo and Dr. Bunser Honeydew. This series is produced by The Jim Henson Legacy and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Tour Executive Producer Irena Kovarova. Film and program notes courtesy of the Jim Henson Legacy.

MAY 2 SAT 2 PM
DAVE GOELZ PRESENTS: MUPPET HISTORY 101
Learn your Muppet history! This is material you won’t see anywhere else: early TV appearances, commercials, guest spots on the Dick Cavett Show, and more. This program includes the rarely-seen pilot for The Muppet Show: “The Muppets: Sex and Violence.” Emmy Award-nominated producer and puppeteer David Goelz, performer of Sesame Street Muppet roles including the Great Gonzo and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, will host the program, providing an inimitable inside view of the Muppet world. (90 mins.)
The Great Gonzo and the Hypnotize Act-The Muppet Show

MAY 3 SUN 4 PM
DAVE GOELZ PRESENTS: COMMERCIALS AND EXPERIMENTS
This program encompasses a mind-blowing collection of shorts, crazy commercials, and other rarities from the Henson vault. Highlights include: an industrial film for Wilson’s Meat that must be seen to be believed; excerpts from experimental TV programs “The Cube” and “Youth 68”; and “Time Piece,” an 8-minute masterpiece that showcases Henson’s talent for making music out of everyday sounds. (90 mins.)

MAY 3 SUN 4 PM
DAVE GOELZ PRESENTS: COMMERCIALS AND EXPERIMENTS
This program encompasses a mind-blowing collection of shorts, crazy commercials, and other rarities from the Henson vault. Highlights include: an industrial film for Wilson’s Meat that must be seen to be believed; excerpts from experimental TV programs “The Cube” and “Youth 68”; and “Time Piece,” an 8-minute masterpiece that showcases Henson’s talent for making music out of everyday sounds. (90 mins.)

MAY 3 SUN 7 PM
THE DARK CRYSTAL
DIRECTORS: JIM HENSON, FRANK OZ
Mixing elements of Tolkien and fairy tales, Henson and Oz create a fantastic world ruled by the hulking dragon-like Skeksis, who must be defeated by an elf-like orphan. Using a mix of puppetry, marionettes, and more, THE DARK CRYSTAL, rooted in universal myth, creates a stunning world on a scale rarely achieved in fantasy films. “A dazzling technological and artistic achievement.”—Variety. (93 mins.)

MAY 7, 9 THUR 7 PM, SAT 2 PM
THE MUPPET MOVIE
US 1979
DIRECTOR: JAMES FRAWLEY
“In their first foray onto the Silver screen, Kermit the Frog and his Muppet cohorts Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, and Miss Piggy and the gang sing their way to Hollywood, hoping to make it big. But Charles Durning’s evil Doc Hopper, a frog-leg restaurant magnate, has other plans for Kermit. Tremendously funny—as much for adults as for kids, and maybe more so—with memorable musical numbers like ‘Rainbow Connection’ and ‘Moving Right Along,’ plus cameos galore, including Steve Martin, Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Richard Pryor, Orson Welles, and Bob Hope.” —American Film Institute. (97 mins.)
The Muppet Movie Trailer
 

MAY 10 SUN 4:30 PM
A BETTER WORLD: LIVING IN HARMONY
US 1983-89
DIRECTOR: JIM HENSON
An episode of the rarely seen TV series “Fraggle Rock” (1983) contrasts three communities—the musical Fraggles, the industrious Doozers, and the giant Gorgs, who all co-exist in a carefully balanced underground world in proximity to those mysterious creatures who live above ground, the humans. Despite their differences, the groups are interdependent, demonstrating the ideal of world peace and harmony. (60 mins.) THE SONG OF THE CLOUD FOREST (1989), with stunning color graphics, focuses on the story of a golden toad who must avoid the “uprights” (humans) trying to capture him. (30 mins.)

MAY 10 SUN 7 PM
LABYRINTH
US 1986
DIRECTOR: JIM HENSON
In this modern-day Alice in Wonderland, Jennifer Connelly plays a young girl who must travel through the Labyrinth to save her baby brother from the Goblin King (a wonderfully cast David Bowie). Full of Henson Creature Shop’s imaginative design, the film’s eye-popping sets evoke a whole world existing just behind the façade of reality. (101 mins.)
Labyrinth Trailer

MAY 16 SAT 2 PM
THE ART OF PUPPETRY AND STORYTELLING
US 1979-1989
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS
Go behind the scenes to witness the magic of the Muppets in this compilation of rare footage featuring a host of Henson creations, and a timeless episode of THE MUPPET SHOW (1979), directed by Philip Casson. A special highlight of the program is Harry Belafonte’s rendition of an African song with puppets derived from traditional masks. Henson’s THE STORYTELLER: THE HEARTLESS GIANT (1989) features an entirely different form of puppetry. In this episode of the TV series based on classic folk tales, young prince Leo learns about friendship and betrayal after being tricked by an evil giant who is literally heartless. (120 mins.) A panel discussion from the puppetry community of Portland following the film.

MAY 17 SUN 4:30 PM
MUPPET FAIRYTALES: THE FROG PRINCE & OTHERS
US 1971-1994
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS
What happens when you kiss a frog? There’s no better answer to that question than THE FROG PRINCE (1971), Jim Henson’s interpretation of the classic fairy tale, starring Kermit and his friends. David Grossman’s THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER (1994) provides a contemporary spin on the old story in which elves are actually Elvises. Additional shorts interpret Rapunzel and other tales through the eyes of Muppets. (105 mins.)

MAY 21, 23 THUR 7 PM, SAT 2 PM
THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER
US 1981
DIRECTOR: JIM HENSON
Intrepid reporters Kermit, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo go to London to interview fashion designer Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg), whose jewels have been stolen. When the jewel thieves strike again and Holiday’s secretary Miss Piggy is accused of the crime, it’s Kermit and friends to the rescue. Memorable eccentrics like John Cleese and Peter Falk join in the fun, but the scenes with Miss Piggy on a motorcycle steal the show. (95 mins.)

MAY 23 SAT 4:15 PM
DOG CITY & THE STORYTELLER: THE SOLDIER AND DEATH
US 1987-1989
DIRECTOR: JIM HENSON
DOG CITY features a fully realized puppet universe: an entire 1940s film noir city populated by wise-cracking dogs, all incredibly detailed puppets. THE STORYTELLER is one of the finest episodes produced for the landmark TV series “The Soldier and Death,” recounting the tale of a soldier being given three magic objects which he uses to outwit otherworldly creatures. (90 mins.)

MAY 24 SUN 3 PM
EMMET OTTER’S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS & SHORTS
US 1977
DIRECTOR: JIM HENSON
This heart-warming story follows Ma Otter and her son, who secretly enter a talent contest to win money for each other’s Christmas presents. Their challengers turn out to be the Nightmare, the Riverbottom Gang’s rowdy hard-rock band. The lovable river animals are portrayed realistically in contrast to the typical Muppet style of puppetry. The program also includes a rarely seen selection of highlights from other Christmas specials. (75 mins.)