Introduction

Ron Howard has had a very varied career. Starting out as a child actor on “The Andy Griffith Show,” he eventually gained acclaim and stardom as Steve Bolander in American Graffiti (George Lucas, 1973) and Richie Cunningham in “Happy Days.” Then his directing career started shortly thereafter but didn’t achieve blockbuster success until 1983’s Splash. Since then, his has more or less matched the best of them.

However, in recent years Howard has ventured into directing documentary features. And so far, he’s proving to be really great at. His music docs are very much worth a watch, particularly Pavarotti. In his latest project he continues in the vane of profiling game-changing creatives with Jim Henson Idea Man, now streaming on Disney+.

Synopsis

Jim Henson Idea Man tells the story of the enigmatic co-creator of the Muppets. It takes us through his early years as a local television puppeteer to the worldwide success of Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and beyond. The documentary features interviews from a wide range of individuals, from his children, archival footage of his late wife, and his creative collaborators.

Review

Idea Man is both moving and illuminating. I didn’t consider myself an expert on Henson, but I was astounded by how much I didn’t know. It starts at the very beginning with his rural upbringing by a Christian Scientist mother and a brother whom he was joined at the hip with. And it ends with his shocking early death and the moving funeral that was held in his honor.

The restlessness that Henson experienced is so very well documented as well. Many artists have the “itch,” as it were, where they never seem to be completely satisfied with whatever they are doing. His inability to stay home and not be running off to the next thing is heartbreaking.

The film also does its best to show how radical Jim was, despite creating almost exclusively for childhood consumption. It does seem that the insanely eclectic film Labyrinth was not so much of an aberration for him but reflected his sensibilities more than much of the children’s programming he contributed to. I actually think because the Henson estate was involved, there was likely a lot held back. This is the unfortunate nature of the most of these documentaries.

Howard is able to interview seemingly everyone that was a part of his life that are still living. For those that have passed away, he relies on older interviews, including that of Henson himself. The restoration done on these interviews is quite superb.

The Bottom Line

Jim Henson Idea Man is the best documentary of the year so far and one of the best films of the year so far. Ron Howard is turning into a very fine documentarian.