Thursday, August 14, 2014

The Art of the Muppets

The Art of the Muppets: A Retrospective Look at 25 yeras of Muppet Magic
by The Staff of Henson Associates [791.457 Hen]

Let me just start off by saying that there have been a lot of books written about the history and behind-the-scenes details of The Muppets over the years, and many of those go into much greater details than this. However, this book published in 1980 is a very nice look back at these felt and foam creations on the occasion of the Muppets' 25th anniversary. The book provides a short history of puppetry, and the ways in which the Muppets both differ and resemble traditional puppets and puppet shows. There are a lot of rare images from the Muppet sudios, from Jim Henson's very earliest designs up through the heydey of the early years of Sesame Street at The Muppet Show. There are also small sections of the book dedicated to the Muppets that were used in the early seasons of Saturday Night Live, and Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas (an underappreciated holiday special from 1976. For anyone interested in the very earliest years in Muppet history, this is a charming introduction, filled with excellent images. For a detailed and in-depth look at the Muppets, you'll probably want to track down one of the larger books, published in more recent years. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [ see Scott's Reviewer Profile and other reviews ]

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Muppet Show Book by Jim Henson and Jack Burns, or Jim Henson: The Works, the Art, the Magic, the Imagination by Christopher Finch.]

[ Disney's official Muppets web site ] | [ official Muppet Wiki web site ]


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