“Of course, there are mixed emotions involved,” Baker admits. Remarkably, 25 years have passed since Jim Henson passed away. It is a surprising amount of time, given just how very present his creations still seem in the lives of so many people. “To have the opportunity to talk about and reflect on these things is itself quite rewarding. Most especially in the case of Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, which weren’t the successes we’d hoped for when they were released. You see all these years later they are talked about, are relevant and have this huge fan base. It saddens me that Jim himself isn’t around to hear this and be a part of it. When they were released it was a huge disappointment for Jim and the others, because they didn’t really have any success. The fact that it’s still so loved today is very rewarding.”
Baker worked with The Jim Henson Company across a variety of projects for twenty years, and has kept an active hand in the ongoing adventures of The Muppets as a new generation grows familiar with the exploits of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Gonzo (not to mention personal favourites, Statler & Waldorf). However, it is Baker’s work on Henson’s television projects that provide his fondest memories.
“I was knee-deep in Fraggle Rock when we started work on Labyrinth,” he says. “I was more involved on the logistical side, the scheduling, figuring out all the practical things; but working alongside Jim and the other creatives as well. My first foray with Jim was with The Muppets, so my relationship with Jim was much more tied to that and the Fraggles than The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth. They were two very distinct bodies of work that definitely showed another side to Jim’s work – his creativity. You look at The Muppets and you look at Labyrinth, you really couldn’t be much further apart. So there were the two sides of Jim as a creator, and I was much more The Muppets side. I went on to do many of the Muppet movies, both with Jim and then after he passed away. I can relate much more to that than the other films, but they’re both quite beautiful. I think both films were brilliant in their creation, and now, years later, I can’t get over it. Screenings have queues around the block. Young parents bringing their kids, because they remember growing up with it and want to introduce them to their children.”
There has long been talk of Hollywood revisiting the strange and wonderful worlds that Henson imagined into life. With The Muppets soon returning to prime-time, and rumours of The Dark Crystal prequel down the road, it is an uncertain prospect. Staying true to the original spirit, and finding a story that is worth reviving these characters is paramount. That said, time has not faired many of Henson’s creations kindly.
“It’s something I have mixed feelings about. The Fraggles coming back gets talked about from time to time, there’s still talk of a Fraggle movie. But the actual original puppets? My guess is they have all probably been burned. They go all mungey. Fraggles look like burnt toast after a while, they don’t age well. None of them are particularly user friendly,” Baker laughs. “Some must exist in exhibits and touring shows, so there’s likely a handful of them still alive. But I would think the original characters are definitely no longer. They’ve gone to puppet heaven.”
The unparalleled, bizarre, profound, preposterous, enduring, fish-juggling joy of Jim Henson’s legacy is something that is likely to continue no matter what shape the future takes. His characters have the sense of companionship you associate with your oldest childhood friends, which is essentially exactly what they are. Even producing the show, Baker himself was not immune to the weird vitality of the Muppets.
“To be honest, the character who most drew me in was Fozzie. I’ve always been a Fozzie guy,” he says. “There’s something so endearing and sweet and wonderful there. But you’re totally drawn in and memorised by all the characters, and there have been so few people I ever remember not feeling comfortable with them. I remember when I was the floor manager of The Muppet Show, I’d be getting notes from the director to give to the characters. Passing a message to Statler and Waldorf for instance, I’d find myself talking directly to the puppets. I’d forget that there were people under there controlling things, I’d be giving instructions to the puppets themselves. What’s worse, they’ll then answer you back, so then you find yourself in this conversation with puppets. There I am, supposed to know all the secrets and backstage tricks, still drawn into talking to these characters. It really is a kind of magic.”
BY ADAM NORRIS
