Christopher Finch (1939–2022)

A couple of months ago, I went to a local museum to see a traveling exhibit on Jim Henson and the Muppets. (You know, back in the distant Before Times, when museums were open and humans were permitted to congregate in groups.) I enjoyed it very much, which was no surprise to me at all. Like many people, I have adored the Muppets since I was a small child, and there is almost nothing that brings me as much pure, childlike glee as The Muppet Show. So of course when I saw this book in the show more museum gift shop, I picked it up. Although, to be honest, if I'd paid more attention to the price tag before I got to the register, I might not have. This is not a cheap book. But I can't regret buying it. It's a nice treat for Muppet fans: a big, colorful coffee table book full of great pictures, covering Henson's entire career and including lots of comments from (and lots of well-deserved appreciation for) the various talented people who worked beside him.

If you've read Jim Henson: The Biography, which I recommend, this makes a really nice companion piece to that. show less

For such a simple little volume, this collection of artwork from the Lion King does a wonderful job of bringing back the magic of the film. It has a well-balanced selection of different styles, from rough sketches to finished animation stills with a few selections of concept artwork, that tell the emotional story much better than would be done by a restriction to finished animation. Lots of the Disney stories were transfered into book format this way successfully, but the wild setting of the show more Savannah and the nature of the lion pride is perfectly suited to something a little less polished. Clearly the images were chosen with care, since the choice of art style often evokes a certain mood from the film itself that is tied up in more than just imagery. I found myself remembering snatches of the soundtrack and the unique tones of characters' voices (Jeremy Irons' Scar or the drumbeats that accompany Simba up Pride Rock especially), so I might have to go watch the film again soon, show less

This authorized history of Pooh is okay in its bland, corporate way. It's amusing to read it as a complement to Brian Sibley's Three Cheers for Pooh: The Best Bear in All the World as that book lingers on the Milne family and only mentions Walt Disney once parenthetically. Meanwhile, this book rushes past Milne in the first chapter and spends the rest of the book giving the history of Disney's four Pooh short films, showing tons of art and behind-the-scenes sketches from the productions, and show more recapping the plots of the films (with unintended humor from some odd word choice decisions).

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents:
• Chapter One: In Which The Origins of Winnie the Pooh Are Discussed
• Chapter Two: In Which Walt Disney Becomes Involved
• Chapter Three: In Which The Characters Are Presented: Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga & Roo, Owl, Gopher
• Chapter Four: In Which The Films Are Presented: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too, Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore
• Chapter Five: In Which The Popularity of Pooh Continues
• Index
• Film Credits

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... ) show less

I've always been a big fan of the Muppets, and The Muppet Show, in particular, is deeply dear to my heart, being one of those rare pieces of beloved childhood nostalgia that's actually still just as delightful to me now as it was when I was nine. So I was very happy when a fellow Muppet-loving friend of mine offered to lend me this book, a coffee table-sized volume published in 1981, when The Muppet Show was filming its fifth and final season.

I have read some other books about the Muppets, show more including Jim Henson: The Biography, so I did wonder if much of this was going to be a rehash of stuff I was already familiar with, and maybe to some extent it was, but its looks behind the scenes (including a detailed play-by-play about the filming of one particular musical number) were fun and offered a lovely little glimpse at what was obviously a truly amazing place to work. I also like that we got some commentary from various guest stars about their experiences working with the Muppets. And the author's discussions of the individual Muppets as characters, and the writing and performances that go into building those characters, were really quite charming. There are a lot of pictures, too, which was nice, although I do maybe wish fewer of them had been in black-and-white. show less