Henson Panel at Comic-Con

[Phillip Chapman]

Here's the latest from the Jim Henson panel at Comic-Con...

ComingSoon.net attended the Jim Henson presentation Friday evening at the San Diego Comic-Con. On the panel were Lisa Henson, Michael Polis, fairy expert and The Dark Crystal designer Brian Froud, sequel director Genndy Tartakofsky, and visual effects whiz Scott Stewart. (Posters of the upcoming "Return to the Labryinth" manga from TokyoPop were handed out to attendees.)

First up in their presentation was a tribute to Jim Henson. This was followed by the unveiling of a new children's line of clothes called "Jim Henson Designs". The clothes feature cute, imaginative, and cool doodles made by Jim Henson as prints on t-shirts, baby clothes, jeans, and more. They looked very cool.

Next up they showed some new web exclusives that can be bought at Henson.com. They include shirts from Labyrinth, t-shirts with the Power of the Dark Crystal logos, and more. Also revealed was that the second season of "Fraggle Rock" was coming to DVD. A 3-pack of Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and Mirrormask is also coming. Continuing the merchandising blitz, busts and statues from "Dark Crystal" and Labyrinth were shown. The goblin statues were impressive. Mention of "The Return to Labyrinth" manga was also made. It comes out next week and includes a preview of "Legends of Dark Crystal," another manga from TokyoPop that comes in Spring 2007.

Finally, the presentation turned to discussion of the Dark Crystal sequel - Power of the Dark Crystal. Michael Polis and Lisa Henson described how fans kept asking them for a sequel and that prompted them to ask the script writer if he had any ideas for a sequel. The script writer remembered a conversation he had with Jim Henson where they laid out story ideas. Rather than doing the further adventures of the Gelflings, they wanted to go farther in the world and this film reflects that. Tartakofsky said how they intend to do a mix of puppets and CGI. They intend to use the CG effects to remove puppeteers from the images and free up the puppets to do "real puppet action". All panelists agreed Jim Henson would approve of the use of the technology.

A few concept art pieces were quickly flashed on the screen. The previously seen elderly Kira was shown. They showed a new female creature named "Thurma" who is a fire creature from the underworld. Next up was a male creature from above the earth named Kensho. The two have an adventure under the surface in the "Innerworld". We saw pictures of caverns, crystals, underground lakes, and huge monsters. Not much more was said about the sequel film. A kid asked if the Gelflings would be married and Froud joked that it was possible they had been "living in sin". Tartakofsky also said that he'd love to have Frank Oz involved in some capacity if he could.

The presentation also showed a clip from the upcoming show "Late Night with Augie and Del". It features two middle aged guy puppets on a late night show with guests, skits, a band, sketches, and more. One of the characters seemed to be a combination of John Madden and Rodney Dangerfield. They jokingly promised to talk about "stuff that really matters". No word on where or when this will be seen.

Also shown was an absolutely hilarious adult comedy show called "Jim Henson's Puppet Improv". Think "Who's Line is It Anyway" with puppets. The clip shown displayed the comedy improvisational skills of the Henson puppeteers while catering to the adult crowd as far as content and language. The clip had folks laughing to the point of tears. In one sketch, the director asked the audience for a country - Angola. They then set up a scene where one Columbo-like interrogator was questioning a koala about a crime through an interpreter. When asked for a crime, someone yelled out "robbed a bank". The director said, "More specific?" Someone yelled out, "Sperm bank!" And thus the scene played out. This ain't "The Muppet Show," but it was a riot. Again, no word on where or when this show will appear, but I'll be watching.

Lisa Henson also confirmed that they were in the early stages of doing a Fraggle Rock movie, but it was a long way off. She also said they don't have any plans yet for a Labyrinth sequel - they are focused on "Dark Crystal."

That concluded the Jim Henson panel and it was great to see so much energy and potential still in the company.

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=15603

[The Count]

Thanks for the transcript in full detail of the panel Phill...

Would've liked to get some more info on the potential FR movie...
And it's kind of a shame not to see this same enthusiasm and carrying through with new projects from the MHC.

But good news, and I truly hope they get to all those potential movie releases.

[crazed gonzo fa]

Thanks for posting this Phil! Can you show us some of the photos, mainly Kensho and Thurma?

[Erine81981]

I would love to see pics of the characters from the Late Night Show as well as the new Dark Crystal sequel too. Cool to hear about all of this.

[Barry Lee]

Originally Posted by crazed gonzo fa

Thanks for posting this Phil! Can you show us some of the photos, mainly Kensho and Thurma?

Um, this article was not written by him, so he might not have pictures of them....

[crazed gonzo fa]

I know, but he said they showed pictures of them.

[BalconyHeckler]

This is all so promising. I wish I was at the comic con. I am really curious about what they showed for the Spider-Man 3 area.

But wow, that was an amazing transcript by ComingSoon.net, they are pretty good with their information.

[The Count]

Heh heh heh... Maybe they should get their precious Gypsy to do the sketch instead.

[Erine81981]

Guys I have some great news for everyone. Lookie here!

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...=search_videos

I saw these on youtube. You'll get to see who all the charaters are. YEAAAAHHHHH!!!

[alorindanya]

That is fantastic Ernie, thanks!

[Land Strider]

Thank you for posting the YouTube links!! I was at that panel and was just about to say that I WISH the Improv clip, and more, would be aired somewhere, or put out on DVD, but at least now I can see it again and show friends! It had me laughing so hard I was bumping in to the complete strangers sitting next to me!

Regarding the Fraggle Rock movie, Lisa's reply was in response to a question someone asked, so they had nothing prepared to show us about it. She made sure to get across the point that, while she loves the idea and hopes they will do a Fraggle movie, they first need to get through the Dark Crystal sequel production, which is still a long way off for that. So FR is a long long long way off, and nothing has even been started on it.

A great panel, though, all in all!

[crazed gonzo fa]

Thanks Ernie!

[KermieBaby47]

Gol-durnit! Why did I have to watch those? I always get teary whenever Jim talks, but especially when that quote of his is shown (the one about leaving this world a little bit better).

Great stuff! I need to hurry up and have a kid so I can plaster Henson clothes all over him or her!


Anthony

[Laszlo]

Wwwoooowwww!!!!

But those concepts of Kensho and Thurma were pretty bad. Sorry Mr. Froud!
Thurma looked much better on that preview pic someone posted on AINT IT COOL NEWS.