It’s tough to beat the day I got to interview the Muppets. But last weekend’s tour of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop came a close second.
When I first learned about this exclusive (and rare) tour a few months ago, I was pretty excited and surprised. What surprised me even more was how quickly my wife jumped on it and said we had to go!
Located in Queens, NY (that’s Long Island for you out-of-towners), this Mecca of Muppets rarely opens its doors to the public. This summer, however, they’ve set aside a number of public tours on the weekend.
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop is where the Muppet Magic happens. It’s an insanely creative hub full of award-winning artists that have given birth to hundreds of popular puppets from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal and my all-time favorite, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.
I started the day with my usual coffee. In my new Beaker mug, of course.
3-Minutes to Curtain
With a 10:20 am tour time, me, Allie and Jason made it down to the city with plenty of time to spare. We got our steps in exploring the area, and then arrived at Stuart Cinema & Cafe, an understated movie theater on Northern Boulevard.
Yeah, the Jim Henson Creature Shop isn’t a big, flashy building. There isn’t even a sign on the building. The closest you get are some flyers in the windows and a small sandwich-style sign on the sidewalk.
We stepped inside and were greeted by two super friendly people. They checked us in and gave us each our tour badge. They also had a tiny gift shop set up with stickers, postcards, T-shirts, hats and a few other assorted goods.
Keep in mind, Allie was already nervous about me spending too much money on this trip. Especially since I warned her that if they had ANYTHING with Emmet Otter on it, I was buying it. All of it.
Quick glance, though, and this tiny gift ship didn’t really have anything other than some Fraggle stickers, and JHCS-themed apparel.
I’d say there were about 20 or so people waiting in the cafe with us, all eager to get going. The time came, and we all headed down a hallway and into the mysterious people moving machine. (Okay, it was just a big freight elevator.)
Welcome to the Puppet Lounge
The good news is that in the Puppet Lounge, we were able to take as many photos as we wanted. We could even… gasp… touch or sit on some of the props!
The first thing I saw upon entering was the spooky Skeksis Throne from The Dark Crystal. Sitting in it, I already began craving essence of Gelfling. So I hopped off quickly before the blood lust overtook me.
And that’s when I saw it. Or rather, them.
I guess I should explain. I have a ridiculous love for Emmet Otter. My sister and I used to read the book when we were kids, and watched the special umpteen times. I’ve always loved it and tried getting my family into it about 10 years ago.
I popped the DVD in, and then proceeded to lose myself in Frogtown Hollow. When it was over, apparently I was the only one grinning from ear to ear. Allie might have fallen asleep. Jason said it was way too boring. And Ryan, well, he didn’t want to leave me hanging so he pretended he liked it. (He still does.)
Emmet Otter swag is pretty hard to come by. It’s only in recent years that I got a set of collectibles thanks to my sister Beth. I managed a few T-shirts and action figures in the past year. And that’s it.
So yeah, when I saw Emmet Otter in the flesh fur, my jaw must’ve hit the floor. I could have stayed in that room just staring at Emmet and his pals all day. I even noticed that they were playing music from the show while we walked around the Puppet Lounge.
And yes, I made sure to inform everyone within earshot that they were listening to Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.
When your Muppetastic Day starts with an Emmet Otter Meet-and-Greet, you just know it’s going to be the best day ever.
Dance Your Cares Away
I eventually found my composure and worked my way through the rest of the Puppet Lounge. We let the music play and found our way down to Fraggle Rock!
I love how Uncle Traveling Matt and even Sprocket were on hand to greet us!
Not too far from Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober and Red was big, ol’ Junior Gorg himself. Turns out it took two people to work this guy on the show. One to walk around and the other to handle all of the animatronics.
Taking Out the Trash
Next to the Fraggles was the surliest character to ever set foot on Sesame Street. Yep, Oscar the Grouch himself welcomed us with heaps of garbage and a lovely sign. At least he didn’t smell.
Getting to work at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
It was also neat to see a desk setup in the corner to simulate what the puppeteers go through on a regular workday.
I have no clue what half of these things are, but they do look neat. Sorry, I’m a writer, not an artist. Though I do know that the white mug-like object is often used to hold coffee.
I Want to be a Puppeteer
After a hysterical and adorable short that described the history of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop (they moved multiple times over the years) in typical Muppets fashion, we had a fantastic surprise.
In walked Jennifer Barnhart to give us a hands-on puppet lesson. Jen has worked on Sesame Street, Between the Lions and even voices Elmo’s best friend Zoe!
Not only did she give us a demonstration using nothing more than a pair of plastic Oobi eyes, but we all got our own pair to practice with too!
It was a riot (and not so easy!), turning my normal five-digit appendage into an expressive puppet!
What’s more, there was a camera and two monitors next to Jen. So while we watched her move her hand to teach us various puppet lessons, if you looked on the monitor, you only saw her hand with the plastic eyes.
And let me tell you, there’s something crazy magical about a monitor. I mean, she’s right in front of me. I see her lips moving. I see her hand literally opening and closing. But the second you look at the TV screen and just see the eyes and mouth moving, you’ll swear that puppet is alive.
Her demonstration was equal parts informational and entertaining. It was easily one of the highlights of our day!
Entering the Creature Shop
As much as I loved the Puppet Lounge, we eventually had to move on.
The good new? We were walking into the workshop where Muppets are made!
And the bad news? Yeah, sorry. There was absolutely no photography allowed inside.
But I can sum up what we saw. The large open room wasn’t flashy or full of super modern technology. It was lots of desks filled with all types of materials. One of the puppet designers showed us everything that’s involved in making a puppet from initial sketch to size to fabrics. Yeah, we basically saw Muppet guts.
Another area was a big cabinet with drawers labeled: Eyes, Noses, Mustaches, etc. Sure enough, there were dozens upon dozens of each type. I recognized Oscar the Grouch’s bushy green eyebrows at one point.
There were lots of finished puppets in one area, including a number of Sesame Street characters. Cookie Monster, Elmo, and yes, even Super Grover! Cookie actually had this little cozy covering his eyes to protect them. It looked like he was wearing a sleep mask.
Muppet News Flash! I even learned that Cookie Monster’s head is made up of two halves of a basketball!
There were loads of other neat things to see in the room, including the actual Kermit Emergency Kit that Jim Henson carried with him everywhere. It was full of extra green felt (various shades), eyes, a tongue, etc.
Sadly the tour came to an end, but it was truly inspiring.
On the way out, I had to grab a T-shirt from the gift shop, along with a puppet. Allie sifted through some vintage postcards for sale and came across one that featured…
…Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas! So yes, it was most certainly purchased.
Our Muppet Tour came to an end, but I may have found a new calling as a puppeteer. I think it’s time to get things started…
Tour the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in NY