About

Jim Henson’s early short films provide a unique and often unexpected insight into his burgeoning genius beyond the world of puppetry. These experimental films pair innovative soundscapes with a range of visual techniques, including cut paper and drawn animation, photographic montage and live action scenes, largely without dialogue and often featuring Henson’s family members. The Oscar-nominated live-action short Time Piece, starring Jim himself and Frank Oz, foregrounds his signature absurdist humour. Henson worked with prominent musicians on the sound design of these shorts: Raymond Scott on Wheels That Go and Ripples; and jazz drummer Chico Hamilton on Drums West, Cat and Mouse and Shearing Animation.

Drums West 1961

"Drums West uses just cut-paper to illustrate, with precision and humor, an exhilarating drum solo by [Chico] Hamilton. This short, rediscovered in 2013, was created in Jim's home studio in Bethesda, MD. At the end, in footage probably shot by Jerry Juhl, Jim demonstrates his technique." Karen Falk, Archives Director, The Jim Henson Company

3 minutes | All Ages | Contains light flickering, flashing and strong contrast between light and dark patterns.

Shearing Animation 1961

"Cat and Mouse and Shearing are two different interpretations of a single piece of music from jazz drummer Chico Hamilton whom Jim met and collaborated with in 1961. The first provides a brief narrative of the dance performed when predator meets prey, and the second focuses on the visual impact of music when represented in paint, chalk and cut paper." Karen Falk, Archives Director, The Jim Henson Company

1 minutes | All Ages | Contains light flickering, flashing and strong contrast between light and dark patterns.

Cat and Mouse 1961

1 minutes | All Ages | Contains light flickering, flashing and strong contrast between light and dark patterns.

Time Piece 1965

"Jim’s early film efforts explored human psychology, the relationship between images and music, new technologies and modern society. Using various techniques, Jim experimented with ways to visually represent how thoughts are formed and how the mind interprets the world.

His best-known and most successful project was Time Piece, an 8 ½ minute live action short, shot in 1964. Jim wrote, storyboarded, directed and starred in this comedic drama, presented in a non-linear fashion and brought to life through stream-of-consciousness editing, epitomised by quick cuts leading the viewer from a jungle to a nightclub to a race through a cemetery. A profoundly personal project, Jim leaned on his closest collaborators to realise his vision, adding cinematographer Ted Nemeth to shoot the footage and Don Sebesky to help compose the syncopated score. Time Piece was distributed theatrically as a short with A Man and A Woman, was screened at numerous international festivals, and was nominated for an Academy Award in the short film category in 1965." Karen Falk, Archives Director, The Jim Henson Company

9 minutes | All Ages

Run, Run 1965

1 minutes | All Ages

Alexander the Grape 1965

4 minutes | All Ages

Ripples 1967

"Further examining thought processes, Jim created two short films for a contest at Montreal’s Expo 67. Using a variety of images rapidly cut together, Ripples visualises the mind’s eye of an architect (played by Sesame Street co-creator Jon Stone) as he considers his next project. Wheels that Go (originally named Learning) featuring Jim’s son Brian internalising how wheels work, represents Jim’s intense fascination with the development of knowledge and anticipates his work on Sesame Street in 1969. Both films are accompanied by electronic scores emphasising the mental leaps made by the brain as it sources concepts and makes connections. These were created with composer Raymond Scott who collaborated with Jim throughout the decade." Karen Falk, Archives Director, The Jim Henson Company

1 minutes | All Ages

Wheels that Go 1967

1 minutes | All Ages

The Cube 1969

Jim Henson and frequent collaborator Jerry Juhl created this surreal black comedy about a man (Richard Schaal) trapped in a white tiled room. He has a series of increasingly bizarre and frustrating encounters with various visitors, but struggles to escape the room himself. With a non-linear plot, which is both nightmarish and silly, the film reveals an existential edge to Henson’s oeuvre. The project was funded by US broadcaster NBC as part of their ‘Experiment in Television’ series, following the positive response to Henson’s Youth ‘68.

54 minutes | Ages 12+ | Contains mature themes