The Cast |
The Filmmakers |
The Puppeteers |
About The Production |
Credits

THE FILMMAKERS
Brian Henson - Director
Jerry Juhl - Writer
Martin G. Baker - Producer
Val Strazovec - Production Designer
Polly Smith - Costume Designer
Mark Zesotek - Project Supervisor
Tom Smith - Visual Effects
Peter Lindsay - Sound Recordist
Nick Allder - Special Effect Supervisor
Barry Mann & Cynthia
Weil - Songwriters
Hans Zimmer - Music
BRIAN HENSON - DIRECTOR - is President and Chief
Executive Officer of Jim Henson Productions and began his career with the company at the age of 17, performing marionettes under his father Jim's direction in THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER. In l986 he led the team of puppeteers who performed Hoggle, an elaborate animatronic puppet featured in LABYRINTH and co-supervised the crew of 40 performers required to manipulate Audrey II, the giant man-eating star of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (l986). He worked as a puppeteer on THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN, RETURN TO OZ, SANTA CLAUS:
THE MOVIE, and on the Jim Henson/Nic Roeg film, THE WITCHES. He was chief puppeteer and second unit director on the hit movie, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. As well as being involved with casting and training performers, Henson has performed in a number of television projects including the Emmy-award winning TV series, THE STORYTELLER and its sequel GREEK MYTHS. He received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction of a Children's program for the critically acclaimed TV series, JIM HENSON'S MOTHER GOOSE STORIES and was co-executive producer of the ABC series, DINOSAURS. His feature film directorial debut came on the hugely successful THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL(l994).
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JERRY JUHL - WRITER - is the multi award-winning, head writer for the
Muppets and began his career as a puppeteer with a degree in theatre. He
joined The Muppets in l961 to work on Jim Henson's first TV show, SAM AND FRIENDS when his love of writing emerged.
He became full-time writer for the Muppets throughout the 60's and early 70's, earning two Emmy awards during his years with SESAME STREET, and as head writer for THE MUPPET SHOW, one Emmy and two Writer's Guild of America Awards. He was head-writer and creative producer for Jim Henson's award-winning TV program FRAGGLE ROCK and more recently wrote the popular TV specials A MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS (for which he won a Writer's Guild of America Award), and THE MUPPETS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD. He served as co
-producer/head writer on THE JIM HENSON HOUR and as co-writer of THE MUPPETS CELEBRATE JIM HENSON, he was nominated for another Emmy Award. His feature film credits include THE MUPPET MOVIE, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER and THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL.
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MARTIN G. BAKER - PRODUCER - is Senior Vice
President of Production and has more than two decades of experience in production. He began his career in l966, working in the mailroom of ATV, becoming an assistant for various drama and variety series and specials
(KRAFT MUSIC HALL, THE JULIE ANDREWS SPECIALS). He continued his work for the renowned production duo Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion throughout the 70's, serving as floor manager for more than a dozen of their network television specials. In l976 he renewed an earlier association with Jim Henson to serve as floor manager for the 96 episodes of the UK based THE MUPPET SHOW. In the show's fifth and final season, he left ATV to join the Henson Organization as production associate. He was Associate Producer on the award-winning FRAGGLE ROCK and worked on several Muppet television specials and the critically acclaimed STORYTELLER series. His feature film credits include THE MUPPET
MOVIE, THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER, THE DARK CRYSTAL and THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL. He also worked as production consultant on LABYRINTH and FOLLOW THAT BIRD.
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VAL STRAZOVEC - PRODUCTION DESIGNER - is a
prolific artist who has designed and developed some 50 theatre productions, more than 1800 television productions and 33 feature films. A native of Slovakia he was responsible for establishing the strong new wave in production design in Czechoslovakian television. He emigrated to Canada in l968, and has since garnered numerous credits and awards as a production designer and audio-visual consultant for Canadian and American television. He lectures throughout the world to producers, directors and designers on production design and training. He has written several texts on the subject and was previously director and chief instructor of the internationally acclaimed CBC Institute of Scenography for advanced studies
in film and television, which he founded in l977. His credits include the Actra Award-winning FIRST NIGHT OF PYGMALION and the International Emmy Award-nominated SARAH. He has worked on a number of JULIE ANDREWS SPECIALS, the international ice-show THE
TRUE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS, Jim Henson's DOG CITY and CBS's ROMEO AND JULIET ON ICE for which he was awarded an Emmy. MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND reunites Strazovec with Jim Henson Productions following his work on THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE MUPPETS: A CELEBRATION OF 30 YEARS and numerous other Muppet TV specials.
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POLLY SMITH - COSTUME DESIGNER - is chief costume
designer for the Muppets. She began her career studying fashion design at art school before continuing with theatre, costume and set design at New York University. She joined the Henson Organization in l979 and, after assisting in the costume department for several years, designed the fifth and final year of THE MUPPET SHOW. She has continued to design for them ever since on both feature films and television.
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MARK ZESOTEK - is PROJECT SUPERVISOR FOR THE
MUPPET WORKSHOP. He worked for several years in New York, designing props and costumes for Broadway shows and was working as a dyer for a costume house in l981 when he joined the Henson Organization for the first tour of SESAME STREET. Every Summer for six years he joined the annual troupe, becoming a builder and designer for The Muppets at a later date. He is now responsible for overseeing every aspect of the Muppet workshop in New York. He works with a team of skilled builders, designers and electrical-mechanical effects people to build and maintain characters from the simplest hand puppets on SESAME STREET to the most complex electronic remote control creatures on such films as LABYRINTH, THE DARK CRYSTAL, ABC's hit show DINOSAURS and THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL.
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TOM SMITH - VISUAL EFFECTS - entered the field of
special effects witha highly successful l977 Encyclopedia Britannica educational documentary, "The Solar System". In l979 Tom was hired by Lucasfilm to join Industrial Light and Magic. He started as production supervisor and later became general manager. While at the helm of ILM he oversaw visual effects on RETURN OF THE JEDI, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, STAR TREK II AND III, E.T., and THE NEVERENDING STORY. Since leaving ILM he was executive producer on HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS for which he won a BAFTA Award, directed RALPH S. MOUSE, produced MUPPETVISION 3-D, Jim Henson's last film, was visual effects producer/director on HONEY I BLEW UP THE KID, visual effects consultant on THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL and producer on HONEY I SHRUNK THE AUDIENCE a 3-D Disney theme park attraction, among many others.
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PETER LINDSAY - SOUND RECORDIST has worked on
feature films, television films, documentaries and commercials. Among his feature films are IN THE BORDER COUNTRY, HEAR MY SONG, THE PLAYBOYS, CARRINGTON, HACKERS, and ALL OUR FAULT. His television and documentary credits include, A QUESTION OF GUILT, THE DAILY WOMAN, THE ROCKINGHAM SHOOT, FAMILIES AT WAR, HOSTAGES, and IRISH LANDSCAPES.
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NICK ALLDER - SPECIAL EFFECT SUPERVISOR is one of
England's best known special effects supervisors. He has worked on many feature films and television programs. Among his films are: BRAVEHEART, LEON, CITY OF JOY, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, JEWEL OF THE NILE, LEGEND, ALIEN, STAR WARS - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, PINK PANTHER, SEA WOLVES, and A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. His television credits include SPACE 1999, VILLAINS, DR. WHO, THE FRIGHTENERS, and MAN HUNT.
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BARRY MANN & CYNTHIA WEIL -
Songwriters.
Mann and Weil began their careers in the sixties at Aldon Music. They were members of the writing staff that included Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield and Carole Bayer Sager. Their songs are renowned not only for being commercially successful, but also for becoming classics. Together this husband and wife team have written songs like YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELING (with Phil Spector), ON BROADWAY(with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller), WALKING IN THE RAIN, UPTOWN, WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE, and JUST ONCE, to name but a few. They penned SOMEWHERE OUT THERE, (with James Horner) for the film, AN AMERICAN TAIL which won them two Grammys, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Later they were Grammy nominated again for DON'T KNOW MUCH.
In addition, each has branched out to work with other writers. Cynthia
wrote the lyrics to RUNNING WITH THE NIGHT, LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL, HE'S SO SHY and, among others, the R & B Grammy nominated, THROUGH THE FIRE. Barry was both singer and co-writer on WHO PUT THE BOMP and co-wrote, among others, I LOVE HOW YOU LOVE ME, HOW MUCH LOVE and SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH. Their films include the score for ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN II, songs for THE PAGEMASTER, the animated film A TROLL IN CENTRAL PARK, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION, ABOUT LAST NIGHT and OLIVER to name just a few. They have amassed 88 pop, country and R & B awards and 32 Million-Airs awards from Broadcast Music Inc. signifying radio performances of one million or more plays. YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING is the third most performed song in the entire EMI catalogue and is one of only four songs to have received eight pop awards.
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HANS ZIMMER - Music - has become one of
Hollywood's most sought after music score writers. He won an Academy Award nomination for best score for RAIN MAN and a Grammy Award nomination for best instrumental composition written for a motion picture, for DRIVING MISS DAISY. Among his many film credits are THE LION KING, BEYOND RANGOON, THELMA AND LOUISE, GREEN CARD, DAYS OF THUNDER, BLACK RAIN and PACIFIC HEIGHTS. Among his television credits are THE CRITIC, SPACE RANGERS for CBS and MILLENIUM a one hour series for International Broadcast.
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Jim Henson Productions, an established leader in family entertainment for the past 40 years, is an independent, multimedia production company, one of the top character licensors in the industry, a leading publisher of children's books and home of Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The company is based in Los Angeles with offices and production facilities in New York and London.
The Cast |
The Filmmakers |
The Puppeteers |
About The Production |
Credits
(c) Disney. All rights reserved. Muppet characters (c) Jim
Henson Productions, Inc.
Jim Henson, the Jim Henson signature logo, MUPPETS,
MUPPET, and all character names and likenesses are
Trademarks of Jim Henson Productions, Inc.
All rights reserved.