Ron Howard first attended the Cannes Film Festival with his 1988 fantasy-adventure “Willow,” and he’ll never forget his first walk up the stairs at the Palais des Festivals, where the film premiered out of competition. “I remember that first time so vividly,” he says, more than 25 years later. “And what I really remember is how fun it was.”
Howard would return over the years as an Oscar-winning director and super-producer (with Brian Grazer) behind Imagine Entertainment. This year, Howard will make his return to the Croisette with the documentary “Jim Henson Idea Man,” premiering as part of the Cannes Classics lineup before hitting Disney+ May 31. Howard will also be honored with PvNew’s Profiles in Excellence Award at the publication’s Welcome to Cannes Party, hosted in partnership with the Gotham Film & Media Institute. The event will take place May 16 at Lucia Beach.
Howard is the rare auteur known as much for his talent as his genial persona, so it makes perfect sense that he would be the one to profile a legend like Henson, the artist behind the classic characters seen on “The Muppets” and “Sesame Street.” They met in person only once — backstage at a variety show when Howard was in his twenties. But Howard heard many stories about Henson from “Willow” executive producer George Lucas, who had been close friends with the Muppet creator. “George was shattered when Jim passed,” Howard notes. “He was always talking about Jim’s creativity and what an outside-of-the-box thinker he was. And what a risk-taker.”
Popular on PvNew
The film was made with the full support and participation of Henson’s surviving children with his wife and collaborator, Jane Henson; all four appear in the doc to reminisce about their family life. And they turned over massive amounts of archives to Howard, including early commercials, short films and family movies. “There weren’t as many interviews as we would have liked,” Howard notes. “He was pretty shy; he didn’t particularly like talking about himself. He really did use the puppets as alter egos.”
Instead, Howard found himself studying Henson’s work, particularly his 1965 experimental short “Time Piece,” which centers on a man (played by Henson) constantly in motion. “It struck me as a story about someone who’s just inwardly driven,” Howard says. The filmmaker also learned some new information in his research — such as the fact Henson had lost a brother and that he grew his beard because he battled with acne. “He understood how fragile life was, and I don’t think he wanted to take anything for granted. He wanted to grab the opportunities and take on the challenges. In ‘Time Piece,’ he is literally always on the run and trying to outrun the clock.”
It also delves into Henson’s relationship with his wife, a fellow puppeteer and performer. “The Muppets would not have been what they were without Jane — her taste and mindset and encouragement,” Howard notes. “She recognized his talent really before anyone else did.” It also features revealing interviews with those who knew him, particularly his longtime collaborator Frank Oz.
But “Idea Man” doesn’t shy away from the tougher times; it chronicles the toll his determination took on his marriage, and such professional disappointments as his 1986 film “Labyrinth,” which underperformed at the time but has since gained a massive cult following.
In the end, Howard sees the film as a celebration. “In celebrating him, you do discover the price that you pay for the creative gifts he shared with us, and there are surprises in the journey,” Howard says. “But if you’re looking for an exposé, Jim Henson would be the wrong person to look at.”
