Imagination Unlimited

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to meet the Muppets
On the Muppet Show tonight

Theme song lyrics, The Muppet Show

As you enter the Jim Henson exhibition at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture, you're greeted by a gently smiling Kermit the Frog, his arm raised in greeting.  Who better to welcome visitors to a retrospective of Henson's creative catalogue than his affable green alter ego?  As Henson observed, "Kermit's function on the (Muppet) show is very much like my own, in that he is trying to hold together this group of crazies, which is not unlike what I do."

"Hi ho, Kermit the Frog here..."

The exhibition is aptly titled Imagination Unlimited, and it’s difficult to think of a better description of Henson’s unique creative abilities.  It’s a treasure trove of concept sketches, models, puppets, short films, storyboards, production notes, cartoons, costumes and film clips that beautifully demonstrate the astonishing range of Henson’s imagination. At the time of his unfortunate death in 1990 at the age of 53, Henson’s fertile mind had created an epic catalogue of characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Rowlf the Dog, Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, the Fraggles, the Storyteller, the Skesis and the Mystics, Jared the Goblin King, Hoggle and Ludo.

Rowlf might have been a less approachable character with fangs.

Some of those characters, such as Kermit and Rowlf, have remained essentially unchanged since their creation in the late 50s and early 60s, which clearly illustrates the versatility and durability of the basic concept behind the Muppets.

Wilkins and Wontkins.  This will end badly for Wontkins.

It's fascinating to follow the development of that concept through the exhibition as the Muppets become increasingly sophisticated over time, changing from the simple, primitive Wilkins and Wontkins characters from the Wilkins Coffee commercials that Henson produced in the late 50s and early 60s, to the elaborate radio-controlled mechanisms originated for The Dark Crystal in 1982 and The Fraggles in 1983.

Regardless of their success elsewhere, the Muppets were most clearly defined by two showcases:  Sesame Street, which began in 1969 and continues to be produced, and The Muppet Show, which ran from 1976 to 1981.*

These two programs firmly established the Muppets on an international level.  The unique approach taken by the Children's Television Workshop in the creation of Sesame Street was the perfect vehicle for both the Muppets and Henson's innovative creativity.

However, over time Henson became concerned that he and the Muppets were being categorized as children's entertainment, and in the 1970s he began work on a variety program aimed at family audiences.  The result, of course, was The Muppet Show, which added to the existing cast of characters and completed the process of making the Muppets into household names.

The exhibition also acknowledges the many people who assisted in the creation of the Muppets.  Part of Henson’s brilliance was in finding other brilliant people with whom to collaborate, starting with his early work with Jane Nebel, who became his wife in 1959, and later with luminaries such as Frank Oz, writer Jerry Juhl, musician Paul Williams, artists such as Brian Froud, and technical genius Faz Fazakas.

Ultimately, though, the driving force behind the success of the Muppets was Henson's incredible creativity.  One of the reasons that his legacy has been able to continue in his absence is the strength of the characters that he created or helped to create.  It's impossible not to see Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the other Muppets as people rather than puppets, with likes, dislikes, fears and hopes all of their own.

 

There are people who represent uniquely irreplaceable talents – visionaries, thinkers, artists, creators of all different types who make a unique contribution to the world before they leave it. Jim Henson shared his personal dream with as many people as he could before he left, and his dream is still being shared.  As Kermit says in 1979's The Muppet Movie:

"I've got a dream too, but it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. That's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with."

Or, as Walter the Muppet points out 32 years later in The Muppets:

 "As long as there are singing frogs and joking bears, Swedish chefs and boomerang fish, the world can't be such a bad place after all."

  - Sid

* There have been a couple of attempts to reboot the concept, which, let's face it, have not done well.  Some phenomena just aren't repeatable.

Similarly, I am also very good with animals and provide obscure knowledge to help advance the plot.

Is this not the best engagement announcement ever?  

I had originally planned to propose to Karli on the Eiffel Tower in October (because I felt that if you're going to propose, you should do it someplace memorable and romantic) but October and Paris were both a long way away, and it was just the right moment last Thursday night.  As a result, going forward I will refer to my fiancée rather than my girlfriend.

The good news is that Paris will now be part of our honeymoon, rather than the cause of one.

  - Sid

Pop!

Although my girlfriend Karli isn't an old school geek like I am, she's not completely without street cred in the area of fandom.  She's a loyal watcher of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, and also follows Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick through social media.

As a result, she took note when Mr. Hardwick and his wife Lydia recently visited the Pacific Northwest and made a stop at the Funko head offices in Everett, Washington.  Intrigued to discover the unexpected existence of this nearby geek El Dorado, we decided to pay their storefront location a visit as part of a weekend getaway to Seattle.

***

It's an overcast Friday morning as we hit the road for the United States - and Everett.  A quick breakfast stop at Tim Horton's, and we're headed south.

The rain holds off until we reach the border.  In one of those odd bits of happenstance that no one would ever believe in a movie, Madonna's Borderline plays on the radio as we go through US Customs and continue on Interstate 5.

As a non-driver, it's my job to act as navigator when in locations where roaming fees make Apple Maps directions impractical. I guide us to Exit 194 and along Everett Avenue to the centre of the city.

Studying the map, I say, "Turn left and it's along here someplace."

Karli turns the corner and dryly comments, "I think I see it."

Her tone of voice is instantly explained as I look up from the map. Suffice it to say that it's unlikely that anyone will mistake the Funko head offices for Everett's city hall.

 

What, you ask, is Funko?  It's possible that you don't know who I'm talking about, but it would be a surprise to discover that anyone reading this could be completely unfamiliar with Funko's signature Pop! figure line. If you don't own one of these blank-faced three and three quarter inch vinyl collectables yourself, you very likely know someone who does. Since its modest four-character introduction at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010, the Pop! catalogue has expanded to fill virtually every niche in the pop culture market, with more than 3,000 different Pop! figures currently available.

As the Funko website quite accurately points out, everyone is a fan of something. By cleverly going beyond the limitations of genre fandom, Funko has been able to reach a much larger audience with its Pop! actors, musicians and sports figures.  After all, why shouldn't people who love the Ramones or Golden Girls* have the same opportunities for collectables as fans of Thor and Wonder Woman?

Their 17,000 foot retail store, which opened in Everett in August of 2017, is a fully featured showcase for the Funko retail line. Different parts of the store are dedicated to particular fandoms - Harry Potter, Star Wars, DC Comics, Marvel, Disney - with life-sized** versions of the Pop! and Adorbz figures decorating each section.

 

 

The store is not just about figures.  It also offers a full range of Funko-themed t-shirts, backpacks, bags, pencil toppers, key chains, stuffed toys, and all the other bits and pieces of merch that warm a fan's heart - and empty their wallet.  The store also features limited edition items that are only available there.

 

There's also a Pop! Factory section where visitors can build their own Pop! people or monsters from a selection of heads, bodies, hands, and accessories.

 

Funko's attention to detail is impressive, to the point that the standard Funko brown-paper shopping bag perfectly holds two of the Pop! Figure boxes beside each other. Adding a third box horizontally fills the bag exactly to the top, indicating that Funko has a pretty good idea of what's buttering their bread.

We discover this bit of trivia by, of course, buying some figures. Karli picks up the mixed bag (no pun intended) of Wonder Woman and Joey Ramone. To be honest, I'm actually not in love with the aesthetic of the Pop! figures, but I still end up purchasing a glow-in-the-dark Pop! version of the original Tron from the 1982 movie.

Because, after all, everyone's a fan of something.

  - Sid

P.S. If you want to create a Pop! version of yourself like the one of me at the top of this posting, the Funko website has a Pop! Yourself page.


* Or both, that may be a thing for someone - in fact, Karli may belong on that list.

** If that's the right way to describe it.