Ron Howard Directs Jim Henson Documentary for Disney Plus

Jim Henson
(Image credit: Disney Plus)

Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and a host of other beloved puppet characters. Henson also directed films such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

He died in 1990. 

Produced with the cooperation of the Henson family, Jim Henson Idea Man is what Disney Plus calls an “unprecedented, intimate look at Henson’s illustrious, revolutionary career and complex personal life. Using never-before-seen personal archival home movies, photographs, sketches and Henson’s personal diaries, as well as interviews with those who knew him best, the film is the definitive portrait of one of the world’s most inspiring and iconoclastic creators.”

Disney Plus shared a trailer:

The film is produced by Imagine Documentaries. Howard produces with Brian Grazer, Sara Bernstein, Margaret Bodde, Justin Wilkes, Mark Monroe and Christopher St. John. Paul Crowder, Meredith Kaulfers and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers.

Howard's films include Cocoon, Apollo 13 and The Da Vinci Code. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.