Editing Jim Henson (section)

===Transition to the big screen: 1979–1986===
The Muppets appeared in their first theatrical feature film ''[[The Muppet Movie]]'' in 1979. It was both a critical and financial success;{{sfn|Finch|1993|p=128}} it made $65.2&nbsp;million domestically and was the 61st highest-grossing film at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=muppetmovie.htm |title=The Muppet Movie |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=November 5, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017104004/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=muppetmovie.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2013 }}</ref> Henson's idol [[Edgar Bergen]] died at age 75 during production of the film, and Henson dedicated it to his memory. Henson as Kermit sang "[[Rainbow Connection]]", and it hit number 25 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and was nominated for an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]. The Henson-directed ''[[The Great Muppet Caper]]'' (1981) followed, and Henson decided to end the ''Muppet Show'' to concentrate on making films,<ref name="sippi"/> though the Muppet characters continued to appear in TV movies and specials.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Stephen |date=2024-10-09 |title=The 15 Best Celebrity Guests On The Muppet Show |url=https://screenrant.com/the-15-best-celebrity-guests-on-the-muppet-show/ |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref>

Henson also aided others in their work. During development on ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' (1980), [[George Lucas]] asked him to aid make-up artist [[Stuart Freeborn]] in the creation and articulation of [[Yoda]]. Lucas had also wanted Henson to puppeteer the character, but Henson instead suggested Frank Oz for the role;{{sfn|Jones|2013|pp=307–308}} Oz performed the role and continued in the subsequent ''[[Star Wars]]'' films. Lucas lobbied unsuccessfully to have Oz nominated for an Academy Award for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]].{{sfn|Finch|1993|p=176}}

In 1982, Henson founded the [[Jim Henson Foundation]] to promote and develop the art of puppetry in the United States. Around that time, he began creating darker and more realistic fantasy films that did not feature the Muppets and displayed "a growing, brooding interest in mortality."<ref name="lifemag"/> He co-directed ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' (1982) with Oz, "trying to go toward a sense of realism—toward a reality of creatures that are actually alive".<ref name="central"/> To provide a visual style distinct from the Muppets, the puppets in ''The Dark Crystal'' were based on conceptual artwork by [[Brian Froud]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=jbindeck2015 |date=2019-08-28 |title=The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance's designer on 'a purer form of puppetry' |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-dark-crystal-age-of-resistances-designer-on-a-purer-form-of-puppetry/ |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US |archive-date=August 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816215517/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-dark-crystal-age-of-resistances-designer-on-a-purer-form-of-puppetry/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and it was a critical success, winning several industry awards including the [[Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film]] and the Grand Prize Winner at the [[Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival]].<ref>{{Citation |title=The Dark Crystal (1982) |work=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083791/awards/ |pages=awards |language=en |access-date=2022-09-05 |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905142424/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083791/awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The film was less financially successful in theaters, but later claimed an enormous following and revenue when it was introduced on VHS for home entertainment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Idato |first=Michael |date=2019-08-21 |title=The Dark Crystal gets rebirth for streaming era |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-dark-crystal-gets-rebirth-for-streaming-era-20190819-p52ifu.html |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905142424/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-dark-crystal-gets-rebirth-for-streaming-era-20190819-p52ifu.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Also in 1982, Henson co-founded [[HIT Entertainment|Henson International Television]] with [[Peter Orton]] and [[Sophie Turner Laing]] as his partners. The company was a distribution company for children's, teens' and family television.<ref name="ind">{{cite news|title=Peter Orton: Media entrepreneur who made a global success of Bob the Builder|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/peter-orton-media-entrepreneur-who-made-a-global-success-of-bob-the-builder-764554.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220608/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/peter-orton-media-entrepreneur-who-made-a-global-success-of-bob-the-builder-764554.html |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=December 29, 2017|work=The Independent|date=December 12, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Lucas - Henson - 1986.jpg|thumb|right|Henson and producer [[George Lucas]] working on ''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'' in 1986]]
Henson worked with Oz again on ''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]'' (1984), this time with Oz as sole director.{{Sfn|Jones|2013|p=354}} The film grossed $25.5 million domestically<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Muppets Take Manhattan |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3244656129/weekend/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224220817/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3244656129/weekend/ |archive-date=2021-02-24 |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> of a budget of only around $8 million,{{Sfn|Jones|2013|p=371}} and ranked as one of the top 40 films of 1984.<ref>{{cite web |title=1984 Yearly Box Office Results |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1984&p=.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103115555/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1984&p=.htm |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |access-date=November 5, 2013 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]]}}</ref>

''[[Labyrinth (1986 film)|Labyrinth]]'' (1986) was a fantasy that Henson directed by himself, but—despite some positive reviews; ''The New York Times'' called it "a fabulous film"—it was a commercial disappointment.<ref>{{cite news |last=Darnton |first=Nina |title=Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth' |work=The New York Times |page=C14 |date=June 27, 1986 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/27/movies/screen-jum-henson-s-labyrinth.html |access-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809064302/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/27/movies/screen-jum-henson-s-labyrinth.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This demoralized Henson; his son [[Brian Henson]] described it as "the closest I've seen him to turning in on himself and getting quite depressed."<ref name="lifemag" /> The film later became a cult classic.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sparrow |first=A.E. |date=September 11, 2006 |title=Return to Labyrinth Vol. 1 Review |work=[[IGN]] |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/09/11/return-to-labyrinth-vol-1-review |access-date=November 5, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221160255/http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/09/11/return-to-labyrinth-vol-1-review |archive-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref>

In 1984 Henson traveled to Moscow, where he made a film about [[Sergey Obraztsov|Sergei Obraztsov]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=8/19-24/1984 – 'In Dresden with Cheryl for UNIMA Puppet Festival.' {{!}} Jim Henson's Red Book |url=https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/08/819-241984-2/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.henson.com |archive-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414122301/https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2013/08/819-241984-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Henson also donated four dolls to the puppeteer to replenish the Moscow Museum of Obraztsov Puppets: Fraggle, Skeksi, Bugard, and Robin the Frog. Of the show's guests, the Henson Archivist points out that Jim Henson placed a special importance on meeting Obraztsov: "As a teenager learning to make puppets, Jim checked out some books from the public library for instruction – one was Obraztsov’s 1950 book, ''My Profession''"<ref>{{Cite web |title=5/14-17/1984 – 'In Holland for Triangel – Henk and Ans Boerwinkel for J.H. Presents – John H. comes along.' {{!}} Jim Henson's Red Book |url=https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2014/05/514-171984/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.henson.com |archive-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414121533/https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2014/05/514-171984/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-21 |title=Wanted: The Muppets |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2012/01/25/wanted-the-muppets-a12156 |access-date=2023-04-14 |archive-date=September 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921064433/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2012/01/25/wanted-the-muppets-a12156 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Smale |first=Alison |date=November 23, 1984 |title=Henson Takes Kermit to Meet Russian Puppetmaster |work=[[The Associated Press]]}}</ref>