31+ Best Jim Henson Quotes From 'The Muppets' Puppeteer

Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Dec 12, 2023 By Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Originally Published on Mar 16, 2021
Edited by Monisha Kochhar
Jim Henson

The popular American Puppeteer James Maury Henson, popularly known as Jim Henson, was also an established director, screenwriter, animator, inventor, composer, actor, and filmmaker.

The puppeteer was known worldwide for being the creator of masterpieces like 'Fraggle Rock' and 'The Muppets'. The actor was also the director of iconic movies like 'Labyrinth' and 'The Dark Crystal'.

Jim Henson had a very positive outlook on life. The multitalented actor inspired everyone around him and millions of his fans with his work and quotes. Listed below are Jim Henson quotes about children, Jim Henson quotes about magic, Jim Henson quotes about life and other well-known Jim Henson quotes.

For more relatable content, check out our other quotes articles Kermit the Frog quotes and James Thurber quotes.

 

Best Quotes By Jim Henson

Here are some of the best quotes from the famous actor, director, and puppeteer.

1. "My hope still is to leave the world a bit better than when I got here."

- Jim Henson.

2. "I believe that we form our own lives, that we create our own reality, and that everything works out for the best."

- Jim Henson.

3. "The beauty of nature has been one of the great inspirations in my life."

- Jim Henson.

4. "With Big Bird we knew we wanted to do a large, a great big character. He should represent a child so he can make the kinds of mistakes that kids make, and talk about it and be out front about that."

- Jim Henson.

5. "If anything, there's a difference in working with color in England and the color in the US."

- Jim Henson, on switching from black and white to color.

6. "Life is meant to be fun, and joyous, and fulfilling."

- Jim Henson.

7. "If you take a character and you call him a frog, or like Rowlf, our dog, call him a dog, you immediately give the audience a handle."

- Jim Henson.

8. "Actually the copies of characters is something I don't particularly like to talk about in articles but just for your information, most characters there's only one."

- Jim Henson.

Interesting Quotes From Jim Henson

Check out these positive and interesting Jim Henson quotes.

9. "Music is an essential part of everything we do. Like puppetry, music has an abstract quality which speaks to a worldwide audience in a wonderful way that nourishes the soul."

- Jim Henson.

10. "I made him 30-some years ago and he was originally made from an old coat of my mother's. It was a coat from a rag of bag."

- Jim Henson.

11. "Do the jobs you like least first. It makes each successive job easier."

- Jim Henson.

12. "I decided that what I really wanted to do was go off and paint."

- Jim Henson.

13. "There must be a lot of shy actors in puppeteering. His work is the puppeteer's statement. It's his outlet. If I had to face the audience myself, as Jim Henson, I'm sure I'd be just a bit shy. But when it's your puppets that face the audience, it's different. That I can do very easily."

- Jim Henson.

14. "I think puppets have a kind of appeal to kids to adults they've been around forever, you know as long as we have theater."

- Jim Henson.

15. "I think my own strengths are in television production."

- Jim Henson.

16. "I do remember doing shows strictly in black and white, too, so you're right."

- Jim Henson.

Popular Jim Henson Quotes

Being a famous puppeteer, director, and actor, Jim Henson had some well-known quotes. Check them out.

17. "When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there."

- Jim Henson.

18. "I think with 'The Muppets', there's some sort of innocence in them you know.  And I think that's something that appeals to the child and everybody."

- Jim Henson.

19. "Please watch out for each other. Love everyone and forgive everyone, including yourself. Forgive your anger. Forgive your guilt. Your shame. Your sadness."

- Jim Henson.

20. "With 'The Muppet Show' we used to play with a lot of different styles. That's what it was: a variety thing."

- Jim Henson.

21. "I remember one time in the early days of 'Sesame Street' called professor Hastings and professor Hastings was very sort of he talked real slow."

- Jim Henson.

22. "What's funny about it was the fact it was very slow and we found that kind of speed just didn't work at all."

- Jim Henson.

23. "I've never felt any sense of competition with anybody, and we're all friends; we're all good friends."

- Jim Henson.

Motivational Jim Henson Quotes

Here's a list of some inspiring Jim Henson quotes.

24. "The only way the magic works is by hard work. But hard work can be fun."

- Jim Henson.

25. "Embrace and open up your love, your joy, your truth, and most especially your heart."

- Jim Henson.

26. "I believe that life is basically a process of growth that we go through many lives, choosing those situations and problems that we will learn through."

- Jim Henson.

27. "Do everything at 100 percent of its potential and never accept second best."

- Jim Henson.

28. "The attitude you have as a parent is what your kids will learn from more than what you tell them. They don't remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are."

- Jim Henson.

29. "All of a sudden you realize that you are the person who has control of your life."

- Jim Henson.

30. "Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending."

- Jim Henson.

31. "There's great value in being able to step back and laugh at yourself, at life, and at attitudes. Laughter helps you put everything into perspective."

- Jim Henson.

32. "I think if you study--if you learn too much of what others have done, you may tend to take the same direction as everybody else."

- Jim Henson.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Jim Henson quotes then why not take a look at Statler and Waldorf quotes, or cartoon quotes.

‍Main image credit: Olga Popova / Shutterstock.com

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Written by Rajnandini Roychoudhury

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

Rajnandini Roychoudhury picture

Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature. 

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