I am a kid who grew up with the Muppets. Between Sesame Street and the Muppet Show, the Muppets were a big part of my youth. Part of what was attractive about the muppets was the cute puppets, sure.. but the piece that kept me coming back was the message: Love each other. Have faith in each other. Believe in a big dream. Enjoy your imagination. Be a good friend. Pick people up when they are down. Do the right thing when you have a chance. Family isn't about just relations, it's far more then that.
I normally am not one who cries at celebrity deaths. It's not that I don't mourn their loss, it's just that I didn't know them. So, I will say that only twice in my life did a celebrity death make me break down and cry: John Lennon, and Jim Henson. Both of them changed the way I viewed the world in their own way; but the reason I cried was because how big a part of my own life they were.
John Lennon showed me that you can be defiant, open and honest and try to change the world. Jim Henson taught me that the only thing that really mattered in the world was that we cared for each other.
It's shocking to me sometimes we miss that simple message. I think it's more important now then ever, and this weekend's "Muppet Movie" brought a lot of those old memories back.
Henson, from the beginning, went out of his way to say to people: accept that we are all different. And beautiful. Respect each other. Love each other. From the get go, they went out of their way (Sesame Street & The Muppet Show) to celebrate diversity, integrated communities. People who looked after and cared for each other.
I was a bit worried about a "Reboot", but I have to say, what this film gets right is that core message, and for all the humor it never misses it's mark in bringing home the message Henson was trying to deliver: that love for our fellow man is the most important thing.
The first time I sat through the film, with my oldest (our autistic son) the song "Pictures in my Head" brought back all those memories..
Ah, Jim.. ah the old gang, how did I miss that positive message in the world. "Your cannonball trajectory/it always gave me hope"
My son begged to see the film the next day, and so, we went again. Why not? During the second time, in a mid-day where kids were encouraged to participate in a way, he began to bolt out the songs along with other kids. I will admit, the moment he got to: "Gonzo the Great Will Ride Again".. I cried, hard. It's so hard sometimes when kids struggle to deal with their peers, and to watch him belt it out.. just too much.
It's hard to imagine a world that isn't changed in some way by the existence of Sesame Street. Or John Lennon. Or Jim Henson. Because it is the dreamers, the people who love each other and treat each other with kindness that really change the world we live in.
Henson's efforts on Sesame Street generated more good will internationally then we may ever know. They showed the world a vision of America that was full of hope, fun and that was a lot like them. Because Henson knew that globally everyone loves their kids, and our strongest internal desire is to be loved and to care for each other.
International from the get go, it spread the message of helping each other.
So, this weekend, there wasn't anything on sale at any store that meant as much to me as listening to my son off-key sing and hope that things would turn out in the end. Cheer when they realized that friendship was more important then the money of a fundraiser.
It made me think of this moment from Henson's memorial service
Thank you Jim, for believing in the world enough to leave parents everywhere a legacy we can share with our kids. You changed the world forever with your hope and faith in the people around you. You believed in us - humanity - to try and do the right thing. You shaped the way I view the world; you shaped the way millions of people view the world, and always for the better. And thank you, Jason Segel, for making a film that kept to the roots of that message.