I was sick last week and my brain couldn’t handle much. The bulk of my time was spent in bed watching mindless movies and sleeping. Once the fog began to fade, I remembered the Jim Henson documentary on Disney+. It’s been on my list of things to watch. There are a handful of creators and entertainers I'd give anything to sit with and ask about their creative process. Some have already passed away, and as you might guess, Jim Henson is one of them. Directed by Ron Howard and written by Mark Monroe, “Idea Man” was an insightful, inspiring, imaginative documentary.

I wasn’t expecting this film to make me cry. I couldn’t even tell you what the moment was that did it. He left a legacy that included an earnest frog, a joke-telling bear, a big yellow bird on a fictional street with real people, and a goblin king named Jareth. And this doesn’t even cover half of it. With unrelenting ambition and passion, Jim Henson was a beloved and inspiring man. He took some big risks along the way— some paid off while others missed the mark. His imagination cup overflowed and he surrounded himself with people who helped him share it with the world. A takeaway for me was that sometimes the world didn’t know what to do with it. I was encouraged by this movie as it showed a whimsical world while also holding the reality of failure and sacrifice. On finding the romantic, aggressive, hilarious personality of leading lady Miss Piggy: “All she can do is have bravado.”

Jim Henson died at 53 years old. In his will, he left details about his funeral. The clip they showed from the day was as silly as it was breathtakingly beautiful. There’s so much more I could write, but I’ll leave you with my doodles. I decided to let my pen translate my thoughts however it wanted!