"Monster Maker" is a 1989 45-minute television special, adapted by Matthew Jacobs from the 1979 novel of the same name by

Nicholas Fisk David Higginbottom (14 October 1923 – 10 May 2016), pen name Nicholas Fisk, was a British writer of science fiction books, mainly for children. His works include ''Grinny'', ''You Remember Me'', ''Space Hostages'', and ''Trillions''. ...

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...

plays an American Special Effects expert living in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, who is befriended by a young fan named Matt Banting (played by Kieran O'Brien). From

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) an ...

's London-based

Henson Associates The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

, it was produced by Duncan Kenworthy and directed by

Giles Foster Giles Foster has been an English television director since 1975, specialising in television dramas. He has also directed in Australia and in Germany (2012-2014). He wrote some television dramas in the 1970s. He is from Bath, Somerset and was ed ...

. The show aired as a standalone special in the UK. In the US, it aired as an episode of '' The Jim Henson Hour''.

Introduction

talks about the Creature Shop, showing one of the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

s from '' The Storyteller'' as an example of what the Creature Shop can make. A puppet later used as The Predator on ''

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

'' can also be seen in a movie that Matt is watching. He then introduces the ''Monster Maker''.

Plot

Teenager Matt Banting wants to work with a famous but eccentric creature/fx (special effects) man, but he gets more than he bargained for when one of the creatures, the giant dragon-like Ultragorgon seems to come to life and takes Matt under his wing. Matt is forced to confront his inner monsters while working out his issues with his father.

Conclusion

Jim Henson mentions that although the creatures look real, they are not actually alive. He tells how many performers were needed for the Ultragorgon (including Brian Henson operating the head). He also brings out

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably '' Sesame Street'' and '' The Muppet Show'', as ...

who comments that he liked the special.

Notes

* This episode was later re-aired as a stand-alone special without the framing introduction and closing, or The Jim Henson Hour title/logos.

Credits

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

as Ultragorgon (voice) * Jonathan Coy as Teacher * Matthew Scurfield as Vaughn * Bill Moody as Reg *

Grant Bardsley Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States *Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

as Ben *

Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as ...

as Perriwinkle * Amanda Dickinson as Mother * George Costigan as Father *

as Chancey Bellow * Kieran O'Brien as Matt Banting Ultragorgon operated by Martin Anthony, Tony Ashton, Michael Bayliss, Marcus Clarke, Sue Dacre, David Greenaway,

Brian Henson Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, director, producer, voice actor and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson. Early life Henson was born on November 3, 1963, in ...

, and Christopher Leith.

External links

* Puppet films The Jim Henson Company films Television shows based on British novels Films directed by Giles Foster {{tv-episode-stub