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| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1979; 46 years ago (1979), inHampstead, England |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | Hollywood, California ,United States |
| Parent | The Jim Henson Company |
| Website | creatureshop |
Jim Henson's Creature Shop is an American animation and special/visual effects company founded in 1979 byJim Henson, creator ofThe Muppets. The company is based inHollywood, California, United States.
Jim Henson's Creature Shop was originally created as a partnership with British illustratorBrian Froud to facilitate the production ofThe Dark Crystal.[1] Originally located inHampstead, London, it received its name in order to differentiate it from Jim Henson's original puppet workshop in New York City.[1] It was then used for future productions such asLabyrinth andThe StoryTeller.[1]
It was relocated toCamden Town following Henson's death in 1990 and his son,Brian Henson, takes it over.[1] A third location inBurbank, California opened to serve Hollywood, and one of its first projects was theDinosaurs television series.[2] Its main animatronic supervisor is London native David Barrington-Holt.[3]
SinceThe Jim Henson Company sold off the rights toThe Muppets brand toDisney in 2004; the Muppet Workshop in New York is now credited as Jim Henson's Creature Shop. In the modern day, the New York shop specializes in hand puppets, including building The Muppets and most of the puppets inSesame Street.[2] The Los Angeles branch creates more realisticanimatronic creatures andcreature suits.[2]
The location at Camden Town, London closed in Spring 2005, and was converted into a luxury apartment known as The Henson.[4]
In addition topractical effects, the shop also specializes in "digital puppetry", a form ofcomputer animation that controls a digital avatar using manual puppet controls to animate them more quickly and easily than if it was entirely digital.[2] This is known as the "Henson Digital Puppetry Studio" and is used extensively in television, including the entirety of the seriesSid the Science Kid.[2]
Besides films, the Creature Shop has created costumes for live events and theme park appearances. They created a realisticSmilodon "full-suit puppet" for a show at theNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County, which cost more than $100,000.[5] Some of their other costumes include the Polar Bear forCoca-Cola,Tony the Tiger,Shrek,Tommy andChuckie fromRugrats, theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,[6] and the animatronics fromFive Nights at Freddy’s. They also createDeadmau5' "mau5heads" for his media appearances and live performances.[7]
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