Jim Henson Shows Everybody How To Make Puppets

It’s one thing to watch this video and see the rare sight of Jim Henson interacting with his creations instead of performing as them.  It’s another to hear his undisguised voice, which still has so much of Kermit in it.

But it’s nothing short of stunning to watch a few very talented people take some scraps of cloth, styrofoam, and double-sided tape, and make living characters out of them in a matter of seconds.  To look at something that isn’t real, and think “Oh my god, that’s a person.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the magic at the heart of good storytelling.

This clip aired in 1969, only months before the debut of Sesame Street, and years before The Muppet Show.

(via Boing Boing.)