Muppets & Magic: Celebrating 70 Years of Jim Henson

Muppets & Magic: Celebrating 70 Years of Jim Henson is a 2024 fantasy comedy television special produced by The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop, and The Muppets Studio, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the career and legacy of Jim Henson (Henson first broke onto television in June 1954, as a puppeteer on the short-lived series The Junior Morning Show). The half-hour special, written by Ryan Dosier and Joe Hennes, and directed by Marilyn Agrelo, was simulcast on HBO and Disney Channel on June 19, 2024 (the 70th anniversary of the first episode of The Junior Morning Show).

In the special's main plot, Brian Henson, chairman of his father's company, has finished showing a high school student around the Jim Henson Company. The student, who wishes to start working for the company when he's older, asks Brian what it would be like if the puppets Jim had created for so many years could talk. Brian laughs it off, but as the student leaves, he mutters, "Oh, the stories they'd have to tell..." before heading home for the day. Inside the Jim Henson Company, Elmo, from Sesame Street, climbs out of a picture of himself on one of its walls, followed by Abby Cadabby, also from Sesame Street. Having overheard something about 70 years, and taking it to be like a celebration, Elmo and Abby get the idea to take an outdoor anniversary group photo. With a wave of her wand and some magic words ("Fabric, fleece, and foam sublime! Come on out, it's picture time!"), Abby brings all of the pictures of Muppets and Creatures from across the company to life. Since the photo shoot isn't due to happen until midnight, this gives everyone plenty of time to interact and mingle with each other; most of the special consists of interactions between characters from various Jim Henson Company productions.

In the special's subplot, Red Fraggle, from Fraggle Rock, develops romantic feelings for her best friend Mokey Fraggle, also from Fraggle Rock, and she doesn't know what she should do. However, after encouragement and advice from Pepe the King Prawn and Bobo the Bear, both from The Muppets, as well as Abby Cadabby, Red decides to talk to Mokey about her feelings. Red reveals that her feelings for Mokey are so strong that she actually asks Mokey to marry her, something that Mokey secretly hoped would happen. This leads to a wedding between the two Fraggles presided over by Bobo, with Pepe as the ring bearer.

In the special's climax, characters from every Jim Henson Company production ever made heads outside for the photo shoot. However, just as they're about to take the photo, it begins raining. Everyone is about to give up on the photo and head back inside, before Kermit the Frog's nephew Robin, playing a tiny banjo, starts playing the opening riff to "Rainbow Connection". As more Muppets join in playing musical instruments, many others begin singing the iconic Muppet song, and before the final verse, the rain stops, forming a massive rainbow in the sky. The final shot of the special sees the massive photo being taken.