The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company ( also known at various times as Muppets , Inc . , Henson Associates , and Jim Henson Productions ) is an American entertainment company , a leading producer of children ' s and family entertainment , and best known as the creator of the renowned Muppets characters . Founded in 1958 by Jim Henson , the company has produced such successful television series as " The Muppet Show " , " Fraggle Rock " , " Bear in the Big Blue House " , and " Farscape " , as well as creating the Muppet characters for the Sesame Workshop children ' s series , " Sesame Street " . Henson has also produced motion pictures including " The Muppet Movie " , " The Great Muppet Caper " , " The Dark Crystal " , and " Labyrinth " . The company also operates Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop , a puppet , animatronics , and visual effects workshop . The Henson Company entered a merger agreement with The Walt Disney Company in 1989 , but the deal fell through after founder Jim Henson ' s death in 1990 , and the company was subsequently taken over by the Henson family . In 2000 , Henson was sold to German media company EM . TV & Merchandising AG , but after EM . TV ' s stock collapsed , the company was sold back to the Henson family in 2003 . In 2004 , Henson sold the rights to the Muppets and " Bear in the Big Blue House " to The Walt Disney Company , but retains the rest of its characters , program library , and assets . History . Jim Henson and his performing partner and future wife Jane Nebel officially founded Muppets Inc . in 1958 , three years after the debut of " Sam and Friends " . Aside from " Sam and Friends " , the majority of work that the company had until 1969 was creating characters for various commercials , variety show appearances , and a few meeting films for various companies ( the company would produce its own Muppet Meeting Films from 1975 through 1999 ) . In 1969 , the company started creating characters for the popular children ' s show " Sesame Street " . One of the company ' s first characters to be seen regularly on national television was Rowlf the Dog , who was initially created for Purina Dog Chow commercials and soon became famous when he became a regular character on " The Jimmy Dean Show " from 1963 - 1966 . During this time , the show ' s host , Jimmy Dean , was given an opportunity to own forty percent of the company . However , Dean turned the offer down because he didn ' t feel that he had earned it . For many years , Jim Henson had tried to sell several different shows to the major networks , all of which turned them down . Some ideas ( such as " Tales of the Tinkerdee " ) were made as unaired pilots , and some ( such as " The Zoocus " ) were never produced . Then , in 1976 , Jim Henson was able to produce " The Muppet Show " for syndication . The success of " The Muppet Show " led to many movies , specials , videos , and more . " The Muppet Show " was originally owned by the British company ITC , but Jim Henson later purchased the rights to the show . In the early 1980s , Jim Henson also formed Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop , which would go on to create characters for shows such as " The StoryTeller " , " Farscape " , and " Dinosaurs " ; and movies such as " The Dark Crystal " and " Labyrinth " . It was also during the 1980s that Jim Henson produced new television series such as " Fraggle Rock " and " The Jim Henson Hour " . In August 1989 , Jim Henson entered negotiations to sell the company to The Walt Disney Company for a reported $ 150 million . The deal was to include the entire Henson operation , except for the rights to the " Sesame Street " characters . However , on May 16 , 1990 , Henson passed away unexpectedly , before the deal was completed . The two companies resumed negotiations , but after Disney and the Henson family failed to reach an accord , the merger was called off in December 1990 , and Henson remained an independent company . In 1999 , the Jim Henson Company , along with Hallmark Entertainment , held partial interests in two cable channels , The Kermit Channel ( which was broadcast in Asia ) and The Odyssey Channel ( which was broadcast in the United States ) . In 2001 , after Crown Media ( the cable operator controlled by Hallmark Cards ) gained full control of the network , Odyssey was relaunched as The Hallmark Channel . In 2000 , Jim Henson ’ s children sold the entire company ( including the " Sesame Street " characters ) to German media company EM . TV & Merchandising AG for $ 680 million . In June of that year , EM . TV sold its stakes in the Odyssey and Kermit networks to Crown Media in exchange for an 8 . 2 % stake in Crown Media . In late 2000 , after EM . TV subsequently experienced major financial problems , it sold the rights to the " Sesame Street " Muppets and Henson ' s interest in the Noggin cable network to Sesame Workshop , and by the spring of 2001 , just one year after buying the company , EM . TV had officially put the remainder of The Jim Henson Company up for sale . The Walt Disney Company , HIT Entertainment , TV mogul Haim Saban , Classic Media , Entertainment Rights , Viacom , and a management - led buyout headed by then - Henson CEO Charles Rivkin , were among the parties who showed interest in buying the Henson company . In December of 2002 , a deal was announced in which EM . TV would sell a 49 . 9 % stake in Henson to an investment group led by Dean Valentine , a former executive at Disney and at UPN . However in March 2003 , the deal fell through , and the search for a new buyer resumed . On May 7 , 2003 , the Henson family , led by Brian Henson , re - acquired the Jim Henson Company from EM . TV for $ 84 million , and the company was once again independent . In 2004 , almost one year after ownership of the Henson company was returned to the family ' s hands , The Jim Henson Company sold the rights to and " Bear in the Big Blue House " characters to The Walt Disney Company , who now control the Muppets through the wholly - owned subsidiary The Muppets Studio ( formerly Muppets Holding Company LLC ) . Recent Projects . Since regaining its independence in 2003 , Henson has produced several children ' s television series for PBS Kids - including " Sid the Science Kid " , " Dinosaur Train " , " " . The company has also produced " The Possibility Shop " for DisneyFamily . com and " Pajanimals " for Sprout . A web series pilot , " Teeny Tiny Dogs " , was created for Amazon . com . The company also produces the reality competition series , " Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop Challenge " , for the SyFy network . Through its partnership with Archaia Entertainment , the Jim Henson Company has developed comic books and graphic novels based on several established properties , including " Fraggle Rock " , " " , " Labyrinth " , " The Storyteller " , " The Skrumps " , and an unproduced Henson screenplay , " Tale of Sand " . Since 2005 , the company has developed more mature comedy content under the Henson Alternative banner . The brand recently launched the national tour of " Stuffed and Unstrung , " a live puppet improvisational show . The company is also releasing original web series , including " The Simian Undercover Detective Squad " and " Alt / Reality " , on YouTube and other networks . Additionally , Henson is also developing a feature film , " Happytime Murders " , for release under the Henson Alternative banner . In 2013 , Henson Alternative debuted its satirical program , " No , You Shut Up ! " , on the Fusion channel . In addition to the Creature Shop and its extensive character catalogue and library , Henson also runs Henson Recording Studios . HRS is one of the leading music recording facilities in the industry and is located at the Jim Henson Company lot in Hollywood , CA , formerly the A & M Records headquarters , and originally the Charlie Chaplin Studio lot . The Company also runs the Jim Henson ' s Red Book , a blog comprised on photos and historical informaton from The Jim Henson Company Archives . Henson Independent Properties ( HiP ) , a third party licensing banner , was established by the company in 2009 to acquire and service consumer products for external brands and properties . Current HiP properties include Skatelab , and The String Doll Gang . The company also recently contributed to BBC1 ' s Saturday evening television show " That Puppet Game Show " . Some of the episodes were directed by Brian Henson , who is one of the executive producer and also puppeteers various characters in the show . Corporate Leadership . The Jim Henson Company is independently owned and operated by the four adult children of Jim Henson - - Brian , Lisa , Cheryl , and Heather - - who all also sit on the company ' s board of directors . Sibling and fellow co - owner John Henson sat on the board until his death in February 2014 . Harvey Gettleson , John Hyde and Robin Russell also sit on the board . Brian Henson serves as Chairman of The Jim Henson Company , while sister Lisa serves as Chief Executive Officer and President . Former Company Titles . According to documents retrieved from the District of Columbia Archives , Articles of Incorporation for Muppets , Inc . were filed September 10 , 1958 in Washington , D . C . by agents acting for Jim Henson and Jane Nebel . The Certificate of Incorporation was granted November 20 of that year . Not until the corporation filed its first annual report in 1959 did the names of Jim Henson and Jane Nebel appear in the city ' s archives . < br > Following the Hensons ' move to New York , a confusing array names were used for the company , including " Uppity Muppets Corp . , " " Muppets Inc . ( New York ) , " " Henson Associates , Inc . , " " Jim Henson Productions , " and " The Jim Henson Company . " At times , two or more names seem to have been used concurrently , as evidenced by information retrieved from the New York State Division of Corporations . An approximate timeline for names of the company is as follows : Lionsgate held the video rights to the Jim Henson Company library from 2009 - 2012 , and currently Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment holds the video rights . However , video releases from these companies have not had special labels for the releases . Distribution Labels . Jim Henson Television . The Jim Henson Company started using the " Jim Henson Television " logo in its programming in 1997 . This logo also replaced the ending " Henson Associates " and " Jim Henson Productions " logo cards in other productions . On " The Muppet Show " , it replaced the ending shot of Zoot , which originally had an in - credit notice over it saying " From ITC Entertainment , " and was altered in the mid - ' 80s to feature the 1980s Henson Associates logo fly out from his sax in a bubble . ( In the Time - Life video and DVD releases , Zoot ' s scenes were included in the first two episodes shown , but were replaced by this logo in the last episode in each release . ) Logos and Logo Sequences . During the 1980s , " Fraggle Rock " , " Muppet Babies " , and other productions used a number of animated logo sequences for Henson Associates , and later Jim Henson Productions . A logo for Henson Associates featured the company ' s HA ! initials , usually written in green on a white background . It had different animations depending on the show , usually either the " HA ! " logo zooming out , or in another variation , the exclamation mark shining . One of the final logos made during the time when the company had its former title had " Jim Henson Productions " written in black letters and on a white background with a green " j " and " h , " with an illustrated Kermit head appearing in place of the " i " in the word " Jim " . However , there was a Henson Associates copyright notice underneath . One of the earliest Jim Henson Productions logo sequences had an animated arm of Kermit putting up a sign that read " Jim Henson Productions " , and after hanging the sign , the sign slid , causing all of the letters to fall off . In some cases , the sign would break off the string and crash to the ground . An alternate version had an arrow sticking the sign to the wall and Kermit pulling his arm out of the frame in shock , another version had the Jim Henson text on a window shade , and then the animated Kermit arm pulls up the window shade , and yet another had the Jim Henson text on a TV screen , with the animated Kermit arm shutting off the TV . Eventually , the logo had " Jim Henson " written in green , with a red underline , with " productions " written in red underneath it , and in front of a black background . Some productions , such as " The Jim Henson Hour " , ended with this logo zooming into frame , with the background fading to black . In early 1990s productions such as " The Muppet Christmas Carol " and " Muppet Treasure Island " ( and all Muppet Babies and other Jim Henson Video releases ) , an animated logo sequence was created in which a laser - like effect drew a Kermit face , which was then colored , and a spark from his eye turned the whole face into a tiny , flying spark , buzzing like a bumblebee , which produced the words " Jim Henson Productions " , and the spark then became the dot on the " i " . This logo has also been used without the logo sequence , sometimes with the spark becoming the dot of the " i " included . The same basic look of this logo card was also used for the Jim Henson Television logo card . On " Dinosaurs " , the logo was accompanied by a pterodactyl who either flew past or sat on the logo . Since the acquisition of the classic Muppets by the Walt Disney Company in 2004 , the colors of the logo were changed to a red signature , with a gray underline and ' The Jim Henson Company ' in gray underneath . This logo has been used as a static caption at the end of Disney - owned , Henson - produced Muppet productions since the Disney acquisition . It is not currently known whether an animated version exists . The Jim Henson Honors . The Jim Henson Company established The Jim Henson Honors in 2005 as an annual program that acknowledges organizations , individuals or products that reflect the core values and philosophy of Jim Henson and the company he founded in 1955 . Honorees are chosen by the artists and staff at The Jim Henson Company , who are asked to nominate recipients who inspire them in their everyday work , maintain similar core values as the company , and of course , reflect Jim Henson ' s commitment to excellence in creativity and innovation . The annual list of recepiants are announced in December .