The Surprising Movie That Resulted in Jim Henson’s Only Oscar Nomination

While many of us know him as the creative genius behind the Muppets, Jim Henson once had dreams of being a serious filmmaker. His puppets were originally intended to be just a stepping stone towards work in the film and TV industry. It was only after the skyrocketing success of Sesame Street and The Muppet Show that Henson fully committed to switching gears and leaving his mark on comedy and family entertainment.

It's crazy to think that Henson could have been anything other than the creator of the Muppets, but his work as a director proved that his talent spanned several genres and industries. The only Oscar nomination Henson received wasn't for his comedies, but for a dramatic short film he directed, wrote, and starred in. Time Piece (1965) was nothing like Henson's other works, and it showed a rare side of the "Idea Man."

Henson's Career Beginnings

Henson had been interested in TV and film since childhood, and in high school, he joined a puppetry club. He grew so skilled that his puppets were featured in a local TV program. By college, Henson and his friend, Jane Nebel, had their own show, Sam and Friends. The show featured some of the very first Muppets, including an early Kermit the Frog.

The show won an Emmy in 1959 and led to the creation of Muppet Inc., which would later be renamed the Jim Henson Company. The show and the puppets provided enough financial support for Henson to start dabbling in short films. He could finally work on a passion project, and he created Time Piece.

Time Piece

Time Piece is not a film designed to provide light-hearted entertainment, so if you go in hoping for some laughs or nice, fluffy media, you will be disappointed. This nine-minute film is what critics and film students would call avant-garde, but it seems designed to make the general populace go, "Huh?" Only one word is spoken throughout the film: "Help." Everything else is just action set to music and transition animation sequences.

The film follows a man (Henson) as he struggles with the passing of time. Sometimes, he is going with the flow, while at other points he's suddenly stuck in precarious situations and calling for help. At times he's a modern man walking to work, until the scene flashes and he's a caveman wandering through a jungle. It ends with a close-up of a golden clock, alluding to the futility of fighting against time.

Oscar Nomination

Henson was basically a one-man show when it came toTime Piece. He directed, produced, wrote the script, animated the transitions, and starred in the short film. Enid Cafritz played the wife, and fellow puppeteer Frank Oz even made an appearance as the messenger boy. Though it might feel a bit "far-out" to some of us, the film industry of the '60s, including the Academy Award nominators, felt it was fresh and bold.

Time Piece was nominated for the Short Subject (Live Action) Award at the 38th Academy Awards in 1966. It lost to a short film titled The Chicken (Le Poulet). Afterward, Henson made one more experimental short, also released in 1966, called Idea Man. That short was shown on The Mike Douglas Show, but did not receive any recognition from the Oscars or other awards.

Henson's Permanent Switch to Comedy

If Henson had really gone after the high-brow, psychological films that he initially wanted to make, he probably would have still succeeded. Instead, he was offered the chance to work on Sesame Street in 1969, and the rest was history. He stayed with puppetry, creating some of the most iconic characters and whimsical worlds of all time.

Jim Henson left this world far too soon, at only 53 years old. He passed away in 1990, but he would have turned 90 years old on September 24, 2026. We'll never see what he would have made with all the technology we have today, but we can marvel at the talent and ingenuity he had, even in his most experimental pieces.