No Strings Attached: The Inside Story of Jim Henson's Creature Shop

One of the greatest effects masters still has to be Jim Henson. Without his incredible ingenuity and indispensable team of artisans and craftsman, we would not have the amazing puppets we have today. I encountered Jim's work as a young boy, through shows like The Muppets, Labyrinth and even one of my secret favorites, The Dark Crystal. I was amazed by the work and the level of detail that they strove to achieve. While my later interests were more towards Tom Savini and the late Stan Winston's work, I still have a place for Jim Henson. The man made characters, not creatures, that seemed to live and breathe long after the celluloid stopped running. Memorable characters like Kermit the Frog and Missy Piggy, I can't forget Fonzy, Bunsen and Beaker as well. Even the crazy-talking Swedish chef, which still gets a giggle from me. The most memorable were his live-action Ninja Turtles, which till this day still amaze me years later how lifelike they are. Jim Henson was a man of innovation and seeing his work laid out in rare-never-before-seen images of his Creature Shop and the wonderful folks who made these characters come to life. I think ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be like Jim Henson, a masterful puppeteer with incredible ideas and even more wonderful ideas on how to make them come alive. Anyone aspiring to be in animatronics of any type, for film, for fun, or otherwise just curious should own a copy of this book. I was sad to hear in CineFX magazine (it was covering the live action Charolette's Web on the cover) that the original London Creature Shop had to close it's doors for good, as there are more Tax incentives pushing for CG work. But for now, the images of the great shop reside in the pages of this book and in the hearts of those Jim has touched over the years with his wonderful characters.

If you're a fan of Henson's work you'll absolutely die for this book! It's got great coverage over his past movies to 91. Some include The Dark Crystal, The great muppet Caper, and my personal favorite: THe Labyrinth!

This book is great if you want to learn more about the movies that the creature workshop did instead of Jim Henson. Although it does talk alot about him it's more about the workshop he created and left behind. It's a grest book if you love Jim Henson's work and I do !Get it it's great!

Since skipping school to go and watch 'Labyrinth'. I've been fascinated with animatronics. The creatures produced both during and after Jim Henson have been both imaginative and captivating. 'No Strings Attached' is a wonderful book of mechanical invention, artistry and imagination. Being someone who loves to watch 'The making of..' specials on TV whenever a new special-effects blockbuster comes out, I found this book catered to my 'Wow! How did they do that?' curiosity. I am a great fan of puppetry but I am a biased fan of Jim Henson...if you buy this book, turn to page 112, the girl kneeling on one knee on the bottom right corner is yours truly!

An outstanding piece of work, beyond overdue, but worth the wait. This beautifully presented, comprehensive book covers "Jim Henson's Creature Shop's" work from its very inception, including such Fantasy films as `The Dark Crystal' and `Labyrinth,' right up to their most recent stunningly realistic contributions in `Babe,' `101 Dalmatians,' and `Buddy.' Includes glorious full colour photographs of what happened behind-the-scenes, and plenty of anecdotes from the people who were there explaining the evolution of ideas into finished product. Any fan of the legendary Jim Henson, of puppeteering, animatronics, or any kind of Special Effects would love - and be enthralled by - the hundreds of never-before-seen photographs of the masters of their craft creating their wonderful characters, and at how the late Jim Henson's influence even now instills the performers and craftspeople with the drive to be nothing less than the best at what they do. I so dearly wanted to meet Jim one day; this book may be the closest I'll get. Still, I may be fortunate enough to instead meet his son Brian, who has taken over from his father admirably. I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It will be an inspiration to all who read it.