Movies - TV
Jim Henson Secretly Saved E.T. For Steven Spielberg
By SANDY SCHAEFER
Jim Henson had a profound impact on television and film with shows like “Sesame Street” and “Muppet Babies.” He even helped with Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
At the 2023 L.A. Comic Con, Guy Gilchrist, a lead creative on many of Henson’s projects, mentioned that “[...] Jim fixed E.T. because E.T. didn't work.”
The E.T. animatronic was fairly sophisticated, so it only makes sense that Spielberg would ask an expert in that field, like Henson, for help.
Spielberg showed his immense respect for Henson’s work in “E.T.” with the inclusion of “Sesame Street” playing on a TV and visible Muppet dolls in a closet.