Beyond the Muppets

The timing is almost too perfect. Kermit — like french fries, the Super Bowl, and learning to ride a bicycle — is one of those unique and ubiquitous parts of Americana that we all share. Whether Kermit’s green foam skin and ping-pong-ball eyes were first seen on a 1960s talk show, on Sesame Street in the 1970s, in “The Great Muppet Caper’’ in the 1980s, or more recently as part of a genius Muppet YouTube video in which dozens of Muppets gleefully massacre Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,’’ he is a universally loved cultural figure whom multiple generations eagerly claim as their own. Kermit and his anthropomorphic friends are a part of history we all relate to.

Kermit is one of the first things visitors see as they enter the new exhibition “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World,’’ at the National Heritage Museum. But those expecting a Muppet-centric exhibition may be disappointed. Favorites such as Rowlf, the piano-playing dog, and longtime “Sesame Street’’ buddies Ernie and Bert are on display, but the primary goal of the show is to allow a look into the fertile imagination of Jim Henson, who died 20 years ago at age 53 of bacterial pneumonia.

“We didn’t want to do a big Muppet exhibition,’’ explains Karen Falk, archivist at the Jim Henson Company in New York. “People know the Muppets, and they know ‘Sesame Street,’ and of course they love them. But we really wanted people to know about Jim Henson the man, how he came up with his ideas, how he shared them with other people, and how he made them happen on the screen. It’s all very personal. All of the artwork in the exhibition was done by Jim from his own hand.’’

“Fantastic World’’ actually started life as an art show. Falk was hired to put the Henson archives in order 18 years ago, and she was initially surprised at the abundance of artwork she found as she started transforming the higgledy-piggledy collection of papers, press clippings, and drawings into a proper archive, which now numbers about 30,000 pieces. She found everything from posters Henson created for high school dances to his original sketches for Big Bird.

Since Falk’s background is curatorial, her instinct was to display the art. That led to a small exhibit in 1996 — a show that became the basis of “Fantastic World.’’ “We have this wonderful collection,’’ Falk says. “Not just of puppets, but of artwork, and we really wanted to give people a chance to see that.’’

Falk worked with Henson’s children and widow to create a look into the influential puppeteer’s life, beginning with his first 1955 TV show “Sam and Friends’’ and leading up to his last film projects, “The Dark Crystal’’ and “Labyrinth.’’ Partnering with the Smithsonian, they created the exhibition that opened three years ago in Arkansas and has since toured the country. This is its first New England stop. At the end of the show’s tour, the family will make a sizable donation to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, which has plans to build a Jim Henson wing.

Walking through the exhibition hall, it becomes clear that Henson’s brain harbored an active fantasy world of Fraggles, frogs, and many creatures of indeterminable origin. What exactly are those horned, hot pink animals best known for singing “Mahna Mahna’’? But Henson also had a life outside of his puppets. In 1966, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his short film “Time Piece.’’ He also directed “Youth ’68,’’ a look at Woodstock-era hippie culture, for NBC. He also coauthored a drama called “The Cube’’ for the “NBC Experiment in Television’’ series. And he developed — and eventually abandoned — plans to create a nightclub. Meanwhile, he developed Muppets to appear with Nancy Sinatra in her live Las Vegas special.

“We really start at the beginning with how his creative thinking developed as a child,’’ Falk says. “And from there we go into his early work. A lot of people don’t know that a lot of these characters got their start in the early television commercials. A lot of people don’t know that he made experimental films. For me, that was a revelation when I started developing the archives.’’

Some of Henson’s early experimental films can be seen this month at the Brattle Theatre. Beginning on Friday, the Brattle begins screening some of Henson’s better-known films (“Labyrinth,’’ “Follow That Bird,’’ “The Muppet Movie,’’ “The Muppets Take Manhattan’’) along with a program of rarities, including the early commercials, talk show appearances, and other films Henson created before rocketing to fame with 1969’s “Sesame Street’’ and 1976’s “The Muppet Show.’’

The puppets that ended up in the exhibition are those most closely associated with Henson, such as Kermit, who is regarded as Henson’s green alter ego. The show has broken attendance records at other venues where it has toured.

The Muppets are also at the beginning stages of a renaissance. “How I Met Your Mother’’ star Jason Segel is currently penning a script for a new Disney-produced Muppet movie, while “Fraggle Rock’’ and “Dark Crystal’’ movies are currently in development. But Anderson Stelling sees another reason for strong interest in the show.

“People feel a strong connection to these characters,’’ she says as she looks at a case containing the iconic puppets Ernie and Bert. “They grew up with them. I think everybody can relate to these creatures. We’ve all got a bit of their craziness inside of us.’’

Christopher Muther can be reached at muther@globe.com.