On December 10 and 16 Only, Families Can Celebrate the Season  in Movie Theaters Nationwide With ‘Jim Henson’s Holiday Special’

DENVER – November 13, 2018 – Two heartwarming holiday specials that many of today’s parents grew up with on television are making their cinematic debuts when Fathom Events and The Jim Henson Company present “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” and “The Bells of Fraggle Rock” on December 10 and 16 only.

This first-ever “Jim Henson’s Holiday Special” brings together these two holiday classics – each recently remastered – as well as an all-new featurette, “Memories of the Jug-Band,” with a surprise celebrity guest, along with a special greeting from Cheryl Henson, daughter of Jim Henson and president of the Jim Henson Foundation.

Tickets for “Jim Henson’s Holiday Special” are available at www.FathomEvents.comor at participating theater box offices.

“Jim Henson’s Holiday Special” will play in nearly 600 movie theaters nationwide on Monday, December 10, at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and Sunday, December 16, at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. (all local times).  (Announcement continues below image.)

The touching musical holiday fable “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas,” directed by Jim Hensonand featuring songs and music by Paul Williams, was hailed as an instant classic when it premiered on HBO in 1977. “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” tells a simple but timeless tale of devotion between a mother and her son: Ma Otter (performed by Frank Oz, voiced by Marilyn Sokol) and Emmet Otter (performed by Jerry Nelson) have no money, but they want to do something special for each other at Christmas. They both decide to enter the local talent show to win the first prize of $50 — money that could change the holidays for them. “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” also features performances by Richard Hunt,Dave Goelz, Jim Henson and Eren Ozker.

“‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ was a favorite project for my dad since it included such sweet characters, Paul Williams’ delightful music, and a timeless holiday message. Also, the special was a great opportunity for him to experiment with puppetry techniques and effects that would be seen in his later works,” said Cheryl Henson. “The citizens of Frogtown Hollow are sure to look their best in this remastered version. And it is exciting for families to share this holiday classic along with the special episode ‘The Bells of FraggleRock,’ a rare opportunity to see the Fraggles on the big screen, and to introduce these beloved characters to a whole new audience.”

“The Bells of Fraggle Rock” was first seen on December 24, 1984, when it premiered as a holiday-themed episode of the critically acclaimed, award-winning series “Fraggle Rock.” Deftly addressing the melancholy many people feel during the holidays as they struggle to find meaning in this special time of year, “The Bells of Fraggle Rock” begins as Gobo Fraggle (Jerry Nelson) wonders why he doesn’t have his normal excitement over The Festival of the Bells, the most wonderful day of the year for Fraggles. Though his friends (Dave Goelz, Karen Prell, Kathryn Mullen, Steve Whitmire) try to cheer him up, Gobo ventures on an expedition to the center of Fraggle Rock – a journey that teaches him the importance of individual faith.

“These two unique and well-loved classics from Jim Henson offer an exciting new way for families to spend the holidays together, enjoying classic entertainment that will be nostalgic for parents and delightfully new for kids,” said Tom Lucas, Fathom Events VP of Studio Relations.

In addition to the in-cinema presentation of “Jim Henson’s Holiday Special,” Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will debut “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” on Blu-ray December 18, which will include the all new “A Jug-Band Revival” featurette and more. Fans can also enjoy more Fraggle fun with “Fraggle Rock: The Complete Series,” available now, for the first time ever, on Blu-ray.

About Fathom Events

Fathom Events is the leading event cinema distributor with theater locations in all top 100 DMAs® (Designated Market Areas) and ranks as one of the largest overall theater content distributors. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), Fathom Events offers a variety of unique entertainment events in movie theaters such as live performances of the Metropolitan Opera, top Broadway stage productions, major sporting events, epic concerts, the yearlong TCM Big Screen Classics series, inspirational events and popular anime franchises. Fathom Events takes audiences behind the scenes for unique extras including audience Q&As, backstage footage and interviews with cast and crew, creating the ultimate VIP experience. Fathom Events’ live Digital Broadcast Network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast network in North America, bringing live and pre-recorded events to 967 locations and 1,517 screens in 181 DMAs. The company also provides corporations a compelling national footprint for hosting employee meetings, customer rewards events and new product launches. For more information, visit www.FathomEvents.com.

About The Jim Henson Company 

The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 60 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world-famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include Dot. (Universal Kids /Hulu), Word Party (Netflix), and Doozers (Hulu/ Sprout), and the Emmy®-nominated Splash and Bubbles (PBS), Julie’s Greenroom (Netflix), Sid the Science Kid (PBS), Dinosaur Train (PBS), and Pajanimals (Universal Kids). Television productions include Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller and the sci-fi cult series Farscape. Features include Sony Pictures Animation’s The Star and Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, as well as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, MirrorMask, and Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow. The Company is currently in production on the upcoming Netflix original series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistanceand Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio(Netflix). Projects in development include the highly anticipated film Fraggle Rock.

With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and post production facilities. The Company is home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television, theme park and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand recently premiered The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (Netflix) andis currently touring Puppet-Up! – Uncensored, a live puppet improvisational show.  Its feature The Happytime Murders, starring Melissa McCarthy, was released last summer.

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