Ted Danson and the Jim Henson Company’s Award-Winning Sci-Fi Classic Turns 30

6 Feb at 15:04 Comment Views: 7

Lemuel Gulliver restrained by the tiny inhabitants of Lilliput

At the 1996 Emmy Awards, a standout victor emerged from a familiar literary well. While Jonathan Swift’s classic has been adapted countless times, this specific two-part miniseries was a technical and narrative marvel for its era. It didn’t just capture the audience’s imagination; it secured the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries, alongside accolades for its sharp writing, meticulous art direction, and groundbreaking visual effects.

Produced as a joint venture between The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, Gulliver’s Travels debuted in early February 1996, airing on NBC in the States and Channel 4 in the UK. Beyond its trophy cabinet, critics were enamored by the production’s unabashed scale. Most cinematic versions of the 1726 satire trim the fat, focusing only on the famous tiny people, but this iteration dared to depict all four of Gulliver’s voyages. This fidelity was a non-negotiable for producer Duncan Kenworthy, who first pitched the concept to Jim Henson in the late 1980s. Though the project lingered in development hell for years—eventually surfacing six years after Henson’s passing—Kenworthy’s literary dedication remained the project’s north star.

To celebrate three decades of this landmark production, Polygon sat down with Kenworthy and director Charles Sturridge. They revisited their most vivid experiences from Gulliver’s odyssey, the uphill battle of getting the series greenlit, and the then-controversial decision to cast Cheers icon Ted Danson as the quintessential English explorer, Lemuel Gulliver.

The Legacy of a Henson Vision

Kenworthy traces the project’s roots back to the late ’80s, sparked by high-profile producer David Puttnam and Uberto Pasolini. At the time, Kenworthy was running production for the Henson Company and felt a personal connection to the material. “Having studied English at Cambridge, I was drawn to complex literary adaptations,” he notes. They enlisted screenwriter Simon Moore to begin the arduous task of translating the 18th-century prose for a modern television audience.

While Jim Henson’s direct involvement was cut short, his creative DNA remained. Kenworthy recalls one pivotal piece of advice from the puppetry pioneer: “He told me to vary the perspectives. Don’t let it become a static play where a man simply narrates a story in a barn. You have to take the viewer into the world.” This led to the series’ clever framing device, where Gulliver returns to a skeptical England, his tales of giants and talking horses perceived as the ravings of a madman.

Duncan Kenworthy, Jim Henson, and John Hurt on a film set — Kenworthy (right) alongside Jim Henson (center) and John Hurt during the production of *The Storyteller*.

Despite the production challenges, Kenworthy refused to compromise on the scope. “I wanted the full text represented,” he says. “To do it justice, we had to include all four voyages, staying as faithful to the source material as a visual medium allows.” The project eventually stalled until Kenworthy’s success with Four Weddings and a Funeral provided the necessary industry leverage to finally set Gulliver in motion.

The Ted Danson Conundrum

In 1995, while attending the Academy Awards, Kenworthy crossed paths with Ted Danson. A quick friendship formed, and Kenworthy convinced the actor to take the lead. On paper, casting an American sitcom star as a British literary hero seemed eccentric—especially since Danson didn’t even attempt a British accent. However, Kenworthy saw an inherent warmth and “root-ability” in Danson that made the fantastical journey feel grounded. Because the original book was a satire, the team felt they had license to be bold with their casting.

Director Charles Sturridge even offered a pseudo-historical defense for Danson’s voice: “We debated the accent extensively. I argued that in the late 17th century, the British accent was actually closer to what we now consider American. He was speaking the English of the time, before the Victorian ‘posh’ accent became the standard. In a way, he was more authentic than the British actors around him.”

Lilliput: A Study in Power Dynamics

Director Charles Sturridge on set with actor Edward Fox — Director Charles Sturridge (right) confers with Edward Fox as General Limtoc.

The voyage to Lilliput is arguably the most iconic chapter of Swift’s work. It features the surreal image of a giant Gulliver dwarfed by the egos of the tiny inhabitants. The interplay between Danson and Peter O’Toole, who played the Lilliputian Emperor, became a highlight of the production. O’Toole’s performance was a masterclass in regal arrogance; he treated the giant as just another lowly subject.

Sturridge remembers a telling rehearsal: “Ted was standing on a ladder to simulate the height difference while Peter was on the floor. Peter looked up and said, ‘I understand the relationship now.’ I thought he meant the physical size, but he clarified: ‘I am a King. He is not.’ He completely ignored the scale and focused on the status, which was brilliant.”

The Emperor of Lilliput addressing Gulliver

Brobdingnag: The Challenge of Scale

When Gulliver travels to Brobdingnag, the tables turn, and he becomes the miniature curiosity in a land of giants. One of the most visceral sequences involves an attack by colossal wasps. Interestingly, Sturridge opted for practical effects over puppetry where possible. “We were working just before the CGI revolution truly took hold,” he explains. “For the wasp battle, we used real insects. We filmed hours of footage of wasps in a glass tank and meticulously edited the shots where they seemed to be reacting to Ted.”

The Henson Creature Shop was eager to contribute their world-class expertise, but Sturridge was hesitant to rely on puppets. Eventually, he relented: “The shop really wanted a piece of Gulliver. I didn’t want the show to feel like a ‘puppet movie,’ but they built one magnificent giant wasp. We used it for a single shot, mostly because we’d already paid for it!”

The Wisdom of the Houyhnhms

In the final leg of his journey, Gulliver encounters the Houyhnhms—intellectual, talking horses that contrast sharply with the savage, human-like Yahoos. Casting the horses required more than just finding well-trained animals; it required finding “actors.”

“A trainer showed me several horses capable of performing standard tricks—nodding on cue or pawing the ground. But they just looked irritable to me,” Sturridge recalls. “I wanted them to radiate intelligence. I spent time walking through the stables and noticed one horse that leaned out with genuine interest to see who we were. I realized that curiosity is the hallmark of intelligence. We cast that horse because he seemed genuinely observant, rather than just well-drilled.”

A Triumph of Satire and Spectacle

The miniseries was a cultural phenomenon, though Sturridge attributes much of its initial pull to a massive marketing blitz. “It was designed to be addictive, moving the viewer seamlessly from one wonder to the next. NBC threw everything at the promotion—even painted buses. The huge audience was a testament to both the show’s quality and some sensational publicity.”

For Kenworthy, the project was the culmination of a decade-long dream. The critical acclaim and industry awards were deeply satisfying, but more importantly, he felt they captured the core of Swift’s wit. “It maintained its sense of humor,” Kenworthy concludes, “and I like to think that was Jim Henson’s playful spirit shining through.”

Source: Polygon