Leading our creative team are two key members of the original Muppet Show, Michael Frith and Kathy Mullen. Michael, who brought the likes of Gonzo, Animal, and Fozzie Bear into our lives as art director, designer and head of creative services with the Jim Henson Company over 21 years, gives our films their look with his whimsical puppet and set designs that appeal to all ages. His wife Kathy (above, on the set of ChucheQhalin), is our writer and creative director, and shares a similar professional history.

For their team, puppetry is a magical world where anything can happen because it feels safe for the audience. An actual boy wouldn’t recover so easily after losing a leg to a landmine. A fisherman couldn’t realistically survive all those disasters. There is none of the real trauma, the actual sadness. It makes difficult messages much easier to confront.

Working with experts from some of the world’s leading international NGOs and reflecting research with potential beneficiaries, key messages are woven into compelling storylines. Some of our films deal with issues that are difficult to talk about because of fear, shame, embarrassment, but because they use puppets they can navigate these things much more lightly. 

Dubbed into local languages, films present key messages that can transform a child's understanding of complex issues or make their world safer, or which can support caregivers in parenting roles where lives have been torn apart. With a timeless quality, our films are designed to remain in their audiences’ imaginations to challenge perceptions and behaviours for greater community wellbeing.