The King of Eight
From Muppet Wiki
| Written by | Keith Vernon Textor Jim Henson |
| Music by | |
| Lyrics by | |
| Date | |
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| Publisher | Scott-Textor Music Publishing Inc. (ASCAP) |
The King of Eight is a short film produced for Sesame Street by Jim Henson in stop-motion animation, with some puppetry. The short focuses on the title character, the jovial king of a land where everything exists in denominations of the number 8. Speaking in jazzy rhyme, the King presents an inventory of his domain - 8 flags, 8 guards, 8 windows on the castle, and 8 princesses with 8 jewels on their crowns. Rhythmic percussion, of the sort utilized in Time Piece, underlines the dialogue. An interruption by the Court Jester, informing his majesty of an unexpected addition to his family, serves as the punchline.
| Jester: Wait! Important news comes from the Queen, a new baby! And I have seen, that she is well, and doing fine.
King: Good grief, it's princess number nine! | 
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In addition to directing this short film, Henson provided the voices for the King and the Court Jester. Henson also produced a similar short, "The Queen of Six".
Two alternate endings were written for the film; original storyboards for the short that feature alternate news to the King are currently on display as part of the Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit. While the film's actual ending increases the King's family with one new daughter, the first proposed ending would have reduced it by one:
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| Jester: Wait! Important news has happened since: Your eldest daughter eloped with a prince. She left to marry the handsome Kevin.
King: Good grief, I now have only seven! |
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The second proposed ending would have increased the number of daughters by two, giving the kingdom ten princesses:
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| Jester: Wait! Important news your queen sends: She's given birth to a set of twins. That's two new daughters you have, then.
King: Good grief, it's Princess Nine and Ten! |
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Voices
- Jim Henson as The King of 8 and Court Jester
Video releases
- Learning About Numbers
- The Great Numbers Game
- Old School: Volume 1 (in the Season 2 "classic cuts")
