The movie’s designer Brian Froud and his wife, creative workshop artist Wendy, offered up their own infant son Toby when director Jim Henson was casting the role. The filmmaker thought it would be a good idea to have mum and dad on set and so put the newborn in the picture – as teenage Jennifer Connelly’s baby brother.
But Brian tells Press Association the first time Bowie held the child wasn’t exactly a dream meeting.
“Unfortunately, I had designed these rather slimline nappies because big nappies would have got in the way of the look, but they were useless,” he explains, “so the first thing that Toby did when he met David Bowie in the first shot was pee all over him. David took it all in good part.”
And he reveals his wife doubled up as a baby catcher on set and spent many scenes beneath Bowie.
“My wife Wendy was actually, strangely enough, on her knees out of shot, just at crotch-level of David, in case he dropped the baby, ready to catch him,” he laughs.
But the designer admits it was a true joy to work with his rock hero, adding, “It was the first time I met him. We were in his dressing room and it was about three or four days before we started the film, and we had made him a little bone flute as a gift.
“He just took it and he just leapt up on to the dressing table, hunkered down and played a wonderful little spooky tune on the flute. He was very Pan-like. It was rather scary but so magical.”
Froud, who has released early sketches of the creatures he created for the 1986 movie to mark the film’s 30th anniversary, believes it’s time for the magical project to hit the stage as a musical.
“Maybe oddly enough the future of all this is on the stage,” he adds. “I just feel it’s an absolute gift to do it on stage. People would come and sing the songs, and dress up I think.”
