List of live-action puppet films

This is a list of live-action puppet films. They use string or some other form of arm assistant. These films should not be confused with stop-motion animation which use frame by frame technique.

* Labyrinth (1986) - UK

The Christmas Toy (1986) - USA/Canada
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) - USA/UK
Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - USA
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987) - USA
Meet the Feebles (1989) - New Zealand
Monster Maker (1989) - USA
Puppet Master (1989) - USA (film series)

1990s

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990) - USA/West Germany
The Witches (1990) - USA
Dolly Dearest (1991) - USA
Muppet*Vision 3D (1991) - USA
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - USA
Dollman vs. Demonic Toys (1993) - USA
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995) - USA
Muppet Treasure Island (1996) - USA
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) - USA
Buddy (1997) - USA
A Rat's Tale (1997) - Germany/US
Barney's Great Adventure (1998) - USA
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) - USA
Being John Malkovich (1999)- USA
Muppets from Space (1999) - USA
Ragdoll (1999) - USA
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) - USA

2000s

Legend of the Sacred Stone (2000) - Taiwanese
Rat (2000) - USA
The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart (2001) - USA
Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) - USA
The Country Bears (2002) - USA
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) - USA
Good Boy! (2003) - USA
Five Children and It (2003) - USA/UK/France
Strings (2004) - Denmark/Norway/Sweden/UK
Team America: World Police (2004) - USA
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) - USA
MirrorMask (2005) - USA/UK
Dante's Inferno (2007) - USA
Dead Silence (2007) - USA
31 minutos, la película (2008) - Chile/Brazil/Spain
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) - USA

2010s

The Beaver (2011) - USA
The Muppets (2011) - USA
The Greyness of Autumn - (2012) - Scotland
Muppets Most Wanted (2014) - USA
Lessons Learned (2014, short film) - USA
Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (2014) - USA
Beaster Day: Here Comes Peter Cottonhell - USA
Turkey Hollow (2015) - USA/Canada
The Happytime Murders (2018) - USA

2020s

Gulabo Sitabo - (2020) - India
Autumn Never Dies - (2020) - Scotland
A Fairy Tale After All (2022) - USA
Abruptio (2023) - USA
The rise and fall of the Chop Chop Show (2022) - Argentina
Untitled Labyrinth spin-off sequel (TBA) - USA
Muppet Man (TBA) - USA

References

^ "The Great Gabbo". Public Domain Torrents. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
^ https://www.apocalypselaterfilm.com/2018/11/the-limejuice-mystery-1930.html
^ Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-0810832503.
^ Klein, Tom. "Oswald Strings a Treasure, 1936". Cartoon Research, Walter Lantz Archive. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
^ Klein, Tom. "Oswald Strings a Treasure, 1936". Cartoon Research, Walter Lantz Archive. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
^ Patterson, Neal (December 9, 2008). "Once Upon a Toy blog by Polyvinylman". polyvinylman.blogspot.com. Retrieved February 20, 2014. This holiday special, first aired in 1953 and sponsored by Ma Bell, was produced by puppeteer Mabel Beaton. . . . Ms. Beaton started out performing marionette shows for her community in a make-shift theater during the 1930s and 40s. . . . she decided to elevate her puppeteering career by creating filmed marionette programs. She got lucky with her first try out of the gate when she presented her half-hour Christmas special, The Spirit of Christmas, to The Bell Telephone Company. The president enthusiastically green-lit the show as their 1953 Christmas special, and it became their holiday show for the next several years during the 50s. . . . My first exposure to it was in elementary school in the late 60s/early 70s. Every year, on the last day before Christmas vacation, the teacher would drag out that clunky 16 mm projector and put on the threadbare film print of The Spirit of Christmas. (includes photos of DVD jacket)
^ ^a ^b "Feature Film Productions". Fanderson. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
^ Jim Henson's Imagination Illustrated - Page 82
^ Fanning, Jim (June 5, 2013). "Kermit's Shocking Transformation!". D23. Disney.
^ "Pufnstuf (1970)". AFI. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
^ "Secret Santa". 25 December 2004.
^ Jim Henson's Imagination Illustrated - Page 186
^ "Models from Gerry Anderson's The Investigator up for sale". BBC News Online. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
^ Worley, Alec (2005). Empires of the imagination: a critical survey of fantasy cinema from Georges Méliès to The lord of the rings (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Co. Pub. ISBN 9780786423248.
^ Jim Henson's Red Book." "3/1-2/1977 – 'Recording Emmet Otter. Music in LA with Paul Williams.'" Posted March 1, 2012.
^ Siskel, Gene (November 13, 1978). "Hopkins' stellar 'Magic' act weaves a spell". Chicago Tribune. Section 3, p. 6. Retrieved September 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Carroll, Kathleen (June 22, 1979). "The greening of Hollywood—Kermit & Co. In the reel world". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
^ ^a ^b https://www.sideshow.com/blog/star-wars-puppets-and-puppeteers
^ Peel, John (1993). Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet: The Authorised Programme Guide. London, UK: Virgin Books. p. 202. ISBN 0-86369-728-3.
^ Bentley, Chris (2017). Hearn, Marcus (ed.). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault. Cambridge, UK: Signum Books. pp. 190–191. ISBN 978-0-995519-12-1.
^ "The Great Muppet Caper (U)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
^ https://beforesandafters.com/2019/08/28/my-right-hand-is-in-the-head-my-left-hand-operates-the-left-arm-and-my-assistant-puppeteer-is-tucked-under-my-right-armpit/
^ https://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/the-neverending-story-special-effects-director-on-creating-falkor-the-nothing-and-more/
^ https://vidiotsfoundation.org/movies/the-muppets-take-manhattan/
^ https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/how-follow-that-bird-the-first-sesame-street-film-became-a-beloved-classic-after-nose-diving-at-the-box-office-59690/

[1] "The Great Gabbo". Public Domain Torrents. Retrieved July 1, 2018.

[2] ttps://www.apocalypselaterfilm.com/2018/11/the-limejuice-mystery-1930.html

[Enough-3] Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-0810832503.

[4] Klein, Tom. "Oswald Strings a Treasure, 1936". Cartoon Research, Walter Lantz Archive. Retrieved 2018-11-08.

[5] Klein, Tom. "Oswald Strings a Treasure, 1936". Cartoon Research, Walter Lantz Archive. Retrieved 2018-11-08.

[Once-Upon-a-Toy-6] Patterson, Neal (December 9, 2008). "Once Upon a Toy blog by Polyvinylman". polyvinylman.blogspot.com. Retrieved February 20, 2014. This holiday special, first aired in 1953 and sponsored by Ma Bell, was produced by puppeteer Mabel Beaton. . . . Ms. Beaton started out performing marionette shows for her community in a make-shift theater during the 1930s and 40s. . . . she decided to elevate her puppeteering career by creating filmed marionette programs. She got lucky with her first try out of the gate when she presented her half-hour Christmas special, The Spirit of Christmas, to The Bell Telephone Company. The president enthusiastically green-lit the show as their 1953 Christmas special, and it became their holiday show for the next several years during the 50s. . . . My first exposure to it was in elementary school in the late 60s/early 70s. Every year, on the last day before Christmas vacation, the teacher would drag out that clunky 16 mm projector and put on the threadbare film print of The Spirit of Christmas. (includes photos of DVD jacket)

[Fanderson-7] "Feature Film Productions". Fanderson. Archived from the original on 21 February 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2010.

[8] Jim Henson's Imagination Illustrated - Page 82

[9] Fanning, Jim (June 5, 2013). "Kermit's Shocking Transformation!". D23. Disney.

[PufnstufAFI-10] "Pufnstuf (1970)". AFI. Retrieved July 8, 2024.

[11] "Secret Santa". 25 December 2004.

[12] Jim Henson's Imagination Illustrated - Page 186

[13] "Models from Gerry Anderson's The Investigator up for sale". BBC News Online. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2019.

[14] Worley, Alec (2005). Empires of the imagination: a critical survey of fantasy cinema from Georges Méliès to The lord of the rings (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Co. Pub. ISBN 9780786423248.

[15] Jim Henson's Red Book." "3/1-2/1977 – 'Recording Emmet Otter. Music in LA with Paul Williams.'" Posted March 1, 2012.

[16] Siskel, Gene (November 13, 1978). "Hopkins' stellar 'Magic' act weaves a spell". Chicago Tribune. Section 3, p. 6. Retrieved September 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

[17] Carroll, Kathleen (June 22, 1979). "The greening of Hollywood—Kermit & Co. In the reel world". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 10, 2023.

[sideshow.com-18] ttps://www.sideshow.com/blog/star-wars-puppets-and-puppeteers

[19] Peel, John (1993). Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet: The Authorised Programme Guide. London, UK: Virgin Books. p. 202. ISBN 0-86369-728-3.

[20] Bentley, Chris (2017). Hearn, Marcus (ed.). Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Vault. Cambridge, UK: Signum Books. pp. 190–191. ISBN 978-0-995519-12-1.

[21] "The Great Muppet Caper (U)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 July 2015.

[22] ttps://beforesandafters.com/2019/08/28/my-right-hand-is-in-the-head-my-left-hand-operates-the-left-arm-and-my-assistant-puppeteer-is-tucked-under-my-right-armpit/

[23] ttps://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/the-neverending-story-special-effects-director-on-creating-falkor-the-nothing-and-more/

[24] ttps://vidiotsfoundation.org/movies/the-muppets-take-manhattan/

[25] ttps://www.indiewire.com/features/general/how-follow-that-bird-the-first-sesame-street-film-became-a-beloved-classic-after-nose-diving-at-the-box-office-59690/

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1920s-1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

See also

References