While some might believe that Walt Disney had the first feature-length animated film with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, the Disney film is the fourth animated feature-length film, and was two decades late for first place. The first two animated feature-length films were directed by an Italian in Argentia in 1917 and 1918, though all prints of those films are presumed lost or destroyed. The third animated full-length feature, Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed), came out the same year that the first two were lost to fire. This third animated film was a silhouette animation made by a German artist named Lotte Reiniger. The original negatives are considered lost, but a supposedly first-generation positive (from the camera negative) remains and the film has been restored from this stock (full film with limited subtitles, 5 minute preview with English subtitles and the full film viewable with Veoh plug-in). More information and videos inside. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Oct 27, 2009 - 15 comments

The puppets Pat and Mat are beloved everywhere their Rube Goldbergian antics have been shown on TV. A couple of inventive handymen they consistently solve simple problems in outlandish fashion. Pat and Mat traveled far afield from their Czechoslovakian origins thanks to their short running time and silence, which made translation unnecessary. Considered ideologically impure by Czech authorities, creators Lubomír Beneš and Vladimír Jiránek were allowed to make around 30 episodes by the Slovakian arm of the state television corporation. They continued making new episodes after Communist rule ended and production was kept going after they passed away. First, let me present my sentimental favorite, Wallpaper. Below the cut are all the episodes I could find online. [more inside]
posted by Kattullus on Sep 7, 2009 - 27 comments

There are few things a man needs in life: a sense of purpose and ambition, a clean bill of health, and a fully detailed hand-sewn puppet of himself. Puppet Artists, Marnie & Bill Winn, create soft sculpted puppets that range from real people (from their photographs), to celebrities, to storybook and fantasy characters. PA also makes similarly detailed sets of 4-inch-tall finger puppets. (via)
posted by netbros on Aug 11, 2009 - 19 comments

Poupees Viandes (Meat Puppets): a flickr photoset of "flesh dolls made with stuffed taxidermy skin." These sculptures are not for those easily made nauseous! (via)
posted by OmieWise on Jun 22, 2009 - 30 comments

The Nano Song. Teaching the wonders of nanotechnology to puppets. This is one of the submissions to the NanoTube Contest. [Via]
posted by homunculus on Mar 1, 2009 - 13 comments

The Letter People started as a collection of vaguely trippy drawings by illustrator Elizabeth Callen in the early 70s, but viewers of Midwestern PBS in the 70s and 80s might have learned to read from the Letter People puppet show produced by PBS station KETC in St. Louis. Set in the black void of "Letter People Land", the show allowed each character to introduce him or herself with a song, from the laid back, Carole King vibe in Miss A's song, to the bizarre sound collage of Mr. X (audio with fan-made video). And of course cashing in on the nostalgia craze, the new and improved letter people without references to junk food or the pesky marital status of the vowels. [more inside]
posted by Thin Lizzy on Feb 21, 2009 - 34 comments

8 Forgotten Kids Shows Sure to Give You Nightmares [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Jul 13, 2008 - 51 comments

It's been proven that people tend to look like their dogs, but startling new findings reveal a freakish resemblance between Hollywood celebrities and Sesame Street puppets.
posted by HotPatatta on Jul 11, 2008 - 40 comments

"Food Party is a (would-be) TV cooking show with a spicy saigon kitchen-witch as your hostess, a cast of unruly puppets as culinary advisors, and a cavalcade of hip-hop/sports world celebrities as surprise dinner guests. Shot on location in a technicolor cardboard kitchen, each episode will instruct you on how to prepare wild gourmet multi-course meals with ingredients you probably have on hand in your kitchen already, such as pretzel rods, cheese puffs, eggs, sugar, secret ingredients, and pizza. After all, you never know who might show up for dinner." [more inside]
posted by cog_nate on Jul 1, 2008 - 14 comments

The amazing shadow puppetry of Raymond Crowe. It's very good, have a look.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on Sep 6, 2007 - 15 comments

Pop-Up Puppetry
posted by carsonb on Aug 18, 2007 - 18 comments

Are you Lonely? Curious? Depraved? Do you have questions that are just too risqué for AskMe? Live Hot Puppet Chat has got your answer. Yeah baby! Now you can experience sizzling raw, uh, pleasures. [NSFW]
posted by carsonb on Aug 4, 2007 - 13 comments

The Hands of God. Alyson Levy visited a Christian puppetry camp and made a short documentary out of it (direct links to parts 1, 2, 3, and 4).
posted by hypocritical ross on Feb 19, 2007 - 35 comments

Educational films about puberty... Then, and now.
posted by verb on Feb 3, 2007 - 10 comments

Terrorism finger puppets! Uncanny crocheted likenesses of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, Ahmadinejad and George W. Bush.
posted by R. Mutt on Jan 31, 2007 - 21 comments

Mah num ah num (Google Video) - The Muppets debut their first music video in 1976.
posted by persona non grata on Aug 17, 2006 - 70 comments

Theatre History is the Theatre Museum of London's vast online collection of ephemera, containing more than 1500 objects that record the history of the performing arts in Britain since the 1600s. There's lots of goodies, but don't miss the goldmine of fabulous photos, posters, and prints.
posted by madamjujujive on Jan 15, 2006 - 5 comments

The aerodynamic qualities of Bert's head. G-cluster rockets constructed out of vintage Muppet toys compete for glory in the semi-annual Evil Bert Rocket Race. (Video available from 2002, 2004, and 2005) And of course, when you're ready for it, you can make your own. (via PuppetVision)
posted by Robot Johnny on Jan 11, 2006 - 11 comments

the dead puppet show - a brief photographic essay for those who are sated with seasonal saccharinity.
posted by madamjujujive on Dec 19, 2005 - 13 comments

The traditions The traditions and history of puppetry are quite rich, often amusing. there are, quite unsurprisingly, those who truly hate the adorable little things. From fact to fiction and evendeeper investigations. Obligatory pinocchio link.
posted by IronLizard on Nov 16, 2005 - 19 comments

It's Comcastic! Manipulate and record messages with digital flash-based puppets. All the fun of real marionettes, but without the pesky strings. (The site also features some dexterity tests/games for your mad mousing skillz)
posted by Robot Johnny on Oct 27, 2005 - 22 comments

Subverting childrens television shows isn't exactly new, but when did it become mainstream?
posted by tighttrousers on Jul 28, 2005 - 15 comments

Remember Lejo? He's got the funk now. From the guys who brought you Shitty Bum (and who are now probably living it up with #1 down in Austin for SXSW), here is C-Mon & Kypski vs. Lejo (Flash). [via]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Mar 19, 2005 - 4 comments

Lejo is perhaps the greatest actor I've ever seen perform, and he does it all without dialogue. Click on "videos" (or "filmpjes"). Jim Henson would be proud.
posted by Robot Johnny on Feb 17, 2005 - 14 comments

Here then is a charming little song and movie [QT] about Things That Don't Exist, presented by a cast of sock puppets. Found on the fan art page of the previously linked Daily Dinosaur Comics.
posted by PinkStainlessTail on Jan 2, 2005 - 13 comments

Silly Puppets! For ministry, therapy, school, or just for fun at home.
posted by swift on Dec 19, 2004 - 10 comments

Can this matrixy eye candy be considered bunraku?
posted by Specklet on Dec 13, 2004 - 17 comments

Punch and Judy Everything you want to know about the famous puppet show, ranging from scripts to history. For more Punch, see also The Punch Page (many resources, but not updated since 2000); the Punch and Judy College of Professors (professional Punch & Judy performers); and "Prof." Glyn Edwards' Punch and Judy Page (homepage of a Punch & Judy puppeteer).
posted by thomas j wise on Dec 10, 2003 - 5 comments

creepy marionettes
posted by crunchland on Jun 29, 2003 - 8 comments

They're not just puppets, they're gay puppets! Orbitz.com, the travel site that is the #2 pop-under advertiser on the Web recently launched a series of TV commercials obviously inspired by the marionettes on "Thunderbirds", complete with a related 'microsite' warning: flash animation and characters whose eyes follow your mouse. Now, in order to promote their "gay travel" sub-site, they've slightly altered one of their ads to change who's eye-ing the "eye candy". Enough of a shock to make me reverse my Tivo, but a welcome change from the "gay panic" themes of recent spots for alcoholic beverages, like Bailey's Irish Cream and Smirnoff Triple Black Ice ("The Brad" ad is particularly weird to me, since among us old skool bloggers, The Brad was pointing out "gay panic" in TV ads back in August 2000.
posted by wendell on Jun 25, 2003 - 19 comments

As reported by Don O'Briant of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Phineas J. Monkey, local celebrity and co-star of Uncle Grampa's Hoo-Dilly Stew, was assaulted by Burt Reynolds at a gala for the IMAGE Film and Video Center earlier this week. Mr. Reynolds appears to have been enraged by the puppet's biting wit, so much so that he was compelled to latch violently onto the charming emcee's throat with both hands. I'd like to say this sort of thing is surprising, but alas, it is not. Irrational behavior seems to have become a part of Mr. Reynolds's operating system, a point well illustrated by his dismissal of an agent for landing him his only decent role in 1997 (par 14). To be fair, Boogie Nights was no Meet Wally Sparks.
posted by cachilders on Jun 7, 2003 - 9 comments

Bunraku is Japan's professional puppet theater. Developed primarily in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it is one of the four forms of Japanese classical theater, the others being kabuki, noh and kyogen.[more]
posted by hama7 on Feb 20, 2003 - 17 comments

Are Ernie and Bert gay? What is Gonzo? Find out the answers (question 19 and 10, respectively) and more at the Muppet FAQ. Read the profiles of your favorite Muppets like Zoot or Animal. Or maybe you'd be interested in one of the Henson feature creatures and its background. Read about it. Explore the fascinating world of Jim Henson and muppets in general.
posted by ashbury on Oct 29, 2002 - 14 comments

The Princess Bride... "In the 1980s, a timeless story was brought to life... after over a decade, it has returned... the most anticipated remake in a generation... in a way it has never been seen before." And that's an understatement.
posted by silusGROK on Jul 30, 2001 - 29 comments

A pageant of protesting puppets hopes to shut down The School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA, along with raising awareness of Lori Berenson's Peruvian imprisonment and other Central/South American issues.
posted by FearfulFred on Nov 24, 2000 - 1 comment

The Flat Eric Society You know that fuzzt orangey-yellow puppet from that Levi's commercial? Apparently he's The Next Big Thing. And there'll be more Flat Eric commercials to come.
posted by honkzilla on Apr 30, 2000 - 2 comments