MetaFilter posts tagged with puppetry

Pat & Mat, lovable Czech puppetmen who have complex solutions to simple problems

Kattullus — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:53:11 -0800

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. The Light. The Birdhouse. Spring Cleaning. Moving Day. The Lawnmower. Parquet flooring. Fenders. Cyclists. The Jumpers. The Grill. Biscuits. Painting Job. Rocking chair. Shelving. Water. The Gramophone. Hedge trimming. Carpet. Slot Car Racing. Swimming Pool. The Picture. The Excursion. Bodyguards. Strawberries. The Fax Machine. The Apple. Wheels. The Crossword. The Key. Billiards. Windsurfing. The Piano. The Aquarium. Workshop. Rain. The Lid. Doghouse. Flat Tire. The Roof. Illness. The Swing. Window Painting. The Garage. Model Builders. Breakfast in the Grass. Hang Glider. Golf. Automatic Machine. Garage Door. The Garden. The Light. Preserving. Paving Stones. The Door. Autodrome. Greenhouse. And finally, the first Pat and Mat ever made, Tinkers. Oh, and the name of the show is ...a je to! which means ...and it's done!

Gremlin in the machine

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:07:48 -0800

In the middle of the movie Gremlins 2, there is a sequence where the film seems to break, and where the gremlins invade the projection booth. For the VHS edition in the early 90's, they reshot a special sequence where the VHS tape seemed to be torn apart and in which the gremlins invaded a John Wayne movie. The DVD just kept the original theatrical version.
Sacha Feiner's fan video updates the "break sequence" for the Video on Demand era. via

Take your forms wrestled from the void and get the hell out

1f2frfbf — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:37:48 -0800

Wayne White's paintings Wayne Who? He left Tennessee to study at the New York School of Visual Arts with Art Speigelman (he posed holding a broomstick for some of the characters in Maus) and Red Grooms. He came back to Tennessee to do puppetry work for a children's show called Mrs. Cabobble's Caboose, (5th link down, mpg) which in turn caught the attention of CBS who hired him to do the set direction for Pee Wee's Playhouse (I'll defer to this excellent post for Pee Wee videos), for which he played Mr Kite, Randy and Roger the Monster. Where else have you seen his work? The video for Peter Gabriel's "Big Time", and the video for the Smashing Pumpkin's "Tonight, Tonight". This was inspired by my tiny little comment here and he seems to be mentioned in passing here and here. Also: Waxy weighs in along with jonson, his IMDb profile and his Wikipedia entry. Not for use with some sets, consult doctor before taking internally.

Pop-up Puppetry

carsonb — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 08:12:14 -0800

Pop-Up Puppetry

We Have a T-Rex!

steef — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 12:24:17 -0800

Behind-the-scenes at the dinosaur factory. Creations for "Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience," saurian puppetry (and animatronics) on a 1:1 scale. Who needs CGI? Check out Torosaur vs. Utahraptor.

Mah num ah num - The Muppets' musical debut

persona non grata — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:33:51 -0800

Mah num ah num (Google Video) - The Muppets debut their first music video in 1976.

Puppet Master Flash

Robot Johnny — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 21:56:02 -0800

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)

It's Fingerrific! Redux

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sat, 19 Mar 2005 07:48:09 -0800

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]

It's Fingerrific!

Robot Johnny — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 12:50:25 -0800

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.

Wish I had this much spare time...

Specklet — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 10:05:16 -0800

Can this matrixy eye candy be considered bunraku?

Punch and Judy

thomas j wise — Wed, 10 Dec 2003 19:20:37 -0800

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).

LAM — Wed, 30 May 2001 05:28:33 -0800

Welsh call for ban on Australian genitalia show Morley and Friend also performed a private show at the Christmas party of an exclusive South Kensington jeweller. Guests in his handpicked audience included supermodel Naomi Campbell, U2 frontman Bono, actor Hugh Grant, England soccer captain David Beckham and his Posh Spice wife Victoria, and Elton John and his boyfriend. The two men perform their "dick tricks" dressed only in running shoes, accompanied by a pianist, a lighting show and big-screen close-ups of the action.

FearfulFred — Fri, 24 Nov 2000 16:11:07 -0800

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.