About Puppets
Whether you grew up watching "Sesame Street" or "Fraggle Rock," Punch and Judy shows or "The Muppet Show," you had the chance to seem some great puppets in action. Even those Micky Mouse and Donald Duck figures roaming around Disneyland are a type of puppet, called body puppets or walkabouts. The unifying characteristic in puppets is that they are inanimate until a puppeteer brings them to life.
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Types
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There are the small, simple puppets that fit on your finger, and then there are the mechanical puppets that are controlled by radio. Young children often play with toys that incorporate puppets, such as pop-up puppets, plush puppets, paddle puppets, hand puppets and jumping jacks. There are the puppets that require skills to choreograph their moves, such as rod puppets, Bunraku, hand and rod puppets, marionettes and ventriloquist figures. There are arty junk puppets, made with found and repurposed materials. There are puppets that puppeteers control through cables, air (called pneumatic puppets) and hydraulics. Puppets are not immune to technological developments, of course, so there are stop-action puppets, computer-generated puppets, Waldo-input computer puppets and motion capture puppets, also called digital monkeys.
Geography
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Puppets are an international phenomenon and often considered a work of folk art. In Japan, there are the Karakuri ningyo, mechanized puppets. In the United Kingdom, Bob Pelham earned fame for his Pelham string puppets. Punch and Judy have long been the darlings of French schoolchildren. Rajasthani puppets are string marionette creations from India. Thailand is known for its hand puppets. In Indonesia, shadow puppets and shadow puppet theater are long-standing traditions.
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Misconceptions
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Puppets and puppetry are not just for children. Snuff Puppets is an Australian performance art troupe that has appeared in street theater projects, political rallies, fringe festivals, circus tents and rock concerts. Dressed in full-body puppet regalia, they aim to create street mayhem through loud music, raucous behavior and black humor. Likewise, Chicago's Jason Trusty fills street corners with audiences of all ages with his Puppet Bike invention. Trusty attached a puppet theater to a tricycle. Solar panels on the roof power the mobile theater's music system. The Puppet Bike performers do impromptu shows running up to four hours long.
Potential
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Puppets make for great art projects and puppetry for great theater, but there are many other settings in which puppets are useful. Child therapists often use puppets with patients to help them discuss difficult issues and share feelings. Teachers use puppets as learning tools. Buskers use puppets to get tips on the street. Librarians use puppets to help tell a story or sing a song.
Famous Ties
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There are several puppets who are household names. Howdy Doody was a marionette that entertained 1950s television audiences. Shari Lewis made Lambchop, a little lamb hand puppet, come to life with song and dance. Mr. Rodgers had a whole Land of Make Believe populated with puppets such as Henrietta Pussycat and King Friday. Madame was a spicy-tongued ventriloquist dummy. Wallace and Gromit are puppets made through the technology of claymation and stop-action animation. And who could forget Cookie Monster's crazy antics or the grumblings of Oscar the Grouch?
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