A very old form of spectacle, Puppet Shows use some kind of puppetry to feature their characters in real-time (setting it apart from animation, including Puppet Stop Motion). Mostly seen within children's entertainment, but also used for satirical parodies, with puppets caricaturing real-life people.
There are two main categories of such shows:
- Hand Puppets, the most well-known being Jim Henson's Muppets.
- Marionettes, mostly using Supermarionation. Usually features down-to-scale decors.
Other possible types include:
- Animatronic puppets, a modern development of Muppets. These often involve servo motors, cables and other mechanical components.
- People in Rubber Suits, a.k.a. Suitmation, which can appear alongside either type (on the same scale with hand puppets, or as giants with marionettes).
An otherwise human-centric show using a few puppet characters doesn't belong here. However, some Puppet Shows, while using mainly hand puppets or animatronics, may also involve some human characters or feature one or more puppets in a prominent role and thus tread the line. Often these techniques can overlap— for example a costume might have animatronic components or a hand hand puppet might have a marionette assist. Marionette shows can also make use of live animals to figure monsters. For the people who perform them, see Puppeteers.
Examples:
Advertising
- Budweiser Frogs (The titular characters and the lizards. Numerous other Budweiser spots also use animatronic animals as prominent characters)
- The Crash Dummies (a mix of both animatronic puppets and costumes are used for the titular characters)
- Energizer Bunny (The bunny and a few of his adversaries like King Kong were accomplished with animatronic puppets)
Films
- The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996) (Pinocchio is realized through animatronic puppets)
- Alien (The titular creature is often portrayed via an animatronic puppet or suit with a mechanical head)
- Alligator (the title creature is primarily played with a mechanical puppet)
- Babe (Both it and its followup utilize animatronic puppets in conjunction with CGI to make the animals talk)
- The Blob (both the film's namesake and its kills were achieved with a mix of animatronics and other puppetry techniques)
- Captain EO (Used for Fuzzball and Minor Domo; Hooter and Major Domo are costumes while the Geeks are a hand puppet ala the 2-Headed monster)
- Child's Play (The lead characters — Chucky, Tiffany and Glen — are represented by animatronic puppets throughout the whole franchise. Also applied In-Universe for Seed of Chucky)
- Critters (Used for the titular characters)
- The Dark Crystal (A hybrid of puppet techniques that were considered revolutionary at the time and would contribute to the formation of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, who contributed to several entries on this page)
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (the titular alien is a mix of mechanical puppets and People in Rubber Suits with an animatronic head)
- Evolver (used for the titular Big Bad)
- Flight of the Navigator (used for Max and the creatures on the ship he's a part of with a mixture of marionette and hand puppet techniques)
- The Flintstones (1994) (the dinosaurs are a hybrid of animatronic puppets and CGI)
- Five Nights at Freddy's (The In-Universe Animatronics are portrayed through a mix of animatronic puppets and costumed performers)
- The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (the titular Kids, who are ineptly made examples that mix animatronics and costumes)
- A Gnome Named Gnorm (The title role is an animatronic puppet)
- Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (a combination of techniques, including marionettes and hand puppets, with animatronic effects being the most prominent)
- Howard the Duck (Originally filmed with an animatronic puppet, before largely moving over to a costumed actor with an animatronic head)
- Jaws (A franchise with one rather unreliable animatronic shark)
- Jurassic Park (The first film was largely comprised of animatronic puppets for its dinosaurs, with CGI reserved for full-body shots. Later films use a more even mix between the two methods)
- Labyrinth (only had three human characters for most of the movie, using a mix of traditional and animatronic puppetry techniques for its cast otherwise)
- Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey II in his various stages was achieved with a series of very complex animatronic puppets)
- M3GAN (The titular robot doll is portrayed with an animatronic puppet for scenes that don't require the use of Amie Donald, such as dialogue and close-ups)
- Mac and Me (Mac is portrayed with an animatronic puppet while his family is otherwise performed with suit actors)
- Men In Black (The aliens are accomplished with a mix of animatronic and marionette puppets, prosthetic makeup and CGI)
- Mortal Kombat (1995) (Goro's upper half is entirely animatronic)
- Munchie (This film and its followup utilize a very creepy, and very broken animatronic puppet for its title character. The film it takes its name from, Munchies, used more traditional hand puppet techniques)
- The NeverEnding Story (1984) (All three films utilize heavy use of animatronic puppets for its fantasy cast along with makeup prosthetics and traditional puppetry methods)
- Puppet Master (Used whenever the titular puppets aren't portrayed through Stop Motion)
- Return to Oz (Tik-Tok, Belinda, the Gump and Jack Pumpkinhead are achieved through mechanical puppets or mechanized costumes; as are Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion in a noticeable case of Special Effects Evolution)
- Short Circuit (Number/Johnny 5 is a hybrid of a full-bodied animatronic and a half-bodied cable puppet with a radio-controlled head, the sequel eschews the latter in favor of just using the animatronic)
- Small Soldiers (The Commando Elite and Gorgonites are a mix of robotic rod puppets and CGI)
- Smoking Causes Coughing (Norbert 500, Norbert 1200 and the talking fish are animatronics. This film also features hand puppets and People in Rubber Suits)
- Star Wars (The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi make great use of puppets that mix animatronics and more traditional rod and hand methods, including Yoda, the Rancor, and Jabba the Hutt, later films such as The Force Awakens and Solo follow suit)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (largely live-action, but the main characters are a People in Rubber Suits variation of these, with Splinter being a hybrid hand puppet/animatronic until the third film)
- Theodore Rex (of the People in Rubber Suits variety, like the Ninja Turtles, Howard and Goro, and only slightly more effective than the Garbage Pail Kids)
- Terminator (first three movies only, a mix of full animatronics and makeup effects, with CGI from Judgment Day onward)
- Virus (The robots, with Goliath being a hybrid animatronic/CGI creation)
- Yo Soy Taíno
TV Series
- Construction Site
- The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (utilizes a mix of techniques like the film before it, including animatronics, hand and rod puppets and CGI)
- Dinosaurs (Several supporting and background roles are traditional hand puppets, however)
- Dumbo's Circus (Like Pooh Corner, the series uses costumed animatronic puppets)
- Farscape
- Fourways Farm (the characters are all robots, operated in a Stop Faux-tion style)
- Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation (again largely live-action save for the main characters, plus a hand puppet in the form of Canon Foreigner Wick)
- Scoop and Doozie (Doozie is an animatronic prop while Scoop and Axle are portrayed through more traditional hand puppets)
- The Storyteller (the main characters are generally human, but monster characters and the Storyteller's dog are animatronic puppets)
- Swamp Critters (costumed animatronics, which were some of the most expensive on television at the time)
- TV Colosso (utilizing a mix of these and more traditional hand puppets)
- The Transformers (Season 5 would have several interludes with a giant animatronic Powermaster Optimus Prime head and hand with a Stop Motion version for full-bodied shots; averted for the show itself, which was 2D animated)
- Tweenies (overlaps with People in Rubber Suits)
- Welcome to Pooh Corner (utilizes costumed performers with animatronic heads, with Roo being a full animatronic puppet)
Advertising
- Freddie Freaker
- Little Caesars (several 1990s spots whenever the title mascot was featured)
- McDonaldland (also using a mix of People in Rubber Suits and marionettes)
- Monster Cereals (Milestone Celebration to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Jim Henson Company)
- The Muppets/Sesame Street
- Smokey Bear (though mostly animated, Smokey will occasionally be shown as a hand puppet)
- Volvic
Comedy
Fan Works
Films
- The Crown of Bogg
- Ghoulies
- The Happytime Murders
- Hobgoblins
- Little Alvin and the Mini-Munks
- Meet the Feebles (including costumed performers for Heidi, Bletch, Barry and Sidney, and marionettes for other various characters, along with characters like Trevor who alternate between multiple techniques)
- The Muppets/Sesame Street films and specials (often utilizing various techniques in addition to traditional hand puppetry, including animatronics and costumed performers):
- Big Bird in China
- Big Bird in Japan
- The Christmas Toy
- Don't Eat the Pictures
- Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
- The Great Muppet Caper
- Hey Cinderella!
- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
- Muppet Classic Theater
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- A Muppet Family Christmas
- The Muppet Movie
- The Muppet Musicians of Bremen
- Muppet Treasure Island
- Muppet*Vision 3D
- The Muppets (2011)
- The Muppets at Walt Disney World
- The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
- Muppets From Space
- Muppets Haunted Mansion
- Muppets Most Wanted
- The Muppets Take Manhattan
- The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
- Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird
- Sesame Street Stays Up Late!
- The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
- Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince
- Roller Gator
- Smoking Causes Coughing: Chief Didier is a hand puppet. This film also features animatronics and People in Rubber Suits.
- Thunderbolt Fantasy
- Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map
Music
- Doctor Steel's rare live shows feature one, which include both hand and stick puppets.
- The videos for "Sing" and "Happier" by Ed Sheeran feature a puppet based on him.
TV Series
- 31 Minutos
- 9 Years to Neptune
- The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth
- Allegra's Window
- Ants in Your Pants
- Baby Einstein (in segments)
- The Barbarian and the Troll
- The Basil Brush Show
- Le Bébête Show
- Between the Lions
- Big and Small
- Big Bag
- The Big Garage
- Bim Bum Bam
- Blark and Son
- Bonne nuit les petits
- Bom Dia & Cia.
- The Book of Pooh
- Charlie Horse Music Pizza
- Ha Chartzufim
- The Chica Show (Chica, Mrs. C, and Mr. C are puppets, but Chica is the only one of them to get a Toon Transformation. Kelly is live-action, Stitches is stuffed, and Bunji is a real-live rabbit).
- Chicken Minute
- Cousin Skeeter
- Crank Yankers
- Crash & Bernstein
- The Crayon Box
- Curiosity Shop
- D.C. Follies
- Donkey Hodie
- Don't Eat the Neighbours
- Eureeka's Castle
- The Ferals
- Fox Clubhouse (first season)
- Gerbert
- Giggle And Hoot
- Gisèle's Big Backyard
- The Good Night Show
- The Great Space Coaster
- Greg the Bunny
- Groundling Marsh
- Les Guignols de l'Info
- Gus Honeybun's Magic Birthdays
- Hallo Spencer
- Hector's House
- Helpsters
- Hi Diddle Day
- Hook Book Row
- Hotch Potch Station
- It's a Big Big World
- Iris, The Happy Professor
- Jack's Big Music Show
- Johnny and the Sprites
- Julie's Greenroom
- The Junior Christian Science Bible Lesson Program
- Käpt'n Blaubärs Seemannsgarn
- Kikiriki
- Kingdom Adventure
- Kitty Cats
- Korenande Shoukai
- Kukla, Fran, and Ollie
- Lamb Chop's Play-Along
- Land O'Hands
- LazyTown
- Let's Be Real
- The Lets Go Show
- The Letter People
- Die Liewe Heksie
- Lift-Off
- Li'l Horrors
- Little Big Room
- Little Mermaid's Island
- Lomax, the Hound of Music
- The Longhouse Tales
- The Magic House
- Michael Bentine's Potty Time
- Les Minikeums
- Mister K's Clubhouse
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
- Mongrels
- Mother Goose Treasury
- Mr. Dressup
- Mr. Meaty
- The Mr. Potato Head Show
- The Muppets/Sesame Street TV shows (as with the films, animatronic and suitimation effects are utilized in conjunction with hand puppets):
- Bear in the Big Blue House
- Dog City (as a Framing Story to the animation)
- Fraggle Rock
- Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (although, pedantically, they are no longer officially Muppets)
- The Jim Henson Hour
- Mopatop's Shop
- The Muppet Show
- The Muppets (2015)
- The Muppets Mayhem
- Muppets Now
- Muppets Tonight
- Sam and Friends
- Sesame Street
- The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
- Mustard Pancakes
- Nanalan'
- Navajo Highways
- The Noddy Shop
- Noodle And Doodle
- Oobi (also fits under Muppet shows)
- The Pajanimals
- Panda Bear Daycare
- Peppermint Park
- Pets
- Pili Fantasy: War of Dragons
- Puppets Who Kill
- The Puzzle Place
- Readalong
- Roger and the Rottentrolls
- Rosie & Jim (although it mostly focuses on real life)
- A Scare at Bedtime (interspersed with live-action segments)
- The Secret Life of Toys
- Seemore's Playhouse
- The Sifl and Olly Show
- Slniečko
- Slumberkins
- The Sooty Show
- Space Knights
- Spitting Image
- The Sprout Sharing Show
- St. Bear's Dolls Hospital
- The Studio K Show
- The Sunny Side Up Show
- Süsü, a sárkány
- Takalani Sesame
- Téléchat
- Téléfrançais!
- Terrahawks
- Tiger & Toni
- That Puppet Game Show
- Thunderbolt Fantasy (also features marionettes)
- The Timekeepers of the Millennium
- Toby Terrier and His Video Pals
- Today's Special
- Tots TV
- Under the Umbrella Tree
- Weinerville
- What's in the Bible?
- Wilbur
- Wimzie's House
- Wonder Showzen
- Wulin Warriors
- Wumpa's World
- Yonderland
- You Gotta Quintet
- Zoboomafoo (the title character is sometimes a puppet)
Stage Shows
Web Original
- Welcome Home (Clown Illustrations) (In-Universe, the characters from the titular series are noted to have been operated in this manner.)
Web Videos
- Arlo
- Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (with one character who is a person in a suit and some computer animation)
- The Funday Pawpet Show
- Glove and Boots
- Godziban
- Neil's Puppet Dreams
- Northern Tails
- Puppet History
- Puppet Power
- Puppet Reviews Stuff
- Rivals Direct 4
- Santana
- Skippy Shorts
- Steve D'Monster
- Technicolor Dreams
Films
- Jackboots on Whitehall
- Strings
- Team America: World Police (mixed with animatronic heads)
Theatre
Web Videos
TV Series
- Anytime Tales (overlaps with Stop Motion)
- The numerous Augsburger Puppenkiste productions in Germany
- B.R.A.T.S. of the Lost Nebula (the main characters are a hybrid of marionettes and animatronics, while the villains make use of traditional hand puppet techniques)
- Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
- Fireball XL5
- The Investigator (failed pilot)
- Joe 90
- Die Liewe Heksie
- Mr. Squiggle
- Rimini Riddle
- The Secret Service (hybrid with live-action)
- Space Patrol (the British series)
- Star Fleet / Bomber X
- Stingray
- Strange Hill High
- Supercar
- Topo Gigio
- Thunderbirds
- Kool-Aid Man (for ads in the 1980s and 1990s, the 2000s onward used a CGI model until recently when they returned to the suit)
- The Puttermans
Films
- Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
- Barney's Great Adventure
- Chuck E. Cheese in the Galaxy 5000
- Congo
- Ed
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
- The Guyver
- Hell Comes to Frogtown: Used for the frogs.
- Killer Klowns from Outer Space
- Nukie
- The Polar Bear King
- Star Kid
- Swamp Thing
- Smoking Causes Coughing: The Tobacco Force fight human-sized monsters who are People in Rubber Suits. At some point a little girl looks at a video that they have made, and comments that the monster looks fake. This film also features hand puppets and animatronics.
- Troll: Used for Torok, hand puppets are utilized for the rest of the creatures.
- Where the Wild Things Are
TV Series
- The Banana Splits
- Bananas in Pyjamas
- Barney & Friends
- Boohbah
- Bookaboo
- The Bugaloos
- Cucumber
- Far Out Space Nuts
- Here's Humphrey
- Hip Hop Harry
- H.R. Pufnstuf
- The Huggabug Club
- Inai Inai Baa!
- In the Night Garden...
- Johnson and Friends
- Mystery Science Theater 3000
- Land of the Lost
- Lidsville
- The Lost Saucer
- Magic Mountain
- Odisea Burbujas
- Okaasan to Issho
- Pigassos Place
- Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
- Skatebirds
- Telechobis
- Teletubbies
- Yo Gabba Gabba!
Films
- Oranges: Revenge of the Eggplant: The film is entirely composed of actual fruits and vegetables used as puppets, though almost none of the fruit puppets are articulated. They move and turn in place via sticks inserted underneath and manipulated by puppeteers below the scene floor.

