<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

A puppet is a figure created to represent something real or imaginary, and then moved by an operator (a puppeteer) to give it the appearance of life.

There are many types of puppets, and the art has existed across cultures and continents, and for thousands of years. Common types include: hand puppets; finger puppets; rod puppets; shadow puppets; marionettes (which are moved by strings attached to an unseen controller above the puppet); and ventriloquist dummies (operated by a ventriloquist, who is visible on stage with the dummy, and who makes it appear that the dummy is speaking).

Puppets are typically used to tell a story. The audience is aware of the artificiality of the puppet(s): the stories tend therefore to be symbolic rather than realistic. This willing suspension of disbelief on the part of the viewers has made this medium a particularly good one for sci fi.

Historical Highlights of Sci Fi Puppetry

• Ancient puppetry in China, Japan, India, Java and other places covers a variety of themes
• In England, Punch and Judy shows (dating to the 1600s), would sometimes include the Devil
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie, starting in the late 1940s, popularized puppetry for children's TV. Other shows in the 1950s included Diver Dan and Johnny Jupiter
• THe 1960s brought Supermarionation shows Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, Stingray, and more
• Sid and Marty Krofft used life-size puppets in H. R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters during the 1970s (although Pufnstuf debuted in 1969). The 1970s also saw the rise of The Muppets, and the use of Yoda in Star Wars
• The 1980s brought the small screen the wise-cracking ALF (TV series)
• In 1999 the live action Jim Henson production, Farscape used puppets to bring non-humanoid alien characters to life.

To see specific information, such as individual movies, TV series, and books featuring puppets, please click the Puppets category link at the bottom of this article. To see other articles that reference puppets, please click the What Links Here tool in the toolbox at the bottom of this page.