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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Puppet Films

This is a page that deals with films where puppets or marionettes (puppets that are operated by strings) are used to play human characters or other lifeforms. The titles listed here should be differentiated from films that are about puppets that come to life – these are covered under Dolls and Puppets.

Puppet films are largely considered to be works for children and almost all of the works here fall into that category, perhaps most famously with Sesame Street (1969- ). These have attained some success such as the cult popularity of the tv series of Gerry Anderson and the mass success enjoyed by the Muppets.

There have been very occasional puppet films for adults, including a minor body of films that depict puppets doing very adult things. There are also a number of films where a puppet is employed as a special effect in a live-action film – the most famous example being Yoda in the original Star Wars trilogy.


Annette (2021)

11 September 202120 February 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Surrealist Musical

Director: Leos Carax
Actors: Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg, Devyn McDowell
Category: Fantasy

Dante’s Inferno (2007)

28 May 20107 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

Vision of Hell/Puppet Show

Director: Sean Meredith
Actors: Dermot Mulroney, James Cromwell, Martha Plimpton, Tom Hallick, …
Category: Fantasy

The Dark Crystal (1982)

9 July 20131 March 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Fantastical Other World/Epic Fantasy Adventure

Director: Jim Henson, Frank Oz
Actors: Barry Dennen, Billie Whitelaw, Michael Kilgarriff
Category: Fantasy

Filmed in Supermarionation (2014)

28 September 202117 April 2022

Rating: ★★★

Gerry Anderson Documentary

Director: Stephen La Riviere
Actors: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, Robert Easton, David Graham, …
Category: Science Fiction

Frankie Freako (2024)

1 December 20249 March 2025

Rating: ★★

Goblin 1900 Number

Director: Steven Kostanski
Actors: Conor Sweeney, Adam Brooks, Kristy Wordsworth, Matthew Kennedy, …
Category: Fantasy

Fun & Fancy Free (1947)

4 April 199918 April 2022

Rating: ★★

Disney Animation Anthology

Director: Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, William Morgan
Actors: Edgar Bergen, Luana Patten, Dinah Shore, Clarence Nash, …
Category: Fantasy

The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

6 December 20024 December 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Muppet Movie

Director: Jim Henson
Actors: Diana Rigg, Charles Grodin, Jack Warden, Peter Falk, …
Category: Fantasy

The Happytime Murders (2018)

25 January 201931 August 2021

Rating: ★★★

World Where Puppets and Humans Coexist

Director: Brian Henson
Actors: Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Elizabeth Banks, Joel McHale, …
Category: Fantasy

Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)

1 November 201218 November 2021

Rating: ★★½

Nazis Invade England/Satiric Alternate History/Puppet Film

Director: Edward McHenry, Rory McHenry
Actors: Ewan McGregor, Timothy Spall, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West, …
Category: Fantasy

Kooky (2010)

19 October 201112 May 2021

Rating: ★★★

Puppet Film/Toy’s Journey Through the Forest

Director: Jan Sverak
Category: Fantasy

Marquis (1989)

22 May 20019 February 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Marquis De Sade Story/Obscene Puppet Show

Director: Henri Xhonneux
Category: Fantasy

Meet the Feebles (1990)

6 August 20027 January 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Obscene Puppet Show

Director: Peter Jackson
Actors: Donna Akersten, Stuart Devenie, Mark Hadlow
Category: Fantasy

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

26 February 200225 December 2024

Rating: ★★

Muppet Movie

Director: Brian Henson
Actors: Michael Caine
Category: Fantasy

The Muppet Movie (1979)

2 February 20016 September 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Muppet Movie

Director: James Frawley
Actors: Charles Durning, Mel Brooks, Orson Welles, Paul Williams, …
Category: Fantasy

Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

24 December 200212 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Muppet Movie

Director: Brian Henson
Actors: Tim Curry, Billy Connolly, Jennifer Saunders, Steve Whitmire, …
Category: Fantasy

The Muppets (2011)

19 November 201112 January 2025

Rating: ★★★½

Muppet Movie

Director: James Bobin
Actors: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, …
Category: Fantasy

Muppets from Space (1999)

17 July 199914 December 2020

Rating: ★★

Muppet Movie

Director: Tim Hill
Actors: Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Schneider, Ray Liotta, Josh Charles, …
Category: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

22 March 201413 January 2025

Rating: ★★½

Muppet Movie

Director: James Bobin
Actors: Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell, Tina Fey, Salma Hayek, …
Category: Fantasy

The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)

27 February 200313 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Muppet Movie

Director: Frank Oz
Actors: Dabney Coleman, Art Carney, James Coco, John Landis, …
Category: Fantasy

The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005)

21 October 200713 January 2025

Rating: ★★

Muppet Movie

Director: Kirk R. Thatcher
Actors: Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor, Queen Latifah, David Alan Grier, …
Category: Fantasy

Night of the Living Dead Reanimated (2009)

7 September 201219 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Animated Night of the Living Dead Homage

Director: Mike Schneider
Category: Horror

Strings (2004)

15 December 200519 August 2024

Rating: ★★★★½

World of Puppets

Director: Anders Rønnow-Klarlund
Actors: James McAvoy, Catherine McCormack, Derek Jacobi, David Harewood, …
Category: Fantasy

Team America: World Police (2004)

17 November 20041 January 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Political Satire/Adult Puppet Show

Director: Trey Parker
Actors: Trey Parker, Kristen Miller, Daran Norris, Matt Stone, …
Category: Science Fiction

Thunderbird 6 (1968)

10 June 200213 June 2022

Rating: ★★★

Hi-Tech Rescue Organisation/Puppet Film

Director: David Lane
Actors: Ray Barrett, David Graham, Neil McCallum, Jeremy Wilkin, …
Category: Science Fiction

Thunderbirds Are Go (1966)

18 March 200322 April 2021

Rating: ★★★

Hi-Tech Rescue Organisation/Puppet Film

Director: David Lane
Actors: Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, Alexander Davion, Peter Dyneley, …
Category: Science Fiction

Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965)

12 May 20049 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Children’s Time Travel Film

Director: Arthur Rankin Jr
Actors: Billie Richards, Larry Mann, Paul Soles, James Doohan
Category: Science Fiction

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  • The Mighty Gorga (1969)
  • Empire of the Apes (2013)
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  • The Shrouds (2024)
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Contact Moria

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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