Puppets

Ancient Egypt - 2000 BCE

While Puppets have a somewhat, unknown origin, the earliest known use of puppets was in Ancient Egypt. Made out of a rudimentary Wood, Clay & Strings, These puppets (Marionettes) were most commonly used as a storytelling method, as a way to represent the Ancient Gods in their tales, The Tale Of Osiris for example. As well as storytelling, these puppets were also used as a way of respecting the dead in Funeral Services, they were used as a gift to help those who have passed, to make them feel supported in their journey to the afterlife. While not sharing the same name, they could be an early example of a classic 'Marionette', the way they are controlled is with a string above them.

Ancient China - 1000 BCE

During the Zhou Dynasty, a new form of storytelling was invented. Known as "Pi Ying Xi" (Or in English, Shadow Puppets), this was a new and revolutionary form of puppetry which stood out due to their complex designs and intricate details. These puppets were Two Dimensional, commonly using Thin Ox Hide as they were Dyeable, easy to Cut and Shape, they were also fairly common to find. Bamboo sticks were also strongly implemented as a way to hold up the puppets, as the name states the word 'Shadow' is where this puppetry sticks out among the rest, as they used their shadows to make the shape of the characters. They were commonly used as a way to represent their ancestral stories, only being available to those of 'Higher Class'

Ancient India - 1000 BCE

In the book 'Natya Shastra' (A book detailing the Arts of Ancient India), they mention Putulika (Translated to 'Puppet'), this was another form of 'Shadow Puppetry'. The difference between Ancient Indian and Ancient Chinese Puppets were purely the resources that were required to create them, while in Ancient China they used 'Hide' which is a fairly thin material, in India they chose to use Leather, alongside Pigments to help with the colouring and Wooden Strings. These shows were often performed in local villages as a way to tell stories, they commonly used Oil Lamps as a way to project the puppets onto cloth in which the puppeteers would educate locals using stories and mythology, Ancient India also used puppets in Festivals, usually as a way to tell the origins of the celebration.

Ancient Greece - 500 BCE

Greek Philosopher Plato has mentioned puppetry in his works, more specifically, he has mentioned 'Shadow Puppetry'. Puppets were made usually for festivals and they were made of carved wood with either rods or strings attached, this was also one of histories first cases of making changeable Costumes for the puppets, usually made from Cloth or Leather, The difference between puppetry in festivals and other acts, is that all other areas such as Poetry, Singing etc, all competed for top prize, while puppetry stood alone in its field. The unique addition with these puppets were their Hinge Joints, allowing for more movement and better flexibility in regards of storytelling. Putting this alongside the changeable costumes, this made for a very advanced puppet in the Early Medieval Era.

Ancient China - 1000 AD

In this era of Ancient China, A new form of puppet was invented, this was called a Hand Puppet, Hand puppets are a more simplistic style, instead of rods and strings, the puppet has a hole in their body in which the user can control him with, prominently with their middle three fingers for the mouth and thumb and pinkie for the arms. In ancient China however they were more simplistic, Hand puppets had wooden heads and fabric bodies, this was so the creators could add alot of detail to the heads. These puppets were used in battle reenacments, while others forms of puppets such as Water and Shadow puppets were reserved for popular festivals. In this era they also used puppets as a way to promote specific propaganda, utilising puppets for more than just simplistic shows.

Europe - 1000 AD

In Europe Puppets were fairly similar in a structural sense to Greece at the time, I say this because they were simplistic wooden puppets with strings and hinges, at the time puppets were fairly new to Europe so resources to make specific advancements weren't available at first, so they had a more rudimentary design. Even though their puppets weren't as advanced as other cultures that didn't stop Europe from using them to tell stories from Christianity in their churches during events of the year, one of these events being the Nativity.

Mr Punch (Pulcinella) - 1662 AD

In the year 1662 a new puppet was made, derived from the Commedia Dell'arte character archetype Pulcinella (An Italian Clown Stereotype), Mr Punch was originally from Italy, Created by a man called Pietro Gimonde. when English Writer Samuel Pepys was travelling London, he saw a puppet show including what he was called at the time, Pulcinella. A very simplistic puppet which stuck out due to his immense detail in his Face, Clothes and Hair. Pepys took immense appeal to the puppet show performed by Gimonde and insisted he performed his comedic show in front of King Charles II, which earnt him a medal for his performance. Since then Mr Punch has been a british Entertainment Icon, Still performing shows to this day, So popular in fact that May 9th, is known as Mr Punch's Birthday.

Punch and Judy - 1820 AD

Since the 1660's Mr Punch had been entertaining the people of England for 160 years, making new stories for him which the locals loved, one story in particular however would introduce a new character that would become a staple to the future of Mr Punch shows, this being his Wife Judy. The stories that revolved around them went with the same format, that being an argument between the two that led to humor and cartoony violence, this became really popular among families as it gave them all something individual to enjoy. The shows were that popular that a catch-phrase once said is one of the most well known catch-phrases in english history, that being "Thats the way to do it!". There is no recorded date of when the show was officialy renamed Punch and Judy, it was assumed to be not long after her introduction. Since then however they have been one of histories longest running puppet shows and comedic duo's on top of that.

Jim Henson: 1936 - 1990

In Greenville Mississippi, a future pioneer of puppetry would be born, Jim Henson. While not initially being interested in puppets, he would find a sudden interest in the year 1954, taking on the position of a 'Puppeteer' for a Television Studio, Henson found an outlet for which he could be as zany as humanly possible in the form of puppets. Originally having a two minute section on the show 'Sam and Friends' (A comedic skit based on current pop culture trends) Jim would find himself making a whole cast for his show including a little green frog-like creature which he named, Kermit. Kermit stuck out among the rest, while originally being made from a Bag, Coat and a few Ping-Pong Balls, Henson managed to make a puppet big enough to accommodate his "Large Hands" which allowed him to manouver Kermit in ways never before seen in the art of puppetry. Kermit became more of an individual in 1965 when he was asked to appear on the late night programme 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson', This one programme also solidified Kermit as being a Frog also. In Hensons earlier days he didn't have the finances to make professionally made puppets, so when he showed Kermit off on Television, he made a red jumper for him which helped cover up the seams, this was his trademark for many years. Jim found immense success in his puppets, which he'd later trademark as Muppets, he would pioneer early years Television and go on to create Sesame Street & The Muppet Show. He also opened the Jim Henson Creature Shop in 1979, which has been the most successful puppetry industry to date, creating many puppets & animatronics for modern media.

Sesame Street - 1969

In 1966, Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett concieved the idea of a programme to help teach younger children while also entertaining them, they wanted to do this by using what younger children found appealing to the eye, like colours, funny characters and goofy voices, to make this happen Jim Henson was approached after his success with his character Kermit the Frog. With the appropraite budget Jim Henson got to work making new and creative rod puppets which would be loved by many, using Foam Rubber and Synthetic Fur, these puppets were more durable, maleable and allowed for greater movement, This applied for all of the characters, some of these including characters such as Elmo, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch, there was one puppet that was made that was like no other, this being the puppet of Big Bird. Big Bird was a unique case as he wasn't just a rod controlled puppet like the others, he was a walk-around suit which was also considered a puppet, this was due to the actors ability to control the Mouth by a simple movement of the hand. This show was a hit when it came out cultivating viewers with its appealing characters and childlike innocence, its a show that's kept evolving to this very day. This show was also Kermit The Frogs debut in proper television.

The Muppets - 1974

In the height of both Jim Henson and Kermit the Frogs stardom, Henson wanted to make his own primetime television series with his own cast of characters, unlike Sesame Street, Henson wanted a show that more resembled 'Sam and Friends', in the sense that they used popular culture as a way to appeal to their audiences, this brought along a whole new cast of characters, such as Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Miss Piggy and many more. All of these characters would later star in their own movies due to their popularity, this is because Henson was a pioneer in making muppets feel alive with their own unique personalities, This skill of his earnt Kermit his own space on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is the first puppet character to recieve his own space. Similarily to Big Bird from Sesame Street, the muppets show brought along more intuitive fully body puppet suits, with characters such as Sweetums, Thog and The Mutations. While none of these characters ever reaching the level of popularity as the muppets main cast, their unique form of puppet is something that has inspired many companies to use to similar mechanics in some of their theme park walkabout costumes, such as Disney, Universal etc.

The Lion King - 1997

When The Lion King was coming to stage, one of the biggest questions was how to get the animals of Pride Rock represented in an effective and appealing way, this job was given to Julie Taymor, who decided to make multiple kinds of puppets, every style of puppet I have mentioned here has been implemented in the Lion King in its own way, Which has made it one of the Theatre industries most fantastic shows visually, all of the puppets have been made in their own unique interpretation, for example the giraffe involves stilts as part of its design, never before seen on stage. This show was revolutionary for how its managed to create unique forms of puppetry and still be able to represent the animals in a lifelike and accurate way.

Avenue Q - 2003

Written in 1999 and first performed in 2003, Avenue Q was a hyrbid show with both Puppets and Human actors, this show stuck out among the rest due to their idea of having certain puppets representing humans, the Director Jason Moore wanted to use puppets in a different way to Henson, while using similar mechanics such as hand and rod puppets, they wanted to use the puppets as a way to represent the main cast, this was very well recieved by audiences and critics alike, as it helped solidify Avenue Q as its own unique interpretation on what musical theatre could and can be.

War Horse - 2007

The War Horse (Joey) Is one of theatre's most realistic puppets in the way it traverses around the stage and on top of this, how it moves, it comes across as an actual horse on the stage, it's made of cane, metal and mesh. Meaning it is very sturdy in the way it moves, they also have multiple puppeteers which work together to make the horse come across as a naturally moving creature, this horse has gained the attention of so many critics and all have been positive reviews, this set a new standard for puppets and how they move and how they are represented on stage.

Miguel (DisneyLand) - 2018

In 2018, Disneyland California Adventure had an event called "A Musical Celebration of Coco", which introduced a new puppet of the main character Miguel, while not necessarily a walk-about character, he was seen walking around the park playing his guitar with a Mariachi band, his puppet is also known as Bun-Raku Puppet, which is connected to the front of an actor and follows their leg movements to make it look like they are walking also. This puppet is made out carved wood and paint, and is a one of a kind puppet as Disneyland

Frozen The Musical - 2018

Similarily to The Lion King, the puppets in frozen are all unique in their own way, two of which being the main cast, this being Olaf and Sven. Olaf is a Bun-Raku Puppet, while Sven is more similar to Joey from war horse in the sense that more than one person controls him, These puppets have brought the cartoon characters to life, in its own individual manor

Inspirational Videos and Channels:

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