Rant and Roll

Harried Harry is skillfully brought to life by Flexitoon Puppets.

I like this "Rant and Roll" video from Flexitoon. I always think of rod puppets as not being terribly expressive, but Harried Harry shows what can be done with one in the hands of a skilled puppeteer, especially in a well-staged shot. Check it out.

Paper Puppetry

A paper rod puppet is brought to life in a short video on YouTube.

This video by a group called Imaginationshow features a puppet made from paper. Neat stuff.

Spotted via Puppeteers Unite.

Classic Christmas Puppetry From Richard Teschner

Christmas is a rare example of legendary puppeteer Richard Teschner's work.

Here's a little Christmas treat...a recently restored video of Christmas by Richard Teschner, the famed puppeteer who adapted traditional Javanese rod puppets for western puppet theatre in the early 20th century. Teschner's work influenced generations of puppeteers (including the Muppets) and is still felt very much today. It's wonderful to be able to see an example of his work online.

Via Penny Plain, Twopence Coloured.

The Conductor

This video is a very simple, but very nice example of rod puppetry.

Watch this, a nice example of a Bunraku-style rod puppet being manipulated by a single puppeteer.

Rockin' Banana Band

Take a look at the Rockin' Banana Band.

Here's a cute little music video from 2004 called Cup O' Sour Cream. The video features a group of banana rod puppets affectionately referred to as "The Rockin' Banana Band" by Canadians Eric Smith and Charlie Nay. If you listen to the song lyrics carefully they are actually a recipe for banana cream pie!