Fraggle Rock: The Movie

Fraggle Rock: The Movie is a 2022 American adventure comedy film directed by Cory Edwards. It was produced by Lionsgate Films and The Jim Henson Company (under the Jim Henson Pictures banner), and released by Sony Pictures Releasing, under the TriStar Pictures banner for domestic distribution, and as Columbia Pictures internationally. The film stars Adam Driver, Colm Feore, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Grace Moretz, Randy Rainbow, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Karen Prell, Donna Kimball, John Tartaglia, Andy Hayward, and Dave Goelz as the main Fraggle characters.
The plot centers around Jake Crystal (nephew of the late Jerome "Doc" Crystal), a solitary, "masculine" high school student who hasn't had a proper family since he was just months old, and despite his small circle of friends (sensitive guy Nate Shimmelfinney, tomboyish Charlotte "Charlie" Stevenson and fashionista Lola Juhl) and Doc's dog Sprocket, Jake nonetheless feels alone and depressed, with no one he thinks he can trust. Red Fraggle, from Fraggle Rock (one of Nate's favorite childhood shows), escapes from the hole in the wall of one of his classrooms and enters "outer space" (what Fraggles call the human world), and offers to be Jake's housemate, confidant and "sister", out of sympathy for his loneliness (a similar situation happens with Nate when Mokey, another Fraggle from the show, explores "outer space" as well).
Jake soon learns that years ago, his father was murdered by Derek Frith, who is now the chairman of the most powerful corporation in the world, and plans to obtain Bubonium, a supernatural element with the power to recreate the Black Death, in order to get revenge on the population of the United States for bullying him in his youth. When the other three main Fraggles (Gobo, Wembley, and Boober) and Sprocket join the mix, it's a race against time to stop Mr. Frith from getting the element and laying waste to America.
The film was released on July 30, 2022, and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the acting (especially Driver, Prell, and Feore's performances), the direction, the puppet effects, and the story. It performed moderately at the box office, making $88 million on a $47 million budget. Principal photography occurred between October and December 2021 on location, in Toronto, Ontario; Los Angeles, California; New York City; and Atlanta, Georgia, with post-production in January 2022.
The film won five Academy Awards; Best Actor (for Adam Driver), Best Supporting Actress (Karen Prell as Red Fraggle), Best Direction (Cory Edwards), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer), and was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Colm Feore). Prell's win marked the first time an acting Oscar was awarded for a puppeteering or voice-over performance (Prell accepted the award in-character with the Red Fraggle puppet, and after her acceptance speech, Red hugged fellow Oscar winner Adam Driver, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Miranda Cosgrove, Colm Feore, Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, and Boober). However, it wasn't the first time any major acting award had such a nomination; Ellen DeGeneres was nominated for a Saturn Award for her voice performance in Finding Nemo.
Following the positive critical reception of this film, the Jim Henson Company announced plans to reboot many of their most popular projects and focus on more puppet-centric productions, including a film based on Bear in the Big Blue House (made in cooperation with Disney), remake films of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and even a second film under the Henson Alternative banner. In addition, the company announced plans for a collaboration with Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics; an HBO Max series based on the Batman comic books with the characters portrayed with puppets.
==Cast==
Adam Driver as Jake Crystal
Karen Prell as Red Fraggle, Wingnut Doozer, Modem Doozer, and Fluffinella
Colm Feore as Mr. Frith
Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse as Nate Shimmelfinney
Donna Kimball as Mokey Fraggle and Fragglette
Miranda Cosgrove as Charlie Stevenson
Chloe Grace Moretz as Lola Juhl
John Tartaglia as Gobo Fraggle
Andy Hayward as Wembley Fraggle
Boober Fraggle: Tim Lagasse (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)
Uncle Travelling Matt: Drew Massey (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)
Sprocket: Kevin Clash (puppetry), Ryan Dillon (voice)
Randy Rainbow as Sal DeLove
Alice Dinnean as Cotterpin Doozer and Fragglette
Rederick LaMancha: Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (puppetry), Adam Driver (voice)
Christopher Lloyd as President Willard Newton
Julie Gonzalo as Governor Alberta Webber
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Mr. Parks
Ralph Fiennes as Principal Kenworthy
Junior Gorg: Rob Mills (puppetry), Frank Meschkuleit (performance), Tyler Bunch (voice)
The Cube: Allan Trautman (puppetry), Stephanie D'Abruzzo (voice)
Marjory the Trash Heap: Mike Quinn (puppetry), Peter Linz (voice)
Pa Gorg: John Kennedy (puppetry and voice), Gord Robertson (performance)
Ma Gorg: Cheryl Wagner (puppetry and voice), Trish Leeper (performance)
Philo: Rob Mills (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)
Gunge: Bob Stutt (puppetry), David Rudman (voice)
World's Oldest Fraggle: John Kennedy (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)
Terry Angus as Storyteller Fraggle, Brio the Minstrel, and Morris Fraggle
Bill Barretta as Cantus the Minstrel
Wrench Doozer: Victor Yerrid (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)
Sidebottom: John Tartaglia (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)
Billy Zane as Vice-President Paul Birkenfield
Louise Fletcher as First Lady Rhonda Newton
Bruce Lanoil as Flange Doozer
Mike Quinn as Architect Doozer
Convincing John: Kevin Clash (puppetry), Martin P. Robinson (voice)
Large Marvin Fraggle: Bruce Lanoil (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)
John Pattison as Henchy Fraggle
The World's Oldest Fraggle's Wife: Julianne Buescher (puppetry), Louise Gold (voice)
William Forsythe as Jake's Dad
Imelda Staunton as Jake's Mom
Doug Walker as The Nostalgia Critic
Gillis Fraggle: Fred Stinson (puppetry), Brian Henson (voice)
Marlon Fraggle: John Tartaglia (puppetry), Matt Vogel (voice)
Tim Lagasse as Feenie Fraggle
Kristen Wiig as Nate's Mom
Trish Leeper as Tosh Fraggle
Cheryl Wagner as Lou Fraggle
Archbanger Fraggle: Drew Massey (puppetry), Joey Mazzarino (voice)
Bob Stutt as Wander McMooch and Felix the Fearless
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as The Old Gypsy Lady and Fragglette
Dane DeHaan as Young Mr. Frith
Murray the Minstrel: John Kennedy (puppetry), Eric Jacobson (voice)
Tim Gosley as Brool the Minstrel
Balsam the Minstrel: Alice Dinnean (puppetry), Noel MacNeal (voice)
Rob Mills as Lanford
Gerry Parkes as Doc (via archive footage)
Background Fraggles & Doozers: Brad Abrell, Terry Angus, Pam Arciero (voice only), Lee Armstrong, Anthony Asbury (voice only), Grant Baciocco, David Barclay, Jennifer Barnhart (voice only), Bill Barretta, Cheryl Blaylock (voice only), Rickey Boyd (voice only), Lisa Buckley (voice only), Julianne Buescher, Tyler Bunch (voice only), Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Brian Clark, Kevin Clash, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo (voice only), Dorien Davies, Ryan Dillon (voice only), Alice Dinnean, Peggy Etra, Genevieve Flati, Aymee Garcia, Dave Goelz (voice only), Louise Gold (voice only), Tim Gosley, Ingrid Hansen, Andy Hayward, Brian Henson, Eric Jacobson (voice only), Haley Jenkins, Brian Jones, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner (voice only), John Kennedy, Donna Kimball, Jim Kroupa (voice only), Tim Lagasse, Bruce Lanoil, Trish Leeper, Peter Linz (voice only), Rick Lyon (voice only), Noel MacNeal (voice only), Amanda Maddock, Jim Martin (voice only), Drew Massey, Joey Mazzarino (voice only), Paul McGinnis, Jess McKay, Frank Meschkuleit, Ted Michaels, Rob Mills, Alison Mork, Sarah Oh, Carmen Osbahr (voice only), John Pattison, Mike Petersen, Karen Prell, Mike Quinn, Dan Redican, Gord Robertson, Martin P. Robinson (voice only), David Rudman (voice only), Carla Rudy, Nicolette Santino, Colleen Smith, Fred Stinson, Bob Stutt, John Tartaglia, Allan Trautman, Karen Valleau, Matt Vogel (voice only), Cheryl Wagner, Russ Walko, Wende Welch, Victor Yerrid
Performing Assistants: Grant Baciocco (Boober Fraggle right hand-rod), Julianne Buescher (Uncle Travelling Matt right hand-rod), Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (Sprocket right hand), Dorien Davies (Storyteller Fraggle left hand-rod), Alice Dinnean (Red Fraggle right hand), Peggy Etra (Gobo Fraggle feet), Genevieve Flati (Wembley Fraggle feet), Aymee Garcia (Sprocket feet), Ingrid Hansen (Storyteller Fraggle feet), Haley Jenkins (Red Fraggle feet), Brian Jones (Gobo Fraggle right hand-rod), Amanda Maddock (Cotterpin Doozer feet), Paul McGinnis (Uncle Travelling Matt feet), Jess McKay (Wrench Doozer right hand-rod), Alison Mork (Cotterpin Doozer right hand-rod), Sarah Oh (Wrench Doozer feet), Carla Rudy (Boober Fraggle feet), Nicolette Santino (Mokey Fraggle feet), Colleen Smith (Mokey Fraggle right hand), Karen Valleau (Marjory the Trash Heap left hand), Russ Walko (Wembley Fraggle right hand-rod)
Animatronics Puppeteers: David Barclay, Charles Chiodo, Edward Chiodo, Stephen Chiodo, John Criswell, Tony Gardner, Rick Lazzarini, Greg Manion, April Warren
Additional Performers: Brad Abrell, Catherine Adell, Christian Anderson, Rachel Appelbaum, Lee Armstrong, Greg Ballora, Steve Barker, Helene Beaulieu, Nate Begle, Adam Behr, Tim Blaney, Phoebe Bottoms, Jamie Bradley, Stephen Brathwaite, Joel Brubacher, Ronnie Burkett, Kevin Carlson, Jeny Cassady, Morris Chapdelaine, Kristin Charney, Denise Cheshire, Neil Christopher, Brian Clark, Jeff Conover, Frankie Cordero, Brian Culp, Nathan Danforth, Ben Deutsch, Todd Doldersum, Kathryn Durst, Randi Edmundson, Ali Eisner, Nameer El-Kadi, Artie Esposito, Matt Ficner, Thom Fountain, Dan Garza, Patrick Gerrety, Alex U. Griffin, BJ Guyer, Kellie Haines, Sam Koji Hale, Kira Hall, Terri Hardin, Paul Hooson, Jason Hopley, Bruce Hunter, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, Victoria Johnson, Nina Keogh, Helen King, Andreas Krebs, Scott Land, Jani Lauzon, Len Levitt, Jordan Lockhart, Paul Louis, Benton Lowe, Lara MacLean, Kathy MacLellan, Bob Martin, Peter McCowatt, Kevin McGrath, Jess McKay, Ted Michaels, Danny Montooth, Sue Morrison, Kaitlin Morrow, James Murray, Russell Nauman, John Nolan, Kevin Noonchester, Michael Oosterom, Brett O'Quinn, Caitlin O'Reilly, Christine Papalexis, Pier Paquette, Mike Petersen, Darren Pickering, Janine Pibal, Felix Pire, Ann Powell, David Powell, James Rankin, Dan Redican, Geoff Redknap, Amber Reeder, Shawna Reiter, Steven Ritz-Barr, Melissa Roja, Misty Rosas, James Rowley, Paul Rugg, Benjamin Schrader, Joe Selph, Sandra Shamas, Jamie Shannon, Chad Ethan Shohet, Benjamin Siemon, James Silson, Scott Silson, Michelan Sisti, Ron Stefaniuk, Marty Stelnick, Jeff Sweeney, Jamie Swettenham, Rebecca Elmire Tremblay, Tom Vandenberg, Vicki Veenstra, Art Vega, Jack Venturo, Alex Villa, Ron Wagner, Robin Walsh, Karen Waterman, Wende Welch, Glenn Williams, Mark Bryan Wilson, Dan Wood, Eric Woolfe, Chase Woolner, Andrew Young, Noreen Young (Uncredited: Heather Asch, Connor Asher, Tau Bennett, Carol Binion, Ronald Binion, Raymond Carr, Melissa Creighton, Jodi Eichelberger, Mark Gale, James Godwin, Christopher Hayes, Rachel Herrick, Gwen Hollander, Patrick Holmes, Scott Johnson, Avery Jones, David Jordan, James Kemp, Michael Latini, Jayden Libran, Spencer Lott, Darci Lynne Farmer, Alexander Mantia, Karen Maruyama, Tracie Mick, Colin Penman, Ian Petrella, Marc Petrosino, Nicholas Podbrey, David Quesal, Jared Ramirez, Jon Riddleberger, Andy Rocco Kraft, Rob Saunders, Michael Schupbach, David Skelly, Andy Stone, Norman Tempia, Steve Troop, Cheri VandenHeuvel, Vanessa Whitney)
==Crew==
Directed by Cory Edwards
Story by Dennis Lee and Jocelyn Stevenson
Screenplay by Cory Edwards and Jim Lewis
Produced by Lisa Henson, Ritamarie Peruggi, Vincent Raisa, Alex Rockwell
Executive Producers: Martin G. Baker, Michael K. Frith, Brian Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Halle Stanford
Co-Executive Producers: Dave Goelz, Karen Prell, John Tartaglia
Based upon the TV series "Fraggle Rock" created by Jim Henson
Directors of Photography: Alan Caso, ASC and Craig Kief, ASC
Production Designers: Bill Brzeski and Bo Welch
Editor: Alan Baumgarten, ACE
Costume Designer: Polly Smith
Music by Philip Balsam
Music Supervisor: John Debney
Casting by Rich Delia
Stunt Coordinator: Cheryl Lewis
Performance Consultant: Steve Whitmire
==The Jim Henson Company NY Creature Shop==
Original Puppet Designer: Michael K. Frith
Original Workshop Supervisor: Tim Miller
Original Lead Puppet Builders: Leslee Asch (Boober Fraggle), Tim Clarke (Uncle Travelling Matt), Rollie Krewson (Red Fraggle & Wembley Fraggle), Tim Miller (Gobo Fraggle & Sprocket), Jan Rosenthal (Mokey Fraggle), Caroly Wilcox (Gobo Fraggle)
Original Special Puppet Effects Supervisor: Faz Fazakas
Original Puppet Technicians: Fred Buchholz, Larry Jameson, Thomas O. Newby
Puppet Design Consultant: Michael K. Frith
Workshop Puppet Supervisor: Edward G. Christie
Workshop General Manager: Constance Peterson
Workshop Creative Supervisor: Jason Weber
Workshop Puppet Captain: Matt Vogel
Lead Puppet Designers: Paul Andrejco, Edward Eyth
Lead Puppet Fabricators: Kimberly Lettiere, Sara Schmidt Boldon
Puppet Construction Supervisor: Joanne Green
Special Puppet Construction: Jamie Bressler
Puppets & Costumes: Heather Asch, Lauren Attinello, Zea Barker, Carol Binion, Ronald Binion, David Bizzaro, Erin Slattery Black, Cheryl Blaylock, Marc Borders, Loryn Brantz, Kate Brehm, Mary Brehmer, Matthew Brennan, Matt Brooks, Lisa Buckley, Michael Bush, Brian Carson, Chelsea Carter, James Chai, Ceili Clemens, John Cody, Frankie Cordero, Melissa Creighton, Carole D'Agostino, Alana De Matteo, Andrea Detwiler, Rosa Douglas, Isabelle Dufour, Ben Durocher, Richard Dyar, Jonathan Ehrich, Victoria Ellis, Henri Ewaskio, Bob Fappiano, Bob Flanagan, Rob Gardner, Joel Gennari, Andrea Gilletti, Vanessa Gifford Gillis, James Godwin, Muriel Stockdale Grabe, Brian Haimes, Tyler Hall, Elizabeth Hara, Taylor Harrison, Paul Hartis, Deborah Hertzberg, Michelle Hickey, Joshua Holden, Ann Marie Holdgruen, Sarah Iams, J. Douglas James, Ulysses Jones, Jean Marie Keevins, Ariella Knight, Joe Kovacs, Rollie Krewson, Jim Kroupa, Janet Kuhl, Sarah Lafferty, Michael Latini, Kimberly Lettiere, Aria Linz, Mica Linz, Spencer Lott, Kari Love, Peter MacKennan, Lara MacLean, Amanda Maddock, Nicholas Mahon, Laura Manns, Cathy McCullough, Tom McLaughlin, Casey Miller, Thomas O. Newby, Colette Nickola, Danielle Obinger, John Orberg, Anney Fresh Ozar, Gabriella N. Padilla, Anna Paniccia, Constance Peterson, Marc Petrosino, Jane Pien, Kip Rathke, Lily Rosen, Stephen Rotondaro, Kate Rusek, Sara Schmidt Boldon, Sierra Schoening, Michael Schupbach, Jessica Simon, Polly Smith, Keely Snook, Matt Stoddart, Sally Thomas, Mari Tobita, David Valentine, Jason Weber, Stacey Weingarten, Sarah Luraschi Weiss, Julie Wigg, Noel Williams, Nate Wilson, Matt Witham, James Wojtal, Cynthia Woodie, Eric Wright
Puppet Costume Supervisors: Carol Binion, Cheryl Blaylock, Constance Peterson, Polly Smith
Lead Puppet Wrangler: Lara MacLean
Puppet Wranglers: Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Rob Gardner, James Godwin, Michelle Hickey, Tim Lagasse, Noel MacNeal, Anney Fresh Ozar, Kip Rathke, Michael Schupbach
Special Puppet Effects Supervisors: Jim Kroupa, Thomas O. Newby
Puppet Stunt Coordinator: Fred Buchholz
Creative Supervisor's Assistant: Carolyn Fanelli
Workshop Production Crew: Melissa Creighton, Gabriella Degennaro, Alana De Matteo, Richard Dyar, Joseph Roddy, Jason Seck
==The Jim Henson Company LA Creature Shop==
Workshop Captain: Brian Henson
Workshop Supervisor: Cheryl Henson
Workshop Creative Supervisor: Peter Brooke
Workshop Puppet Captain: Kevin Clash
Workshop Puppet Co-Captain: Bill Barretta
Workshop Puppet Supervisor: Jane Gootnick
Puppet Design Consultant: Neal Scanlan
Puppet Design Supervisor: Kirk R. Thatcher
Special Puppet Construction: James Kemp
Animatronics & Puppet Fabrication: Peter Abrahamson, Russ Adams, Jane Kriesel Allen, Deborah Anne Ambrosino, Jasper Anderson, Greg Aronowitz, Grant Baciocco, Greg Ballora, David Barrington-Holt, Chris Barton, Ben Bayouth, Chelsea Bayouth, Adam Behr, Robert H. Bennett, Enrique Bilsland, Peter Brooke, Toby Bryan, Julianne Buescher, Mae Canaga, Marilee Canaga, A. Robert Capwell, Tamara Carlson-Woodard, Jeny Cassady, Joe Colwell, Randall Cooper, Jake Corrick, Susan Cox, John Criswell, Gretchen Crookes, Jeff Cruts, Duke Cullen, Richard Darwin, Brian Dooley, Robin Dufay, Harriet Dyson, Brad Elliott, Dave Elsey, Ivonne Escoto, Artie Esposito, David Fedele, Alex "Jurgen" Ferguson, Jeff Forbes, Frederick Fraleigh, Karl Gallivan, Deborah Galvez, Patrick Gerrety, Barton Gilley, Jane Gootnick, BJ Guyer, Beth Hathaway, Tim Hawkins, Eric Hayden, James Hayes, Jurgen Heimann, Colleen Henry, Heather Henson, Jane Howell, Patrick Johnson, Scott Johnson, Sean Johnson, Marian Keating, Tacy Kneale, Karen Lafler, Tim Lagasse, Frank Langley, Antonio Loza, Russell Lukich, Michael MacFarlane, Tristan Maduro, Karen Mason, Drew Massey, Joelle McGonagle, Jess McKay, Anna McKindley, Claire McKindley, Tamara McKinnon-Miller, Glenn Muravsky, Joelle Newton-Mold, Dillon Wolf Oleata, Michael Oosterom, Adrian Parish, Joan Parkinson, Emily Fiora Parks, Gary Pawlowski, Quentin Plant, Dragan Radic, Geoff Redknap, Nick Reisinger, Lisa Rocco, Tim Rose, Mike Rotella, Lex Rudd, Mike Scanlan, David Skelly, Alanna Suen, Norman Tempia, Jill Thraves, Kacy Treadway, George Troester, Chaz Vance, Russ Walko, Robin Walsh, April Warren, Chad Waters, Jean-Guy White, Kristen Willet, Kenny Wilson, Chase Woolner, Victor Yerrid, Julie Zobel
Puppet Costume Supervisors: Dorothy Bulac-Eriksen, Lisa Davis, Michele Dunn, Connie Grayson Criswell, Alyssa Haynie, Carol Spier, Haley Who
Puppet Wranglers: Gretchen Crookes, Alex "Jurgen" Ferguson, Scott Johnson, Russ Walko
Special Puppet Effects Supervisors: David Barclay, Bruce Lanoil, Tim Rose
Puppet Animatronics Consultant: Lyle Conway
Puppet Animatronics Supervisors: David Barclay, John Criswell
Puppet Animation Supervisors: Karen Prell, Mike Quinn, David Skelly, Robin Walsh
Special Thanks to: Angus Puppets, The Barretta Family, Patrick Bristow, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Kerry Butler, Shannon Clash, Todd Edwards, Vicki Edwards, Annie Evans, Debra Freeman, David Gumpel, Katie Hooten, Adam Hunt, Mary Jacobson, Susan Juhl, Veronica Kimball, Michael Lapinski, Jim Lewis, Michael Shawn Lewis, Matthew MacNeal, Susan Elia MacNeal, Magnetic Dreams Animation Studio, Henry Mills, Karen Mills, Jan Nelson, Frank Oz, Radical Sheep Productions, Stoney Ripley, Alex Rockwell, The Rudman Family, Paul Rudolph, Mia Sara, Craig Shemin, Joanne Tucker, The Vogel Family, Melissa Whitmire
Dedicated to the memory of Gerard "Gerry" Parkes (1924-2014) Thank you for all of your contributions to Fraggle Rock. You never left the magic, Doc.
Enormous gratitude to the incomparable Jim Henson (1936-1990) whose limitless imagination and unparalleled ingenuity created countless memories. We are honored to continue his legacy.
And of course, special thanks to all of the puppeteers, directors, writers, producers, and creative team who contributed to the success of Fraggle Rock. We shall never forget them.
==Trivia==
This film introduces an alter-ego for Red Fraggle: the Miss Piggy/Pepe Le Pew-esque "all-gender magnet" Rederick LaMancha. While in a Vegas casino, one of the performers scheduled for the night calls in sick, so Red, leaving with the excuse of having to use the restroom, transforms herself into Rederick LaMancha to fill in. Once on-stage, the disguised Red performs the Louis Jordan song "Let the Good Times Roll" (Mokey develops a crush on the singer, unaware that it's her best friend in disguise). Later in the movie, Red turns into Rederick again (singing "Hello Ma Baby") to distract Derek Frith. Leslie Carrara-Rudolph puppeteered Rederick, with Adam Driver, the actor who played Jake, providing his smooth, baritone voice.
While the main Fraggles on the original Fraggle Rock series (besides the live-handed Mokey puppet) were operated by a single puppeteer (being hand-rod puppets), the characters in this film are now performed by at least three people. Using Red Fraggle as an example, her lead puppeteer, Karen Prell, performed Red's head and left hand (since a live-handed Red puppet was mostly used, this meant inserting her left hand into Red's gloved left hand). Prell would be assisted on-location by a second puppeteer, Alice Dinnean, who similarly operated Red's right hand. Secondary puppets of Red were built with radio-controlled eyes and tail (controlled by one puppeteer each), and rodded feet with a toe mechanism (operated by Haley Jenkins), which, when used, would be controlled by three additional performers from off-screen. Mokey Fraggle was similarly performed; Donna Kimball puppeteering the character's head and left hand, Colleen Smith controlling her right hand, and three extra puppeteers moving the eyes, tail and feet of her secondary puppets.
Tyler Bunch, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Ryan Dillon, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal, Joey Mazzarino, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, and Matt Vogel also provided character voices for this film, despite working on Sesame Street in New York; they were unable to travel to L.A. to perform Junior Gorg, Gillis Fraggle, the Cube, Sprocket, Murray the Minstrel, Marjory the Trash Heap, Balsam the Minstrel, Archbanger Fraggle, Convincing John, Gunge, and Marlon Fraggle on-set. They were puppeteered by Rob Mills, Frank Meschkuleit, Allan Trautman, Kevin Clash, John Kennedy, Victor Yerrid, Mike Quinn, Alice Dinnean, Drew Massey, Bob Stutt, and John Tartaglia, who perform other characters in the film. Pam Arciero, Anthony Asbury, Jennifer Barnhart, Cheryl Blaylock, Rickey Boyd, Lisa Buckley, Frankie Cordero, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner, Jim Kroupa, Rick Lyon, Jim Martin, and Carmen Osbahr also provided voice-over work for additional Fraggle and Doozer characters.
Given Dave Goelz's advanced age at the time of filming, his characters were puppeteered by Tim Lagasse (Boober), Drew Massey (Uncle Travelling Matt), Rob Mills (Philo), Victor Yerrid (Wrench), John Kennedy (World's Oldest Fraggle), John Tartaglia (Sidebottom), and Bruce Lanoil (Large Marvin), with Goelz dubbing their voices later.
Six variations of the Red Fraggle puppet were used interchangeably throughout the film: the regular rod-hand Red puppet, as seen in the original Fraggle Rock series; a live-hand Red, used for the majority of the film (in all scenes where she is interacting in "outer space"); a bunraku-style Red; a radio-controlled Red (for medium and wide shots of her walking); and two variations of her regular and live-hand puppets, both with an RC eye control, an RC-controlled tail, and movable feet (including a mechanism allowing her toes to move). Several variations of the Red puppet in other attires (including a white tank top, a rainbow-colored shirt, black jersey shorts, a blue baseball cap, fuchsia pajamas covered in red hearts, and dark sunglasses with dark grey rims), as well as naked versions, were also built. There were also talks of having four more versions (a digital puppet Red, a Red marionette, a dwarf actor in a Red costume, and a life-sized Red plush toy), but those plans were scrapped because the techniques used looked unconvincing. The "actor-in-a-suit" idea was referenced in the film itself, where Jake passes off the real Red Fraggle as a midget in an expertly-made costume at a McDonald's restaurant. Four Mokey puppets were also used: two live-hand Mokeys and two rod-hand Mokeys (two with radio-controlled eyes and tail, and movable feet/toes just like the Red puppets, and two with no RC features).
Red Fraggle's softer, nicer, more playful side is more prominent in this film than in her other appearances, with many of her negative traits noticeably toned down. After Jake tells Red about his lonely childhood, the tearful Fraggle gives him a big hug. Over the course of the film, Red develops a strong emotional bond with Jake (including sharing a bed and hugging each other when sleeping), with Red eventually able to fully understand and sympathize with him, best illustrated in the scene where the World's Oldest Fraggle expresses doubt about saving Jake after he is "kidnapped" by Mr. Frith, on the grounds of him being a Silly Creature; Red and Mokey give him a death stare intense enough to scare him, and changes his mind after Gobo, slightly menacingly, warns, "A friend of Red's is a friend of all of us." She also serves a major role in the climax; after being lied to by Mr. Frith that his parents never loved him as a child, Jake is driven to suicide, but before he can finish himself off, Red telepathically communicates with him from within Fraggle Rock, singing Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" to talk him out of it. After the climax, when Jake has to say goodbye to the Fraggles, Red again cries and gives him a big hug. Says Gobo, "Wow! She never shows me that kind of love." When Jake asks Red why she'll miss him so much, since Gobo, Mokey, Wembley and Boober are her closest friends and she likes them, she quietly says, "I love you, too," and kisses him on the lips. This garners a sympathetic reaction from everyone else, except Boober, who pukes into a nearby trash can.
Over 250 Fraggle puppets were made for this film, many recycled and reused to create a large Fraggle population. Likewise, 140 Doozers were also built, many reused to illustrate a large number of Doozers.
Category:Fraggle Rock
Category:The Jim Henson Company
Category:Movies