Karen Prell

**Karen Leigh Prell** (born July 26, 1959) is an American puppeteer and animator. She is the performer of Red Fraggle in *Fraggle Rock* and voice of the title character along with Aunt Trixie in the Disney version of *Bluey*.

## Early Life and Career

Prell was born on July 26, 1959 in Florida but grew up in Seattle, Washington. She first performed some characters in Jim Henson productions in 1979 and has continued working with the company since. She has also enjoyed a significant second career as a computer animator for such studios as Pixar and DNA. On *Sesame Street*, she performed Deena Monster, as well as several background and one-off characters. She performed on the show from 1980–1981 for seasons 11 and 12, then returned in 2019 for season 50. She also performed in the 2003 attraction *Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic*. Her website includes notes about working with Jim Henson and pictures of her custom puppets.

In the realm of animation, she voiced several characters in the TV version of Amy Winfrey's *Making Fiends* and was hired to voice the title character among others in the Disney version of *Bluey*, the latter of which she is also co-executive producer and writer.

She was an animator for *Geri’s Game* and also worked on animation of *A Bug's Life* and *Toy Story 2*. Prell also works as an animator with Valve.

Outside of her works on shows, Prell has made public appearances performing Red Fraggle, like appearances at Comic Con. At Dragon Con 2013, Karen Prell was joined by fellow puppeteer Kathryn Mullen as part of the 30th Anniversary of Fraggle Rock where they performed their respective characters. She returned to perform Red Fraggle again for the 2020 Apple TV+ reboot *Fraggle Rock: Rock On!*, and the reboot of the series *Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock*, of which she is also co-executive producer.

## Filmography

### Television

* *Eureeka's Castle* – Cooey (puppetry only), Webster (assiting Kathryn Mullen)
* *Fraggle Rock* – Red Fraggle, Wingnut Doozer, Fluffinella, Baby Tree Creature, Beastie, Gavel Doozer, Marley Fraggle, Modem Doozer, Additional Muppets
* *Jim Henson's Animal Show* – Ollie the Tapir (1994–1995), Bernice the Warthog, Blanche the Manatee, Hettie the Hedgehog, Leah the Fruit Bat, Rhonda the Raccoon
* *Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories* – Little Boy Blue's Mother (in "Boy Blue"), Topiary Peacock (in "Dicky Birds"), Peter the Dicky (in "Dicky Birds"), Old Mother Hubbard (in "Mother Hubbard"), Peter's Wife (in "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater")
* *Sesame Street* – Deena, Masha, Additional Muppets
* *The Ghost of Faffner Hall* – Mimi
* *The Muppet Show* – Robin (episode 108), Additional Muppets
* *PB&J Otter* – Munchy Beaver, additional voices
* *Blue's Room* – Blue (voice), additional voices
* *Jack's Big Music Show* – Red Fraggle, Venstro the Harpy Eagle (puppetry), Granny Groundhog
* *Making Fiends* (2007 Nickelodeon series) – various characters
* *Bluey* – Bluey Heeler, Aunt Trixie Heeler, Dark Gray Terrier, Jack Russell, Jack's Mum, additional voices
* *Fraggle Rock: Rock On!* – Red Fraggle
* *Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock* – Red Fraggle, Icy Joe, Queen of the Merggles (puppetry)

### Film

* *A Muppet Family Christmas* – Red Fraggle, Maureen the Mink
* *Dreamchild* – Dormouse (puppeteer)
* *Labyrinth* – Firey 2 (lead puppeteer), The Junk Lady (puppeteer), The Worm (puppeteer), Helping Hands, Goblins (puppetry only)
* *Muppet Treasure Island* – Additional Muppets
* *The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show* – Additional Muppets
* *The Muppet Christmas Carol* – Daughter Mouse, Performer of Ghost of Christmas Past, Aretha
* *The Muppets* – Additional Muppets
* *The Muppets Take Manhattan* – Yolanda Rat, Frank the Dog
* *The Tale of the Bunny Picnic* – Babble Bunny, Baby Bunny, Great-Grandmother Bunny

### Events

* *The Muppets Take the Bowl* – Additional Muppet Performer (live show at the Hollywood Bowl, 8–10 Sept. 2017)
* *The Muppets Take the O2* – Additional Muppet Performer (live show at the O2 Arena, 13–14 Jul. 2018)

## Animator

### Television

* *The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius*
* *Making Fiends* (2007 Nickelodeon series)
* *Bluey* (season 2 onwards)

### Film

* *Geri's Game*
* *A Bug's Life*
* *Toy Story 2* (additional storyboard artist)
* *For the Birds*
* *Monsters, Inc.*
* *The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen* (character animator)
* *The Ant Bully* (character animator)
* *Enchanted* (character animator)

### Video Games

* *Team Fortress 2*
* *Left 4 Dead*
* *Left 4 Dead 2*
* *Portal 2* (lead animator on Wheatley and corrupted cores)
* *Half-Life: Alyx*

## Trivia

* Some of the characters she voices in *Bluey* are actually previous voices she's done, but with different accents. For example, Bluey herself has almost the same voice as Deena from *Sesame Street*, but with a more mature tone and an Australian accent, and the dark gray Terrier has the same voice as Red Fraggle from *Fraggle Rock*, but with a Cockney accent.
* Karen Prell caught a bad cold during the recording sessions of Driving, so E.G. Daily had to take Prell's place. Even so, Prell was still credited for the role of Bluey.
* Out of the entire female cast, Prell has done the most voice roles, with a total of about 43 different characters. This also means she has done the third-most roles in the entire series, being beaten only by Frank Welker and Jim Cummings.