Back to basics

But now, filmmakers are once again reaching for things they can touch. The revival shows up in some of the biggest franchises in popular culture.

Star Wars, for instance, understood the power of physical creatures a long time ago. Yoda began life as a puppet, operated by Frank Oz, in The Empire Strikes Back. Later versions of the character were created using CGI. More recently, Grogu was brought to life using an elaborate practical puppet, with digital effects adding to what the character can do, in The Mandalorian. CGI, then, has not replaced puppetry. It has given new possibilities.

The same idea appears in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In its recent puppet-focused episode, Level-Five Transporter Accident, the Enterprise crew is turned into puppets, with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop helping create the characters. Instead of hiding the limits of puppetry, the show makes them part of the fun.

Working Within Limits

And that is what makes a puppet different from a digital character. A CGI character can move in almost any way. A puppet has limits. Performers have to work with those limits and react to something that is physically in front of them. The result may not look perfectly polished, but it can feel more alive.

This approach has been used quite a lot in the past. Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park is one of the best-known examples where the dinosaurs were not entirely computer-generated. American television and film special make-up effects artist Stan Winston, best known for his work on the Terminator franchise, the Jurassic Park trilogy, Aliens, The Thing, the first two installments of the Predator franchise, Inspector Gadget, Iron Man and Edward Scissorhands, built huge practical creatures, including the famous T rex.

At the same time, Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas, used CGI for shots that could not be achieved with physical models. The actors could see and react to something that was actually there. That combination of practical effects and digital technology has become an important part of modern filmmaking.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio took the idea in another direction. The characters were handmade stop-motion puppets, designed so their faces and bodies could be moved frame by frame. Digital effects were also used, but mainly to support the physical world. The finished film retains the texture, detail and imperfections of something made by hand.

Then there is Five Nights at Freddy’s, based on the popular video-game series created by Scott Cawthon. The film brought its frightening characters to life as physical animatronic creatures with the help of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The choice made sense because the characters are closely linked to the strange movements and mechanical appearance of animatronic mascots.

Henson’s influence goes further. Films such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth showed how puppets could create entire fantasy worlds. Today, Henson continues to work with puppetry, animatronics and digital techniques. The craft has not disappeared because of technology. It has evolved with it. One simple reason why filmmakers continue to use practical creatures is that they give actors something real to look at, touch and react to. They give cinematographers real light, reflections and shadows. Most importantly, they occupy physical space.

Tangible Magic in a Virtual Age

This is also relevant today because digital entertainment has become part of everyday life. Now viewers are surrounded by filters, virtual characters, AI-generated images and computer-created worlds. Against this background, something handmade can feel special. A puppet has seams. An animatronic creature has moving parts.

A handmade character carries the marks of the people who created and performed it. And those imperfections may be exactly what makes it feel human.