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Characters that have switched between a live animal and a puppet.

Muppets[]

Image Description
Muppy on The Muppet Show

In the first season of The Muppet Show, the puppet would occasionally be intercut with shots of a live dog that was used to portray the character in long shots (such as going up and down the stairs backstage).

Foo-Foo on The Muppet Show

On The Muppet Show, Miss Piggy's dog was portrayed both by a puppet and a live dog who belonged to someone in the show's prop department.

Jojo in "Secrets of the Muppets"

The puppet was modeled after a real live dog named Bamboo who could be used for long shots. Bamboo appeared as a stand-in for the US scenes in "Secrets of the Muppets," while a different looking dog was used for the UK shots (a difference that was commented on by the character and Jim Henson).

Pilgrim in Kermit's Swamp Years

In Kermit's Swamp Years the dog was played by Ringo the Dog in wide shots.

Creatures[]

Image Description
Ambrosius in Labyrinth

In the movie Labyrinth a puppet was used in close-ups, while a real dog was used in full-body shots. He closely resembles Sarah's dog Merlin.

Various characters in Babe

Jim Henson's Creature Shop supplied realistic animatronic animals for the movie Babe that were designed to be used interchangeably with live animals for approximately 50% of the shots. Notable among the characters provided were Ferdinand the Duck (appearing as a puppet in approximately 50% of the total shots), Fly and Rex the sheepdogs (appearing as puppets in approximately 10% of the total shots), and Duchess the Cat (as a puppet in approximately 90% of the total shots).

Various characters in 101 Dalmatians

Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the animatronic animals including the young and newborn Dalmatian puppies, a raccoon, skunk, and various farm animals.

Various characters in Dr. Dolittle

While live animals were used for many shots in the film, Jim Henson's Creature Shop supplied animatronic stand-ins for dialogue, stunt scenes, and other complicated movements -- including Lucky the dog, Jake the tiger, Rodney the guinea pig, a pair of rats, and a pigeon married couple.

Demon in Snow Dogs

For certain scenes and particularly a dream sequence wherein the dog speaks, an animatronic double for the real huskies (DJ and Cody) was constructed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Grumpy Cat in Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever

Jim Henson's Creature Shop supplied three doubles for Grumpy Cat in the movie, including an animatronic puppet version that could emote in front of the camera, a stunt version that could be used in wide shots, and a rodded puppet that could be manipulated in various ways by the puppeteers.

Honorable mentions[]

  • Spot - In early appearances (1981-1992) a live pig was used as Oscar's pet pig. By 1993, a Muppet pig was used to depict the character instead.
  • Toto - Prior to Dorothy's trip to Oz, her pet Toto is portrayed by a live prawn. Once transported to Oz, Toto is personified and portrayed by Pepe.

See also[]