This is a list of live-action puppet films. They use string or some other form of arm assistant. These films should not be confused with stop-motion animation which use frame by frame technique.
1920s-1960s The Great Gabbo (1929) The Limejuice Mystery or Who Spat in Grandfather's Porridge? (1930) - UKhttps://www.apocalypselaterfilm.com/2018/11/the-limejuice-mystery-1930.html Puppet Show (1936) - USA The Emperor's Dream (1947) - Chinese Lili (1953) - USA The Spirit of Christmas (1953) - USA (includes photos of DVD jacket) Thunderbirds Are GO (1966) - UK Thunderbird 6 (1968) - UK The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1969) - USAJim Henson's Imagination Illustrated - Page 82 Hey, Cinderella! (1969) - USA/Canada
1970s Pufnstuf (1970) - USA The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970) - USA The Frog Prince (1971 film) (1971) - USA/CanadaJim Henson's Imagination Illustrated - Page 186 The Investigator (1971) - USA Let My Puppets Come (1976) - USA Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) - USAJim Henson's Red Book." "3/1-2/1977 – 'Recording Emmet Otter. Music in LA with Paul Williams.'" Posted March 1, 2012. Magic (1978) - USA The Muppet Movie (1979) - USA
1980s The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - USAhttps://www.sideshow.com/blog/star-wars-puppets-and-puppeteers Captain Scarlet vs. the Mysterons (1981) - UK Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars (1981) - UK The Great Muppet Caper (1981) - USA The Dark Crystal (1982) - USA/UKhttps://beforesandafters.com/2019/08/28/my-right-hand-is-in-the-head-my-left-hand-operates-the-left-arm-and-my-assistant-puppeteer-is-tucked-under-my-right-armpit/ Return of the Jedi (1983) - USA The Neverending Story (1984) - USA/West Germanyhttps://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/the-neverending-story-special-effects-director-on-creating-falkor-the-nothing-and-more/ The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) - USAhttps://vidiotsfoundation.org/movies/the-muppets-take-manhattan/ Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985) - USAhttps://www.indiewire.com/features/general/how-follow-that-bird-the-first-sesame-street-film-became-a-beloved-classic-after-nose-diving-at-the-box-office-59690/ Labyrinth (1986) - UK The Christmas Toy (1986) - USA/Canada The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986) - USA/UK Little Shop of Horrors (1986) - USA Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987) - USA Meet the Feebles (1989) - New Zealand Monster Maker (1989) - USA Puppet Master (1989) - USA (film series)
1990s The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990) - USA/West Germany The Witches (1990) - USA Dolly Dearest (1991) - USA Muppet*Vision 3D (1991) - USA Naked Lunch (1991) - USA The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - USA Dollman vs. Demonic Toys (1993) - USA Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree (1995) - USA Muppet Treasure Island (1996) - USA Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996) - USA Buddy (1997) - USA A Rat's Tale (1997) - Germany/US Barney's Great Adventure (1998) - USA The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999) - USA Being John Malkovich (1999) - USA Muppets from Space (1999) - USA Ragdoll (1999) - USA
2000s Legend of the Sacred Stone (2000) - Taiwanese Rat (2000) - USA The Book of Pooh: Stories from the Heart (2001) - USA Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) - USA The Country Bears (2002) - USA It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) - USA Good Boy! (2003) - USA Five Children and It (2003) - USA/UK/France Strings (2004) - Denmark/Norway/Sweden/UK Team America: World Police (2004) - USA The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) - USA MirrorMask (2005) - USA/UK Dante's Inferno (2007) - USA Dead Silence (2007) - USA 31 minutos, la película (2008) - Chile/Brazil/Spain Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) - USA
2010s The Beaver (2011) - USA The Muppets (2011) - USA The Greyness of Autumn - (2012) - Scotland Muppets Most Wanted (2014) - USA Lessons Learned (2014, short film) - USA Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (2014) - USA Beaster Day: Here Comes Peter Cottonhell - USA Turkey Hollow (2015) - USA/Canada The Happytime Murders (2018) - USA
2020s Gulabo Sitabo - (2020) - India Autumn Never Dies - (2020) - Scotland A Fairy Tale After All (2022) - USA The rise and fall of the Chop Chop Show (2022) - Argentina Abruptio (2023) - USA The Fox (2025) - Australia Project Hail Mary (2026) - USA The Rainbow Fish (2026) - Germany Untitled Labyrinth spin-off sequel (TBA) - USA Muppet Man (TBA) - USA
See also List of highest-grossing puppet films List of stop motion films
References