Henson Creature OTD

Well, yes!

Luke Skywalker with Yoda on his back in a backpack contraption. They stand in the swamps of Dagobah.

Today’s Non-Henson Creature Feature is Yoda from Star Wars, performed by Frank Oz, Kathryn Mullen, Wendy Froud, and David Barclay.

Zeb Zoober from The Country Bears (2002). He is a brown bear in a beige vest, floppy brown hat, and bolo tie, and he is playing the fiddle.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Zeb Zoober from The Country Bears (2002), performed by John Kennedy (face) and Tony Sabin Prince (body).

23 year old me wants to be this guy so bad lol

Jen from The Dark Crystal. He is a humanoid elf creature with tan skin, blue eyes, and dark hair that has blue streaks in it. He wears layered beige clothes and holds the crystal shard in his hand. He is looking wistfully off camera with a slight smile.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Jen from The Dark Crystal (1982), performed by Jim Henson. Happy Dark Crystal Day!

Pilot from Farscape. Pilot is a many armed alien creature whose head sort of resembles a horseshoe crab. They have orange eyes and a chitinous body.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Pilot from Farscape, performed by John Eccleston.

Squonk from Turkey Hollow (2015). He is a monster with scraggly brown fur, small pointy teeth, and yellow eyes. He has a bulbous nose and dark fur above his eyes imitating thick eyebrows.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Squonk from Turkey Hollow (2015), performed by Alice Dinnean.

Jack Pumpkinhead from the movie Return To Oz. He is a scarecrow with spindly stick legs, a jack o’lantern head carved with a smile, and mismatched patterned clothes. He sits among various household junk and discarded furniture. The back of Dorothy’s head is visible on the right side of the frame.

The first Non-Henson Creature Feature (!!!) is Jack Pumpkinhead from Return To Oz, performed by Brian Henson (face) and Stewart Larange (body).

Baby Sinclair from the TV show Dinosaurs. He is a small pink dinosaur in a yellow onesie with large brown eyes. He sits in a high chair against a light blue blanket.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Baby Sinclair from Dinosaurs, performed by Kevin Clash, John Kennedy (eyes), Terri Harden (arms), and Julianne Buescher (arms).

Beary Barrington from The Country Bears (2002). He is a small brown bear wearing beige shorts, a navy blue shirt with white racing stripes, and a grey zip up hoodie. He is sitting on a pile of wood and holding a guitar.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Beary Barrington from The Country Bears (2002) performed by Alice Dinnean (face) and Misty Rosas (body).

A still from Where The Wild Things Are (2009). Max sits in a boat with his back to the camera. Carol, a large monster with a brown striped torso and small horns, stands and looks dejected in the water. Other various monsters look on from the shore.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Carol from Where The Wild Things Are (2009), performed by Vincent Crowley.

Jim Henson in a floral vest posing with Leonardo the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle from the 1990 movie against a cityscape backdrop.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is Leonardo from The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), performed by performed by Martin P. Robinson (face) and David Forman (body).

A still from The Jim Henson Hour. Jim Henson, in a grey sweater and smiling, sits with a white lion with green eyes against a geometric CGI background.

Today’s Henson Creature OTD is The Thought Lion from The Storyteller, performed by David Greenaway, Robert Tygner, and Mak Wilson.

Indeed! :)

A still from The Dark Crystal. Fizzgig, a round and fuzzy brown creature with piercing yellow eyes, sits on a rock.

Bluesky’s very first Henson Creature OTD (!!!) is Fizzgig from The Dark Crystal, performed by Dave Goelz.

Q: Can I submit a creature for you to post?

A: Yes! Please do! Comment under this post with the name of the creature and what movie/show/etc it’s from and I’ll do the rest!

+ Typically, the voice actor for a creature is already credited and is much easier to find. If I wanted to credit Howie Mendel for voicing Gizmo from Gremlins, I would’ve done that, but I want to credit the person/people who controlled Gizmo on set and brought him to life.

Q: You said you didn’t know the performer and I replied with the voice actor, does that count?

A: No, it does not! Puppeteers do often voice their characters as well, but puppets in shows and movies are often voice acted by other actors, and those are not who I’m looking for. +

Q: What does “performer” refer to?

A: The puppeteer! On this account, I highlight the creature’s puppeteer(s) to give credit and spotlight to those who help bring these beloved characters to life.

Q: What qualifies as a creature?

A: In my personal definition (the one that matters on this account :P) a creature is a Henson puppet that has come out of the Creature Workshop that is more mechanically involved than your typical Muppet. There’s no real hard and fast rules, and may be some overlap.

A still from The Dark Crystal. Jen, Kira, and Fizzgig sit in a boat sailing through a marsh. Jen is playing his flute while Kira is rowing the boat.

📍 Welcome to Henson Creature OTD! I post a Henson Creature every day at 3pm EST, and on Fridays I post the Non-Henson Creature Feature to give cool puppets and animatronics from non-Henson productions their spotlight :)

FAQ below ⬇️