Fraggles in Water

[Frogster]

I've seen Red wet SOOO many times, Mokey once, and Gobo wore a shark fin in the water in "Red's Sea Monster." I was wondering what episodes you see one or more fraggle wet and if someone could list them for me.

 

[muppetmayhem]

That is a wierd thing to ask. I don't really pay that much attention to who is wet. But I do wonder if Henson goes through the trouble of drying his puppets once they have gotten wet. Do you think he dries them? Or do you think he just uses another puppet in the wet ones place?

 

[Frogster]

I think he has two different puppets of the same character ready. I thought I'd ask because it just crossed my mind the other day. Does any one know what episodes Boober, Wembley, and Gobo have been wet in?

 

[Whatever]

One Fraggle jumps in the water in the opening. And in one episode Red makes friends with a sea monster. I'm not sure if it's wet or not.

 

[Wembley]

That is a wierd thing to ask. I don't really pay that much attention to who is wet. But I do wonder if Henson goes through the trouble of drying his puppets once they have gotten wet. Do you think he dries them? Or do you think he just uses another puppet in the wet ones place?

Actually, you're kinda right. Someone explained this to me once - The puppet is basically part of the bottom of the water - So, for instance, you have a bowl, a hole in the bottom, with the puppet body (a waterproof version) sealed to the bottom of the hole, so that you can reach up and manipulate the puppet in the water. The water has to be colored or shot on edge so that you don't see that the puppet is basically attached to the bottom of the lake, bathtub, toilet, or whatever the character is swimming in.

As far as jumping into the water, a simpler waterproof body would be used - since it's being thrown into the water, it can travel through the scene so fast that you dont have time to examine the puppet closely and you don't notice that its less detailed than the puppets you see every day. It's all camera tricks.

That's how it was explained to me. Whether or not thats how it was done I'm not sure of, but it seems to be a good theory.....

-Rick "Wembely" Miller
...You can NOT leave the magic!

 

[Whatever]

Plus, I think they use older puppets that are worn out for stunts like that.

 

[ravagefrackle]

also there are puppets built for use only in water since it tends to fade the dies in the fabric after a time, so the ones u se in water are not the same as the ones you see all drie running aroound the rock, it would be almost impossible to use the same puppets on set for water tricks and basic stuff, its hard enough to drie out the sweat from a hard day of puppeteering under the hot studio lights

 

[muppetmayhem]

how would the puppeteers be able to control the movements of the fraggle, or any creature, in water. The puppeteers are underneath the puppet. How would they be able to move the puppet but keep themselves dry?

 

[muppetmayhem]

oops... I missed what you said there Wembley. they build the puppet attached to the bowl. the seems are sealed and the interior of the puppet is a rubber glove. So you don't get wet.

 

[ravagefrackle]

oops... I missed what you said there Wembley. they build the puppet attached to the bowl. the seems are sealed and the interior of the puppet is a rubber glove. So you don't get wet.

onlythe gloves are attached to the "pool". the puppet is put on over the glove so it can be removed