Mokey Fraggle

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Mokey Fraggle
Fraggle Rock character
Mokey Fraggle, fictional character from Fraggle Rock.webp
Mokey in a publicity shot with her design from the original series
Created by Jim Henson
Voiced by
In-universe information
SpeciesFraggle
GenderFemale
Occupation
  • Painter
  • poet
  • artist

Mokey Fraggle is a fictional puppet character created by Jim Henson. She is one of the five main characters in Henson's television series Fraggle Rock , [1] well as its 2022 reboot Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock . [2] She is performed by Kathryn Mullen in the original series, [3] and by Donna Kimball in Back to the Rock. [4] Mona Marshall voiced her in the animated series.

Contents

Mokey is one of the main characters in Fraggle Rock, alongside Gobo, Wembley, Boober, and Red. She is the best friend [5] and roommate [6] of Red Fraggle. Mokey is dreamy and artistic. She loves writing poems, singing songs, and painting. She has a pet plant named Lanford, who is strongly disliked by Red. Mokey is the tallest and oldest [ citation needed ] of the Fraggles. It is her job to journey into the Gorgs' garden to retrieve radishes, the Fraggles' primary source of food.

Development

Mokey was designed by Michael K. Frith [7] and built by Jan Rosenthal. She was allegedly named after a childhood friend of Jim Henson. [8] Kathryn Mullen was cast to play the character. During rehearsals, Mokey was originally performed by Karen Prell, who would later play Red. [9]

Behind the scenes

Mokey is a live-hand puppet, which means that her arms are glove-like sleeves into which the puppeteer places their real arms to move the puppet's hands. Mokey was the only character on Fraggle Rock to be a live-hand puppet, while the others were rod puppets. (Other notable live-hand puppets include Sesame Street's Ernie and The Muppets' Fozzie Bear and Rowlf). [10] Kathryn Mullen performed Mokey's left hand, while her right hand was performed by Trish Leeper (also the on-set performer for Ma Gorg). [11]

One of Mokey's unique features is her eyelids, which she can lift up to show surprise or other emotions. She was one of only a few puppets on the show to have this ability (the rebuilt Gobo Fraggle puppet being another).

Donna Kimball has voiced Mokey since the 2020 short-form TV series Fraggle Rock: Rock On!" [12]

Reboot

Mokey as she appears in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock; her costume and hair were heavily altered from the original series. Mokey Fraggle 2022.webp
Mokey as she appears in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock ; her costume and hair were heavily altered from the original series.

Mokey's portrayal in the 2022 reboot TV series Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock is significantly different from her portrayal in the original series. The Mokey puppet was redesigned heavily, now wearing a green dress instead of her gray robe, and sporting a blue beehive-like ponytail. Her eyelids are also less prominent, and she is now strictly a rod puppet, like the other characters. This version of Mokey was performed by Donna Kimball, who had previously portrayed her in the short-form TV series Fraggle Rock: Rock On! for Apple TV+. John Tartaglia (the performer for Gobo on the new series) commented on the design change during a Fraggle Rock Q&A on his Instagram stories, stating, "Mokey is super creative and artistic and she wanted a new look - she's always in touch with the creative vibes of the Rock!" [13] Tartaglia went into more detail about the reasons for the redesign in an interview with MegaPodTastic [14]

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References

  1. ↑ "Jim Henson's world of Fraggle Rock set to return as remastered version".
  2. ↑ "Gobo Fraggle & Mokey Fraggle on 'Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock' and the Best Advice They've Ever Gotten from the Trash Heap".
  3. ↑ "Mokey Fraggle Speaks: The Kathy Mullen Interview, part 2".
  4. ↑ "Interview: Mokey and Red from"Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock" Season 2".
  5. ↑ "Do Mokey & Red Fight? Inside Their 'Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock' Friendship (VIDEO)".
  6. ↑ "A Cave of One's Own".
  7. ↑ "Interview: Red And Mokey Fraggle Of "Fraggle Rock"".
  8. ↑ Fraggle Rock: The Ultimate Visual History.
  9. ↑ "Fraggle Rock: The Complete First Season bonus features".
  10. ↑ "Jim Henson's Red Book entry (1/25/64)".
  11. ↑ "Trish Leeper".
  12. ↑ "'Fraggle Rock' is back! Here's the scoop on the characters".
  13. ↑ "Tough Pigs forum post".
  14. ↑ "18:10 mark of YouTube video".


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