Puppet Heap

Last updated
Puppet Heap, LLC
IndustryPuppetry
Founded2004; 18 years ago
FounderPaul Andrejco
Headquarters,

Puppet Heap, LLC is a puppet design, fabrication and production company based in Hoboken, New Jersey. [1] The company was founded by artist and designer Paul Andrejco, [2] who previously worked for The Jim Henson Company from 1992 to 2001 and designed the characters for Bear in the Big Blue House that aired on the Disney Channel. [3] In 2004, Andrejco opened Puppet Heap at its current location in Hoboken. The company's studio has a workshop, woodshop, casting facilities, and a production and photography studio.

Puppet Heap has worked on multiple productions, including several series of short films based on original characters. [4] From 2011, Heap produced a commercial line of puppets based on original characters, Puppet Heap Playthings, considered the best new toy of 2011 by the Washington Post. [5] Since 2006, Puppet Heap has been under contract with The Walt Disney Company, entrusted with the care, maintenance, and creative support of the Muppet characters for its Muppets Studio division, including the character of Walter for The Muppets . [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animation</span> Method of creating moving pictures

Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (cels) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Henson</span> American puppeteer (1936–1990)

James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kermit the Frog</span> Muppet character

Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson in 1955. Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host of the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show and a featured role on Sesame Street. He has appeared in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements through the years. He also served as a mascot of The Jim Henson Company and appeared in various Henson projects until 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Muppets</span> Puppet characters created by Jim Henson

The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. Originally owned by the Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the franchise was purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2004.

<i>Toy Story</i> 1995 Pixar film

Toy Story is a 1995 American animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the franchise of the same name, it was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film from Pixar. It was directed by John Lasseter and produced by Bonnie Arnold and Ralph Guggenheim, from a screenplay written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow and a story by Lasseter, Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft. The film features music by Randy Newman, and was executive-produced by Steve Jobs and Edwin Catmull. The film features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, and Erik von Detten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pixar</span> American computer animation studio

Pixar Animation Studios is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Since 2006, Pixar has been a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, a segment of the Walt Disney Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Disney Pictures</span> American film studio and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit, and is based at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Animated films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios are also released under the studio banner. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by Walt Disney Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney's Hollywood Studios</span> Theme park at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida

Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. Based on a concept by Marty Sklar, Randy Bright, and Michael Eisner, the park opened on May 1, 1989, as the Disney–MGM Studios (Theme) Park, and was the third of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. Spanning 135 acres (55 ha), the park is themed to an idealized version of Hollywood, California, and is dedicated to the imagined worlds from film, television, music, and theatre, drawing inspiration from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jim Henson Company</span> American entertainment company

The Jim Henson Company is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lasseter</span> American filmmaker (born 1957)

John Alan Lasseter is an American film director, producer, and animator. He has served as the Head of Animation at Skydance Animation since 2019. Previously, he acted as the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios, as well as the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Goelz</span> American puppeteer

David Charles Goelz is an American puppeteer, puppet builder and actor, known for his work with the Muppets. As part of the Muppets' performing cast, Goelz performs Gonzo the Great, as well as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf, Zoot and Beauregard, originating on The Muppet Show. Goelz's puppeteering roles also included in Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. Outside of puppeteering work, he was also the voice of Figment in the Journey into Imagination with Figment attraction at Epcot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Muppets Studio</span> Subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company

The Muppets Studio, LLC is an American entertainment production company and subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, that owns and produces media content for The Muppets franchise. The division was previously formed as The Muppets Holding Company, LLC in 2004 through Disney's acquisition of The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House intellectual properties from The Jim Henson Company.

Disney Consumer Products, Inc. is the retailing and licensing subsidiary of the Disney Experiences segment of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Consumer Products was a segment of Disney until 2016, then a unit of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (2016–2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Lagasse</span> American puppeteer

Tim Lagasse is an American director, puppeteer and puppet designer. He has worked on films and television programs for Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Disney XD, and HBO. He is known for playing the title character on Noggin's Oobi, and Crash on Disney XD's Crash & Bernstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Henson's Creature Shop</span> Special/visual effects company

Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Hollywood, California, United States.

<i>The Muppets</i> (film) 2011 film by James Bobin

The Muppets is a 2011 American musical fantasy comedy film directed by James Bobin, produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, and written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller. It is the seventh theatrical film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and Rashida Jones, as well as Muppet performers Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, and Peter Linz. Bret McKenzie served as music supervisor, writing four of the film's five original songs, while Christophe Beck composed the score. In the film, devoted Muppet fan Walter, his human brother Gary and Gary's girlfriend Mary help Kermit the Frog reunite the disbanded Muppets, as they must raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theater from Tex Richman, a greedy businessman who plans to demolish the theater to drill for oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter (Muppet)</span> Muppet character

Walter is a Muppet character that first appeared in the 2011 film The Muppets. Performed by Peter Linz, he is one of the film's main characters, along with Kermit the Frog and the rest of the Muppets. Walter also appears in the 2014 sequel film, Muppets Most Wanted; though still a major character, he plays a smaller role than he does in the previous film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Quinn (puppeteer)</span> British puppeteer

Mike Quinn is an English puppeteer, animator, actor, director, producer, voice-over artist, puppet builder, composer and mentor. He is also known as Mike Quinby, Michael E. Quinn, and Michael Quinn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of animated films</span>

These lists of animated feature films compile animated feature films from around the world and are organized alphabetically under the year of release. Theatrical releases as well as made-for-TV (TV) and direct-to-video (V) movies of all types of animation are included. Currently, the lists don't recognize one release form from another.

References

  1. Abrams, Steve (Fall 2011). "Puppet Heap: Professional Puppet Building with a Sense of Play". The PUPPETRY Journal. 63 (1): 2–3.
  2. LinkedIn Profile [ user-generated source ]
  3. "Paul Andrejco". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  4. "Animator 2011: 4th International Animated Film Festival". www.animator-festival.com. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  5. "The Best New Toys". The Washington Post. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  6. Barnes, Brooks (20 November 2011). "Wocka, Wocka, Wocka! Muppet Antics Resume". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2014.