Fraggle Rock: The Movie

Fraggle Rock: The Movie is a 2022 American adventure comedy film directed by Cory Edwards. It was produced by Lionsgate Films and The Jim Henson Company (under the Jim Henson Pictures banner), and released by Sony Pictures Releasing, under the TriStar Pictures banner for domestic distribution, and as Columbia Pictures internationally. The film stars Adam Driver, Colm Feore, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Grace Moretz, Randy Rainbow, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Karen Prell, Donna Kimball, John Tartaglia, Andy Hayward, and Dave Goelz as the main Fraggle characters.

The plot centers around Jake Crystal (nephew of the late Jerome "Doc" Crystal), a solitary, "masculine" high school student who hasn't had a proper family since he was just months old, and despite his small circle of friends (sensitive guy Nate Shimmelfinney, tomboyish Charlotte "Charlie" Stevenson and feminine Lola Juhl) and Doc's dog Sprocket, Jake nonetheless feels alone and depressed, with no one he thinks he can trust. Red Fraggle, from Fraggle Rock (one of Nate's favorite childhood shows), escapes from the hole in the wall of one of his classrooms and enters "outer space" (what Fraggles call the human world), and offers to be Jake's housemate, confidant and "sister", out of sympathy for his loneliness (a similar situation happens with Nate when Mokey, another Fraggle from the show, explores "outer space" as well).

Jake soon learns that years ago, his father was murdered by Derek Frith, who is now the chairman of the most powerful corporation in the world, and plans to obtain Bubonium, a supernatural element with the power to recreate the Black Death, in order to get revenge on the population of the United States for bullying him in his youth. When the other three main Fraggles (Gobo, Wembley, and Boober) and Sprocket join the mix, it's a race against time to stop Mr. Frith from getting the element and laying waste to America.

The film was released on July 30, 2022, and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the acting (especially Driver, Prell, and Feore's performances), the direction, the puppet effects, and the story. However, it bombed at the box office, making $88 million on a $47 million budget. Principal photography occurred between October and December 2021 on location, in Toronto, Ontario; Los Angeles, California; New York City; and Atlanta, Georgia, with post-production in January 2022.

The film won five Academy Awards; Best Actor (for Adam Driver), Best Supporting Actress (Karen Prell as Red Fraggle), Best Direction (Cory Edwards), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer), and was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Colm Feore). Prell's win marked the first time an acting Oscar was awarded for a puppeteering or voice-over performance (Prell accepted the award in-character with the Red Fraggle puppet, and after her acceptance speech, Red hugged fellow Oscar winner Adam Driver, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Miranda Cosgrove, Colm Feore, Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, and Boober). However, it wasn't the first time any major acting award had such a nomination; Ellen DeGeneres was nominated for a Saturn Award for her voice performance in Finding Nemo.

Following the positive critical reception of this film, the Jim Henson Company announced plans to reboot many of their most popular projects and focus on more puppet-centric productions, including a film based on Bear in the Big Blue House (made in cooperation with Disney), remake films of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, and even a second film under the Henson Alternative banner. In addition, the company announced plans for a collaboration with Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics; an Amazon Prime Video series based on the Batman comic books with the characters portrayed with puppets.

Cast
Adam Driver as Jake Crystal

Karen Prell as Red Fraggle, Wingnut Doozer, Modem Doozer, and Fluffinella

Colm Feore as Mr. Frith

Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse as Nate Shimmelfinney

Donna Kimball as Mokey Fraggle and Fragglette

Miranda Cosgrove as Charlie Stevenson

Chloe Grace Moretz as Lola Juhl

John Tartaglia as Gobo Fraggle

Andy Hayward as Wembley Fraggle

Boober Fraggle: Tim Lagasse (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)

Uncle Travelling Matt: Drew Massey (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)

Sprocket: Kevin Clash (puppetry), Ryan Dillon (voice)

Randy Rainbow as Sal DeLove

Alice Dinnean as Cotterpin Doozer and Fragglette

Christopher Lloyd as President Willard Newton

Julie Gonzalo as Governor Alberta Webber

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Mr. Parks

Ralph Fiennes as Principal Kenworthy

Junior Gorg: Rob Mills (puppetry), Frank Meschkuleit (performance), Tyler Bunch (voice)

The Cube: Allan Trautman (puppetry), Stephanie D'Abruzzo (voice)

Marjory the Trash Heap: Mike Quinn (puppetry), Peter Linz (voice)

Pa Gorg: John Kennedy (puppetry and voice), Gord Robertson (performance)

Ma Gorg: Cheryl Wagner (puppetry and voice), Trish Leeper (performance)

Philo: Rob Mills (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)

Gunge: Bob Stutt (puppetry), David Rudman (voice)

World's Oldest Fraggle: John Kennedy (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)

Terry Angus as Storyteller Fraggle, Brio the Minstrel, and Morris Fraggle

Bill Barretta as Cantus the Minstrel

Wrench Doozer: Victor Yerrid (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)

Sidebottom: John Tartaglia (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)

Billy Zane as Vice-President Paul Birkenfield

Louise Fletcher as First Lady Rhonda Newton

Bruce Lanoil as Flange Doozer

Mike Quinn as Architect Doozer

Convincing John: Kevin Clash (puppetry), Martin P. Robinson (voice)

Large Marvin Fraggle: Bruce Lanoil (puppetry), Dave Goelz (voice)

John Pattison as Henchy Fraggle

The World's Oldest Fraggle's Wife: Julianne Buescher (puppetry), Louise Gold (voice)

William Forsythe as Jake's Dad

Imelda Staunton as Jake's Mom

Doug Walker as The Nostalgia Critic

Gillis Fraggle: Fred Stinson (puppetry), Tyler Bunch (voice)

Marlon Fraggle: John Tartaglia (puppetry), Matt Vogel (voice)

Tim Lagasse as Feenie Fraggle

Kristen Wiig as Nate's Mom

Trish Leeper as Tosh Fraggle

Cheryl Wagner as Lou Fraggle

Archbanger Fraggle: Drew Massey (puppetry), Joey Mazzarino (voice)

Bob Stutt as Wander McMooch and Felix the Fearless

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as The Old Gypsy Lady and Fragglette

Dane DeHaan as Young Mr. Frith

Murray the Minstrel: John Kennedy (puppetry), Eric Jacobson (voice)

Tim Gosley as Brool the Minstrel

Balsam the Minstrel: Alice Dinnean (puppetry), Noel MacNeal (voice)

Rob Mills as Lanford

Gerry Parkes as Doc (via archive footage)

Background Fraggles & Doozers: Brad Abrell, Terry Angus, Pam Arciero (voice only), Lee Armstrong, Anthony Asbury (voice only), Grant Baciocco, David Barclay, Jennifer Barnhart (voice only), Bill Barretta, Cheryl Blaylock (voice only), Rickey Boyd (voice only), Lisa Buckley (voice only), Julianne Buescher, Tyler Bunch (voice only), Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Kevin Clash, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo (voice only), Dorien Davies, Ryan Dillon (voice only), Alice Dinnean, Dave Goelz (voice only), Louise Gold (voice only), Tim Gosley, Andy Hayward, Eric Jacobson (voice only), Haley Jenkins, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner (voice only), John Kennedy, Donna Kimball, Jim Kroupa (voice only), Tim Lagasse, Bruce Lanoil, Trish Leeper, Peter Linz (voice only), Spencer Lott, Rick Lyon (voice only), Noel MacNeal (voice only), Jim Martin (voice only), Drew Massey, Joey Mazzarino (voice only), Paul McGinnis, Frank Meschkuleit, Rob Mills, Carmen Osbahr (voice only), John Pattison, Mike Petersen, Karen Prell, Mike Quinn, Dan Redican, Gord Robertson, Martin P. Robinson (voice only), David Rudman (voice only), Colleen Smith, Fred Stinson, Bob Stutt, John Tartaglia, Allan Trautman, Karen Valleau, Matt Vogel (voice only), Cheryl Wagner, Russ Walko, Wende Welch, Victor Yerrid

Performing Assistants: Grant Baciocco (Boober Fraggle), Julianne Buescher (Uncle Travelling Matt), Leslie Carrara-Rudolph (Sprocket), Alice Dinnean (Red Fraggle), Paul McGinnis (Gobo Fraggle), Colleen Smith (Mokey Fraggle), Russ Walko (Wembley Fraggle)

Animatronics Puppeteers: David Barclay, Charles Chiodo, Edward Chiodo, Stephen Chiodo, John Criswell, Tony Gardner, Rick Lazzarini, Greg Manion, April Warren

Additional Performers: Brad Abrell, Catherine Adell, Rachel Appelbaum, Lee Armstrong, Greg Ballora, Steve Barker, Helene Beaulieu, Nate Begle, Adam Behr, Tim Blaney, Jamie Bradley, Stephen Brathwaite, Joel Brubacher, Ronnie Burkett, Kevin Carlson, Jeny Cassady, Morris Chapdelaine, Kristin Charney, Denise Cheshire, Neil Christopher, Brian Clark, Jeff Conover, Frankie Cordero, Brian Culp, Nathan Danforth, Dorien Davies, Ben Deutsch, Todd Doldersum, Kathryn Durst, Randi Edmundson, Ali Eisner, Nameer El-Kadi, Artie Esposito, Peggy Etra, Matt Ficner, Tom Fisher, Genevieve Flati, Thom Fountain, Dan Garza, Patrick Gerrety, Alex U. Griffin, BJ Guyer, Kellie Haines, Sam Koji Hale, Kira Hall, Ingrid Hansen, Terri Hardin, Paul Hooson, Jason Hopley, Bruce Hunter, Haley Jenkins, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, Victoria Johnson, Brian Jones, Nina Keogh, Helen King, Andreas Krebs, Scott Land, Jani Lauzon, Len Levitt, Jordan Lockhart, Spencer Lott, Paul Louis, Benton Lowe, Lara MacLean, Kathy MacLellan, Amanda Maddock, Bob Martin, Peter McCowatt, Kevin McGrath, Jess McKay, Ted Michaels, Danny Montooth, Alison Mork, Sue Morrison, Kaitlin Morrow, James Murray, Russell Nauman, John Nolan, Kevin Noonchester, Sarah Oh, Michael Oosterom, Brett O'Quinn, Caitlin O'Reilly, Christine Papalexis, Pier Paquette, Mike Petersen, Darren Pickering, Janine Pibal, Felix Pire, Ann Powell, David Powell, Tony Sabin Prince, James Rankin, Dan Redican, Geoff Redknap, Amber Reeder, Shawna Reiter, Steven Ritz-Barr, Melissa Roja, Misty Rosas, James Rowley, Carla Rudy, Paul Rugg, Nicolette Santino, Sandra Shamas, Jamie Shannon, Chad Ethan Shohet, Benjamin Siemon, James Silson, Scott Silson, Michelan Sisti, Ron Stefaniuk, Marty Stelnick, Jeff Sweeney, Jamie Swettenham, Leif Tilden, Rebecca Elmire Tremblay, Karen Valleau, Tom Vandenberg, Vicki Veenstra, Art Vega, Jack Venturo, Alex Villa, Ron Wagner, Robin Walsh, Karen Waterman, Wende Welch, Glenn Williams, Mark Bryan Wilson, Dan Wood, Eric Woolfe, Chase Woolner, Andrew Young, Noreen Young (Uncredited: Heather Asch, Connor Asher, Tau Bennett, Carol Binion, Ronald Binion, Raymond Carr, Melissa Creighton, Jodi Eichelberger, Mark Gale, James Godwin, Christopher Hayes, Rachel Herrick, Gwen Hollander, Patrick Holmes, Scott Johnson, Avery Jones, David Jordan, James Kemp, Michael Latini, Jayden Libran, Darci Lynne, Alexander Mantia, Karen Maruyama, Tracie Mick, Colin Penman, Ian Petrella, Marc Petrosino, Nicholas Podbrey, David Quesal, Jared Ramirez, Andy Rocco Kraft, Rob Saunders, Michael Schupbach, David Skelly, Andy Stone, Norman Tempia, Steve Troop, Cheri VandenHeuvel, Vanessa Whitney)

Crew
Directed by Cory Edwards

Story by Jim Lewis

Screenplay by Cory Edwards

Produced by Lisa Henson, Ritamarie Peruggi, Vincent Raisa, Alex Rockwell

Executive Producers: Martin G. Baker, Michael K. Frith, Brian Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Halle Stanford

Co-Executive Producers: Dave Goelz, Karen Prell, John Tartaglia

Based upon the TV series "Fraggle Rock" created by Jim Henson

Directors of Photography: Alan Caso, ASC and Craig Kief, ASC

Production Designers: Bill Brzeski and Bo Welch

Editor: Alan Baumgarten, ACE

Costume Designer: Polly Smith

Music by Hans Zimmer

Casting by Rich Delia

Stunt Coordinator: Cheryl Lewis

Performance Consultant: Steve Whitmire

The Jim Henson Company NY Creature Shop
Original Puppet Designer: Michael K. Frith

Original Workshop Supervisor: Tim Miller

Original Lead Puppet Builders: Leslee Asch (Boober Fraggle), Tim Clarke (Uncle Travelling Matt), Rollie Krewson (Red Fraggle & Wembley Fraggle), Tim Miller (Gobo Fraggle & Sprocket), Jan Rosenthal (Mokey Fraggle), Caroly Wilcox (Gobo Fraggle)

Original Special Puppet Effects Supervisor: Faz Fazakas

Original Puppet Technicians: Fred Buchholz, Larry Jameson, Thomas O. Newby

Puppet Design Consultant: Michael K. Frith

Workshop Puppet Supervisor: Edward G. Christie

Workshop General Manager: Constance Peterson

Workshop Creative Supervisor: Jason Weber

Workshop Puppet Captain: Matt Vogel

Lead Puppet Designers: Paul Andrejco, Edward Eyth

Lead Puppet Fabricators: Kimberly Lettiere, Sara Schmidt Boldon

Puppet Construction Supervisor: Joanne Green

Special Puppet Construction: Jamie Bressler

Puppets & Costumes: Heather Asch, Lauren Attinello, Zea Barker, Carol Binion, Ronald Binion, David Bizzaro, Erin Slattery Black, Cheryl Blaylock, Marc Borders, Loryn Brantz, Mary Brehmer, Matthew Brennan, Matt Brooks, Lisa Buckley, Michael Bush, Brian Carson, Chelsea Carter, James Chai, Ceili Clemens, John Cody, Frankie Cordero, Melissa Creighton, Carole D'Agostino, Alana De Matteo, Andrea Detwiler, Rosa Douglas, Isabelle Dufour, Ben Durocher, Richard Dyar, Jonathan Ehrich, Victoria Ellis, Henri Ewaskio, Bob Fappiano, Bob Flanagan, Rob Gardner, Joel Gennari, Andrea Gilletti, Vanessa Gifford Gillis, James Godwin, Muriel Stockdale Grabe, Brian Haimes, Tyler Hall, Elizabeth Hara, Taylor Harrison, Paul Hartis, Deborah Hertzberg, Michelle Hickey, Joshua Holden, Ann Marie Holdgruen, Sarah Iams, J. Douglas James, Ulysses Jones, Jean Marie Keevins, Ariella Knight, Joe Kovacs, Rollie Krewson, Jim Kroupa, Janet Kuhl, Sarah Lafferty, Michael Latini, Kimberly Lettiere, Aria Linz, Mica Linz, Spencer Lott, Kari Love, Peter MacKennan, Lara MacLean, Amanda Maddock, Nicholas Mahon, Laura Manns, Cathy McCullough, Tom McLaughlin, Casey Miller, Thomas O. Newby, Colette Nickola, Danielle Obinger, John Orberg, Anney Fresh Ozar, Gabriella N. Padilla, Anna Paniccia, Constance Peterson, Marc Petrosino, Jane Pien, Kip Rathke, Lily Rosen, Stephen Rotondaro, Kate Rusek, Sara Schmidt Boldon, Sierra Schoening, Michael Schupbach, Jessica Simon, Polly Smith, Keely Snook, Matt Stoddart, Sally Thomas, Mari Tobita, David Valentine, Jason Weber, Stacey Weingarten, Sarah Luraschi Weiss, Julie Wigg, Noel Williams, Nate Wilson, Matt Witham, James Wojtal, Cynthia Woodie, Eric Wright

Puppet Costume Supervisors: Carol Binion, Cheryl Blaylock, Constance Peterson, Polly Smith

Lead Puppet Wrangler: Lara MacLean

Puppet Wranglers: Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Rob Gardner, James Godwin, Michelle Hickey, Tim Lagasse, Noel MacNeal, Anney Fresh Ozar, Kip Rathke, Michael Schupbach

Special Puppet Effects Supervisors: Jim Kroupa, Thomas O. Newby

Puppet Stunt Coordinator: Fred Buchholz

Creative Supervisor's Assistant: Carolyn Fanelli

Workshop Production Crew: Melissa Creighton, Gabriella Degennaro, Alana De Matteo, Richard Dyar, Joseph Roddy, Jason Seck

The Jim Henson Company LA Creature Shop
Workshop Captain: Brian Henson

Workshop Supervisor: Cheryl Henson

Workshop Creative Supervisor: Peter Brooke

Workshop Puppet Captain: Kevin Clash

Workshop Puppet Co-Captain: Bill Barretta

Workshop Puppet Supervisor: Jane Gootnick

Puppet Design Consultant: Neal Scanlan

Puppet Design Supervisor: Kirk R. Thatcher

Special Puppet Construction: James Kemp

Animatronics & Puppet Fabrication: Peter Abrahamson, Russ Adams, Jane Kriesel Allen, Deborah Anne Ambrosino, Jasper Anderson, Greg Aronowitz, Grant Baciocco, Greg Ballora, David Barrington-Holt, Chris Barton, Ben Bayouth, Chelsea Bayouth, Adam Behr, Robert H. Bennett, Enrique Bilsland, Peter Brooke, Toby Bryan, Julianne Buescher, Mae Canaga, Marilee Canaga, A. Robert Capwell, Tamara Carlson-Woodard, Jeny Cassady, Joe Colwell, Randall Cooper, Jake Corrick, Susan Cox, John Criswell, Gretchen Crookes, Duke Cullen, Richard Darwin, Brian Dooley, Robin Dufay, Harriet Dyson, Brad Elliott, Dave Elsey, Ivonne Escoto, Artie Esposito, David Fedele, Alex "Jurgen" Ferguson, Jeff Forbes, Frederick Fraleigh, Karl Gallivan, Patrick Gerrety, Barton Gilley, Jane Gootnick, BJ Guyer, Beth Hathaway, Tim Hawkins, Eric Hayden, James Hayes, Jurgen Heimann, Colleen Henry, Heather Henson, Jane Howell, Patrick Johnson, Scott Johnson, Sean Johnson, Marian Keating, Tacy Kneale, Karen Lafler, Tim Lagasse, Frank Langley, Antonio Loza, Russell Lukich, Michael MacFarlane, Tristan Maduro, Karen Mason, Drew Massey, Joelle McGonagle, Jess McKay, Anna McKindley, Claire McKindley, Tamara McKinnon-Miller, Glenn Muravsky, Joelle Newton-Mold, Dillon Wolf Oleata, Michael Oosterom, Adrian Parish, Joan Parkinson, Emily Fiora Parks, Gary Pawlowski, Quentin Plant, Dragan Radic, Geoff Redknap, Nick Reisinger, Lisa Rocco, Tim Rose, Mike Rotella, Lex Rudd, Mike Scanlan, David Skelly, Alanna Suen, Norman Tempia, Jill Thraves, Kacy Treadway, George Troester, Chaz Vance, Russ Walko, Robin Walsh, April Warren, Chad Waters, Jean-Guy White, Kristen Willet, Kenny Wilson, Chase Woolner, Victor Yerrid, Julie Zobel

Puppet Costume Supervisors: Dorothy Bulac-Eriksen, Lisa Davis, Michele Dunn, Alyssa Haynie, Carol Spier, Haley Who

Puppet Wranglers: Gretchen Crookes, Alex "Jurgen" Ferguson, Scott Johnson, Russ Walko

Special Puppet Effects Supervisors: David Barclay, Bruce Lanoil, Tim Rose

Puppet Animatronics Consultant: Lyle Conway

Puppet Animatronics Supervisors: David Barclay, John Criswell

Puppet Animation Supervisors: Karen Prell, Mike Quinn, David Skelly, Robin Walsh

Special Thanks to: Angus Puppets, The Barretta Family, Patrick Bristow, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Kerry Butler, Shannon Clash, Todd Edwards, Vicki Edwards, Annie Evans, Debra Freeman, David Gumpel, Katie Hooten, Adam Hunt, Mary Jacobson, Susan Juhl, Michael Lapinski, Jim Lewis, Michael Shawn Lewis, Matthew MacNeal, Susan Elia MacNeal, Magnetic Dreams Animation Studio, Henry Mills, Karen Mills, Jan Nelson, Frank Oz, Radical Sheep Productions, Stoney Ripley, Alex Rockwell, The Rudman Family, Paul Rudolph, Mia Sara, Craig Shemin, Joanne Tucker, The Vogel Family, Melissa Whitmire

Dedicated to the memory of Gerard "Gerry" Parkes (1924-2014) Thank you for all of your contributions to Fraggle Rock. You never left the magic, Doc.

Enormous gratitude to the incomparable Jim Henson (1936-1990) whose limitless imagination and unparalleled ingenuity created countless memories. We are honored to continue his legacy.

And of course, special thanks to all of the puppeteers, directors, writers, producers, and creative team who contributed to the success of Fraggle Rock. We shall never forget them.

Trivia
While the main Fraggles on the original Fraggle Rock series (besides the live-handed Mokey puppet) were operated by a single puppeteer (being hand-rod puppets), the characters in this film are now performed by at least two people. Using Red Fraggle as an example, her lead puppeteer, Karen Prell, performed Red's head and left hand (since a live-handed Red puppet was mostly used, this meant inserting her left hand into Red's gloved left hand). Prell would be assisted on-location by a second puppeteer, Alice Dinnean, who similarly operated Red's right hand. Secondary puppets of Red were built with radio-controlled eyes and tail (both controlled by Julianne Buescher), and rodded feet with a toe mechanism (typically operated by Colleen Smith), which, when used, would be controlled by three additional performers from off-screen. Mokey Fraggle was similarly performed; Donna Kimball puppeteering the character's head and left hand, Colleen Smith controlling her right hand, and three extra puppeteers moving the eyes, tail and feet of her secondary puppets.

Tyler Bunch, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Ryan Dillon, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal, Joey Mazzarino, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, and Matt Vogel also provided character voices for this film, despite working on Sesame Street in New York; they were unable to travel to L.A. to perform Junior Gorg, Gillis Fraggle, the Cube, Sprocket, Murray the Minstrel, Marjory the Trash Heap, Balsam the Minstrel, Archbanger Fraggle, Convincing John, Gunge, and Marlon Fraggle on-set. They were puppeteered by Rob Mills, Frank Meschkuleit, Allan Trautman, Kevin Clash, John Kennedy, Victor Yerrid, Mike Quinn, Alice Dinnean, Drew Massey, Bob Stutt, and John Tartaglia, who perform other characters in the film. Pam Arciero, Anthony Asbury, Jennifer Barnhart, Cheryl Blaylock, Rickey Boyd, Lisa Buckley, Frankie Cordero, Vicki Kenderes-Eibner, Jim Kroupa, Rick Lyon, Jim Martin, and Carmen Osbahr also provided voice-over work for additional Fraggle and Doozer characters.

Given Dave Goelz's advanced age at the time of filming, his characters were puppeteered by Tim Lagasse (Boober), Drew Massey (Uncle Travelling Matt), Rob Mills (Philo), Victor Yerrid (Wrench), John Kennedy (World's Oldest Fraggle), John Tartaglia (Sidebottom), and Bruce Lanoil (Large Marvin), with Goelz dubbing their voices later.

Six variations of the Red Fraggle puppet were used interchangeably throughout the film: the regular rod-hand Red puppet, as seen in the original Fraggle Rock series; a live-hand Red, used for the majority of the film (in all scenes where she is interacting in "outer space"); a bunraku-style Red; a radio-controlled Red (for medium and wide shots of her walking); and two variations of her regular and live-hand puppets, both with an RC eye control, an RC-controlled tail, and movable feet (including a mechanism allowing her toes to move). Several variations of the Red puppet in other attires (including a white tank top, a rainbow-colored shirt, black jersey shorts, a blue baseball cap, fuchsia pajamas covered in red hearts, and dark sunglasses with dark grey rims), as well as naked versions, were also built. There were also talks of having four more versions (a digital puppet Red, a Red marionette, a dwarf actor in a Red costume, and a life-sized Red plush toy), but those plans were scrapped because the techniques used looked unconvincing. The "actor-in-a-suit" idea was referenced in the film itself, where Jake passes off the real Red Fraggle as a midget in an expertly-made costume at a McDonald's restaurant. Four Mokey puppets were also used: two live-hand Mokeys and two rod-hand Mokeys (two with radio-controlled eyes and tail, and movable feet/toes just like the Red puppets, and two with no RC features).

Red Fraggle's softer, nicer, more playful side is more prominent in this film than in her other appearances, with many of her negative traits noticeably toned down. After Jake tells Red about his lonely childhood, the tearful Fraggle gives him a big hug. Over the course of the film, Red develops a strong emotional bond with Jake (including sharing a bed and hugging each other when sleeping), with Red eventually able to fully understand and sympathize with him, best illustrated in the scene where the World's Oldest Fraggle expresses doubt about saving Jake after he is "kidnapped" by Mr. Frith, on the grounds of him being a Silly Creature; Red and Mokey give him a death stare intense enough to scare him, and changes his mind after Gobo, slightly menacingly, warns, "A friend of Red's is a friend of all of us." She also serves a major role in the climax; after being lied to by Mr. Frith that his parents never loved him as a child, Jake is driven to suicide, but before he can finish himself off, Red telepathically communicates with him from within Fraggle Rock, singing Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" to talk him out of it. After the climax, when Jake has to say goodbye to the Fraggles, Red again cries and gives him a big hug. Says Gobo, "Wow! She never shows me that kind of love." When Jake asks Red why she'll miss him so much, since Gobo, Mokey, Wembley and Boober are her closest friends and she likes them, she quietly says, "I love you, too," and kisses him on the lips. This garners a sympathetic reaction from everyone else, except Boober, who pukes into a nearby trash can.

Over 250 Fraggle puppets were made for this film, many recycled and reused to create a large Fraggle population. Likewise, 140 Doozers were also built, many reused to illustrate a large number of Doozers.