Rex and Boots: Super Swazzle Puppetry

Rex and Boots are two of the stars of Swazzle’s “Get A Clue” summer reading tour in California.

Swazzle is touring California libraries this summer with three puppet shows built around the state’s library summer reading program theme, “Get a Clue”. Turns out that’s also the tagline of this summer’s new Nancy Drew movie and so the makers of the film are teaming up with the libraries to do a little Nancy Drew/summer reading cross promotion.

As part of the effort they’ve posted a promotional video featuring Swazzle characters Rex and Boots on the web. It’s a great little promo on a whole bunch of different levels, not the least of which is its top-notch puppetry. I thought it would be fun to do a few screen grabs and quickly break down some of the things I really like about this video shot-by-shot:

This is a really simple, but nicely executed shot that reads beautifully. Just looking at this single frame you know exactly what’s going on in the scene – Boots is reading something and Rex is surprised/interested by it. I love the expression on Rex’s face here; he’s a great-looking puppet with perpetually bugged-out eyes that work especially well in this scene.

In good puppetry the audience should always be able to tell what a puppet character is thinking/feeling without hearing any dialog. Here Rex is really getting excited about what Boots is reading and as the audience we know that because of the great expression on his face and the way he’s eagerly looking over Boots’ shoulder.

Now Rex is really, really excited. His jaw is practically hanging on the floor and although his eyes don’t move, they look like they’ve opened wider because of a change in the angle of the puppet’s head. Rex has also moved the from left side of frame to right, which is an example of good puppet staging because it balances out the shot and helps to keep it visually interesting.

Now Rex is offended and defensive. Visually he looks stiff and is avoiding eye contact with Boots. Do you notice the connection between changes in his emotional/mental state and the puppet’s body language?

We’re jumping a head bit here, but look at how Rex reacts before the pile of junk falls on him. That’s great use of anticipation – Rex (and the audience) knows what’s coming next and that makes it all the funnier when the junk finally falls.

If you live in California and want to see some great Swazzle puppetry in person check out Swazzle’s summer tour schedule. And if you’re a puppeteer in California looking for a gig you’re in luck because they’re hiring right now.

(BTW, if you liked this post you should also check out two of my posts from last year – Puppet Staging and Composition and Puppet Staging: Creating Emphasis – which go in to some of the ideas I mention here in a little more detail)

Thanks to Sean and Anita at Swazzle for sending in the great video!