What are mouth puppets?
This phrase may not be the industry-wide term for this type of design, but for the average reader or new puppeteer, it is an easy way of describing a particular type of puppet.
Yes, most puppets have mouths, but not all puppets are ‘mouth puppets’. A ‘mouth puppet’ is a type of puppet which has a moving or movable mouth, most often used in performances which require the puppet to ‘talk’. So as you can see, although many human or animal puppets will have mouths, not all of them will be designed and built with the ability to open and close their mouths.
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| This cat was made for my show in 2003, Sticky Ballerina Legs. The foam cat had a separate jaw, hinged with elastic. The tongue was made out of latex. |
Generally these days when we think of mouth puppets, we think of The Muppets. And while yes, they are mouth puppets, muppet-type puppets are only one way to design these kinds of puppets. (Sorry for the repetitious use of the ‘uppet’ sound) Mouth puppets can also include a range of other designs, from shadow puppets to marionettes, from foam puppet animals to cable-control rod puppets.
Here you can see an example of a mouth puppet (in the title image as well). This cat is made of foam, and covered with material. The bottom jaw is a separate jaw piece, which is attached to the sides of the head piece with some elastic. On the top of the jaw (ie. where the tongue would normally rest) is some velcro, which allows the bottom jaw to stick to the top jaw - making the mouth ‘closed’. By attaching a small rod to the bottom jaw, you could move the jaw open and closed. (The tongue is actually a separate piece altogether, and does not attach anywhere to the puppet. It is inserted into the gap between the bottom jaw and the head piece)
That’s all a mouth puppet is really: a puppet with a bottom jaw that can be moved up and down, independent of the rest of the body or head. These type of puppets are ideal for small to medium venues, outdoors, as well as in TV or film.
You may also want to read about muppet-type puppets too, or sock puppets.
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When I saw the title of this post, the first thing that came to mind was "BARGE!" Barge is a brand of contact cement that's used by many builders. When I was first introduced to it, I thought "this is amazing!" Letting the glue dry a little bit BEFORE you put the two sides together? That's insane! And it's such a thin layer but the two sides stick to each other so well. Madness! So yeah, I was pretty excited about it. I loved how when a friend posted the picture of a can of Barge on Facebook, and it was soon 'like'd by a bunch of puppet builders and a long back and forth discussion about glue. Spray glue is great if you need the glue to be really even, like if you are gluing fabric to a mouth plate. You want it to be really smooth, as in, how it wouldn't be if you use hot glue. It would be all wrinkly and stuff.
... Kelvin Kao on What glues do you use to make puppets with?