A walkabout puppet is controlled by one or more puppeteer and appears as if it is walking or moving by itself. In some instances the puppeteers will be visible, in other cases, they may be hidden from view so as to give the illusion the puppet is operating by itself. Whichever variety of walkabout puppet you choose you can be sure to delight and entertain your audience.

Walkabout puppets are engaging and are perfect if you want to interact with a crowd. They can be used on stage in a wide variety of productions, as a means of promoting a brand, product or event or even in schools and classrooms to engage with children to support learning.

Famous Walkabout Puppets

There are lots of fantastic examples of Walkabout Puppets from stage and screen. They have been used in Musicals, Theatre Production and Comedy for many years. Below we’ve highlighted some of our favourite Walkabout Puppets;

War Horse – Joey and Topthorn

Made from a cane frame with fabric stretched over the top, each life-sized horse puppet is operated by three puppeteers. A series of levers controlled the movement of the head, ears and legs to give the puppets lifelike movements. Each puppet weighed 66lbs, and the constant movement and carrying of the weight put a huge strain on the puppeteers. These puppets are an example of the puppeteers being clearly visible to the audience.

The Lion King Musical – Various Characters

Those of you that have been lucky enough to see The Lion King – The Musical will know that puppets of all shapes and sizes play a big part in the production. In total there are 232 puppets in the show which are a mix of rod, shadow and walkabout puppets. The producers of all these creations certainly had there work cut spending over 37,000 hours on the project.

The Giant Royal De Luxe Street Puppets

On an altogether larger scale is the Royal De Luxe Giant Street Puppets. This French street theatre company have been delighting audiences around the world with their giant puppet creations. The largest of the giants stands at nearly 50 feet, and they are operated by a team of puppeteers (also referred to as Lilliputians). The puppeteers use industrial machinery to help move the puppets around. Performances are staged outdoors on the streets of cities watched by thousands.

Creating Your Own Walkabout Puppets

At Promotional Props and Costumes, we specialise in bringing your ideas to life. No matter how large, outlandish or unusual those ideas may be. Over the years we’ve created Walkabout Puppets for numerous stage and theatre shows and helped big brands engage with their customers through our creations.

If you’re looking for a Walkabout Puppet, then please get in touch. Our professional puppet makers can help you with all aspects of your puppet from initial ideas to those all-important final details.