Karen Leigh Prell (born July 26, 1959) is an American puppeteer and animator. She is the performer of Red Fraggle in Fraggle Rock and did character animation for Pixar and Valve Corporation.
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Early life and career
Prell was born on July 26, 1959, in Florida but grew up in Seattle, Washington. She also performed some characters in other Jim Henson films and has enjoyed a significant second career as a computer animator for such studios as Pixar and DNA. On Sesame Street, she performed Deena Monster, as well as several background and one-off characters. She performed on the show from 1980 to 1981 for seasons 11 and 12, then returned in 2019 for season 50. She also performed in the 2003 attraction Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic. Her website includes notes about working with Jim Henson and pictures of her custom puppets.
She puppeteered the Worm in Henson's 1986 film Labyrinth.
Prell started a "second career" when she joined Pixar in 1997. Here, she was an animator for Geri's Game and worked on animation of A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2.
In 2007, Prell began working for Valve Corporation, despite having no history of playing video games. She began this "third career" as an animator and playtester for Left 4 Dead 2, and followed this by doing concept work and animation for the Team Fortress 2 "Meet the Team" shorts. Her most notable character work for Valve was on Wheatley in Portal 2, which was influenced by her hand puppet work and involved "creating an extensive and intricately planned library of reusable movement and acting components that could be rapidly composited together to create unique actions for each of his hundreds of lines of dialogue." In a career retrospective, PC Gamer stated that "Prell did the impossible: She bestowed life on an orb."
Outside of her screen work, Prell has made public appearances performing Red Fraggle, like appearances at Comic Con. At Dragon Con 2013, Karen Prell was joined by fellow puppeteer Kathryn Mullen as part of the 30th Anniversary of Fraggle Rock where they performed their respective characters. She returned to perform Red Fraggle again for the 2020 Apple TV+ reboot Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, and the series reboot Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, of which she is also co-executive producer.
Personal life
Prell married fellow Muppet performer Mike Quinn. They lived for a decade in England before moving to California to work for Pixar. Since divorcing in 2004, Prell and Quinn have continued to work together on different projects, usually involving the Muppets.
Filmography
Television
Fraggle Rock – Red Fraggle, Wingnut Doozer, Fluffinella, Baby Tree Creature, Beastie, Gavel Doozer, Marley Fraggle, Modem Doozer, Additional Muppets
Jim Henson's Animal Show – Ollie the Tapir, Tizzie the Bee (1994–1995), Alexis the Giraffe, Arlene the Aardvark, Bernice the Warthog, Blanche the Manatee, Charlotte the Penguin, Hettie the Hedgehog, Hillary the Owl, Kasey the Kangaroo, Leah the Fruit Bat, Lydia the Ostrich, Rhonda the Raccoon
Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories – Yellow, (in "Tommy Tucker"), Little Boy Blue's Mother (in "Boy Blue"), (in "Boy Blue"), Topiary Peacock (in "Dicky Birds"), Peter the Dicky (in "Dicky Birds"), Old Mother Hubbard (in "Mother Hubbard"), Peter's Wife (in "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater")
Sesame Street – Deena, Masha, Additional Muppets
The Ghost of Faffner Hall – Mimi
The Muppet Show – Robin (episode 108), (episode 103), Additional Muppets
Fraggle Rock: Rock On! – Red Fraggle
Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock – Red Fraggle, Icy Joe, Queen of the Merggles (puppetry)
Film
A Muppet Family Christmas – Red Fraggle, Maureen the Mink
Dreamchild – Dormouse (puppeteer)
Labyrinth – Firey 2 (lead puppeteer), The Junk Lady (puppeteer), The Worm (puppeteer), Helping Hands, Goblins (puppetry only)
Muppet Treasure Island – Additional Muppets
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show – Additional Muppets
The Muppet Christmas Carol – Daughter Mouse, Performer of Ghost of Christmas Past, Aretha
The Muppets – Additional Muppet Performer
The Muppets Take Manhattan – Yolanda Rat, Frank the Dog
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic – Babble Bunny, Baby Bunny, Great-Grandmother Bunny
Events
The Muppets Take the Bowl – Additional Muppet Performer (live show at the Hollywood Bowl, 8–10 Sept. 2017)
The Muppets Take the O2 – Additional Muppet Performer (live show at the O2 Arena, 13–14 Jul. 2018)
Animator
Film
Geri's Game
A Bug's Life
Toy Story 2 (additional storyboard artist)
For the Birds
Monsters, Inc.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (character animator)
Son of the Mask
The Ant Bully (character animator)
Enchanted (character animator)
Video games
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Portal
Team Fortress 2
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Portal 2 (lead animator on Wheatley and corrupted cores)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Half-Life: Alyx
Aperture Desk Job