6 Best Puppet and Marionette Movies

By Vlad Zakh · February 14, 2026

Puppets can say what live actors sometimes can’t. Anomalisa uses stop-motion for a lonely business trip, The Muppets reunite to save their old theatre, and Being John Malkovich has a puppeteer finding a portal into an actor’s mind. Team America: World Police sends marionettes against terrorists, with The Dark Crystal and The Muppet Movie rounding out the six.

Anomalisa (2015)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 92% Metacritic 88

A motivational speaker who finds everyone the same suddenly hears one woman who is different.

Directed by Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson · 1h 31m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar24 wins & 79 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Muppets (2011)

TMDB ★ 7.0

The Muppets reunite to save their old theatre from being demolished by a ruthless oil tycoon.

Directed by James Bobin · 1h 43m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Being John Malkovich (1999)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A portal into an actor's own mind turns into the strangest premise of the decade, played completely straight.

Directed by Spike Jonze · 1h 53m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Team America: World Police (2004)

TMDB ★ 6.8

An elite squad of marionettes tries to stop a global terror plot.

Directed by Trey Parker · 1h 38m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Dark Crystal (1982)

IMDb ★ 7.1 RT 78% Metacritic 66

A young Gelfling searches for the missing shard needed to restore balance to his world.

Directed by Jim Henson & Frank Oz · 1h 33m · Rated PG

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award4 wins & 5 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Philo, Night Flight Plus, Peacock Premium Plus, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Muppet Movie (1979)

TMDB ★ 7.4

Kermit the Frog travels to Hollywood, gathering a colourful cast of friends along the way.

Directed by James Frawley · 1h 37m · Rated G

Where to watch

Stream: Disney Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Puppet and Marionette Movies

Anomalisa (2015)

The Muppets (2011)

Being John Malkovich (1999)

Team America: World Police (2004)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

The Muppet Movie (1979)

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