Jim Henson's Pajanimals
Trailer
Synopsis
Four young animal friends share the last stretch of playtime before bed, and when a small worry crops up — fear of the dark, nerves about the dentist — their beds turn into rockets, submarines or hot-air balloons that carry them to whimsical lands. There, warm-hearted characters help them talk through the problem. Each episode closes with a song and a bedtime ritual designed to soothe very young viewers.
Context & Trivia
The four leads — Apollo, Squacky, Sweetpea Sue and Cowbella — began life as hand-and-rod puppets built at Jim Henson's Creature Shop from designs by Jeff Muncy. The show had two distinct chapters: a run of ten three-minute musical shorts (2008) performed by puppeteers including John Kennedy, Alice Dinnean-Vernon, Donna Kimball and Victor Yerrid, and then a full series of eleven-minute episodes (2011) shot in Belfast with Northern Irish producer Sixteen South, which brought in Michael Winsor and Sarah Lyle as additional performers. Veteran Henson puppet builders such as Rollie Krewson, Constance Peterson and Polly Smith worked on the build, and even the side characters the Pajanimals visit in their dream-lands — Bedtime Bunny, Jerry Bear, Mr. Happy Birthday — are live hand-and-rod puppets rather than digital add-ons.
Puppeteers
John Kennedy, Alice Dinnean-Vernon, Donna Kimball, Victor Yerrid, Sarah Lyle, Michael Winsor, Paul Currie, Josh Elwell
Puppet design
Jeff Muncy
Puppet companies
The Jim Henson Company · Sixteen South · PBS Kids Sprout
Puppet building
Rollie Krewson · Ann Marie Holdgruen · Tom Newby · Tim Legasse · Anney Ozar · Heather Asch · Constance Peterson · Polly Smith
Created by
Jeff Muncy, Alex Rockwell
Direction
David Gumpel
Cast
Donna Kimball, Sarah Lyle, Michael Winsor, Victor Yerrid, John Kennedy, Alice Dinnean-Vernon, Paul Currie, Josh Elwell
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