Karen Leigh Prell (July 31, 1959, Florida, USA) is an animator and puppeteer. She was the performer of Red Fraggle in Fraggle Rock.
Prell was born 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. In Sesame Street, she performed Deena Monster, which was a background character in the classic Sesame Street. Her website includes notes about working with Jim Henson and pictures of her custom puppets.
Prell married fellow muppeteer Mike Quinn. They lived for a decade in England before moving to California to work for Pixar. After divorcing, Karen Prell and Mike Quinn continue to work together on different projects.
In 1997, Prell transitioned into computer animation, working on several Pixar projects, including the shorts Geri's Game and For the Birds and the feature films A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2. Recent animation credits have included some of the CGI animation in Disney's Enchanted, work for Tippett Studio on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Son of the Mask, and Frank Oz's The Stepford Wives
Prell currently works as an animator with Valve Corporation.
Outside of her works on shows, 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.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-1998 | 
|
Ollie the Tapir | Animal Show |
| 1994-1996 | 
|
Tizzy the Bee | Animal Show |
| 1988-1990 | 
|
Yellow Gosling | Mother Goose Stories |
| 1988-1990 | 
|
Cat | Mother Goose Stories |
| 1989 | 
|
Mimi | The Ghost of Faffner Hall |
| 1987 | 
|
Maureen the Mink | A Muppet Family Christmas |
| 1987 | 
|
Red Fraggle | A Muppet Family Christmas |
| 1983-1987 | 
|
Red Fraggle | Fraggle Rock |
| 1984 | 
|
Yolanda Rat | The Muppets Take Manhattan |