| abstract | - Karen Leigh Prell (b. July 31) is a puppeteer and animator. Born in Florida, she first worked with Jim Henson in 1979 in small roles on Sesame Street. She subsequently worked on the final season of The Muppet Show, assisting and playing various bit parts (such as the title character in "Rockin' Robin.") She also performed Deena and others on Sesame Street in the early '80s, but made her greatest contribution performing Red Fraggle on Fraggle Rock. Prell also performed on the Creature Shop films Dreamchild and Labyrinth. During the latter film, she first became romantically involved with future husband Mike Quinn, as they made each other's goblins flirt during lulls in shooting. In 1997, Prell transitioned into computer animation, working on several Pixar projects, including the shorts Geri's Game and For the Birds and features 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, animating the award-winning video game Portal 2, and Frank Oz's The Stepford Wives. Demonstrating that her affection for the Muppets has not waned, however, Prell attended MuppetFest in 2001, resplendent in a homemade Red Fraggle cap, and also participated in the Fraggle Rock: Complete First Season bonus features. In 2005, she reprised her role of Red Fraggle, in voice over, as host of "Fraggle Challenge," a bonus feature on the Doin' Things That Doozers Do and Down in Fraggle Rock DVD's. She currently works as an animator with video game company Valve Corporation, where she was able to apply her experience with puppets to bring realistic movements to the robot characters of the award-winning game Portal 2.
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