History Main / EvilPuppeteer

* [[AristocratsAreEvil Count Volpe]] from ''WesternAnimation/GuillermoDelTorosPinocchio'' has a puppet show that exploits the LivingToy Pinocchio and is also a RepulsiveRingmaster with a failing carnival.

* [[FauxAffablyEvil Stromboli]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'', who has his own circus of puppets and hires Pinocchio, but treats him badly: he underpays him, locks him up in a cage, and threatens to chop him into firewood.

* As with most adaptations giving Fire-Eater AdaptationalVillainy, Lorenzini from ''Film/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'' starts off as a greedy and manipulative puppet master who managed to bribe Pinocchio away from his father, and later turns out to be a CompositeCharacter of [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers the Coachman]] and [[spoiler:[[SeaMonster the Whale]]]].

* In Paul Gallico story ''Love of Seven Dolls'' (which partially inspired the aforementioned movie ''Film/{{Lili}}'') the evil puppeteer character is played much more straight, being a verbally, physically and sexually abusive lover with no FreudianExcuse for his personality. Only at the very end he has a HeelRealization, but it doesn't really make the predicament he put himself and his victim into any better.

* The ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "[[Recap/TalesFromTheCryptS4E12StrungAlong Strung Along]]" offers a sympathetic take of this trope: Joseph Renfield is an elderly man who used to be a great TV puppeteer and had to quit due to his heart condition. He decides to try revive his show with the help of young animatronic artist David, much to the disapproval of Joseph's [[MayDecemberRomance younger wife]] Ellen. [[spoiler: In the end, David (whose real name is Rick) and Ellen give Joseph a fatal heart attack by pretending that his clown marionette Koko is a killer PerversePuppet because they wanted to inherit his fortune. However, Joseph and Koko retaliate by becoming the WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds version of the Evil Puppeteer and give the two greedy AssholeVictims what they deserve]].

* The ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "[[Recap/TalesFromTheCryptS4E12StrungAlong Strung Along]]" offers a sympathetic take of this trope: Joseph Renfield is an elderly man who used to be a great TV puppeteer and had to quit due to his heart condition. He decides to try revive his show with the help of young animatronic artist David, much to the disapproval of Joseph's [[MayDecemberRomance younger wife]] Ellen. [[spoiler: In the end, David and Ellen give Joseph a fatal heart attack by pretending that his clown marionette Koko is a killer PerversePuppet because they wanted to inherit his fortune. However, Joseph and Koko retaliate by becoming the WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds version of the Evil Puppeteer and give the two greedy AssholeVictims what they deserve]].

* The ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "Strung Along" offers a sympathetic take of this trope: Joseph Renfield is an elderly man who used to be a great TV puppeteer and had to quit due to his heart condition. He decides to try revive his show with the help of young animatronic artist David, much to the disapproval of Joseph's [[MayDecemberRomance younger wife]] Ellen. [[spoiler: In the end, David and Ellen give Joseph a fatal heart attack by pretending that his clown marionette Koko is a killer PerversePuppet because they wanted to inherit his fortune. However, Joseph and Koko retaliate by becoming the WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds version of the Evil Puppeteer and give the two greedy AssholeVictims what they deserve]].

* The ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "Strung Along" offers a sympathetic take of this trope: Joseph Renfield is an elderly man who used to be a great TV puppeteer and had to quit due to his heart condition. He decides to try revive his show with the help of young animatronic artist David, much to the disapproval of Joseph's [[MayDecemberRomance younger wife]] Ellen. [[spoiler: In the end, David and Ellen give Joseph a fatal heart attack by pretending that his clown marionette Koko is a killer PerversePuppet because they wanted to inherit his fortune. However, Joseph and Koko retaliate by becoming the WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds version of the Evil Puppeteer by murdering the two greedy AssholeVictims]].

* In the Literature/ModestyBlaise novel ''I, Lucifer'', the Big Bad's hobby is constructing hand-made marionettes and putting on creepy puppet shows with his wife. One of his underlings reflects that part of why the puppet shows are so unnerving is that they're a reminder that he has real people dancing to his strings as well.

* In Paul Gallico story ''Love of Seven Dolls'' (which partially inspired the aforementioned movie ''Film/{{Lili}}'') the evil puppeteer character is played much more straight, being a verbally, physically and sexually abusive lover with no FreudianExcuse for his personality. Only at the very end he has a JerkassRealization, but it doesn't really make the predicament he put himself and his victim into any better.

* Paul from ''Film/{{Lili}}'' is not "evil", but he's far from being a pleasant carnival puppeteer. However, this is subverted because his bitterness comes from suffering a leg injury in [=WW2=] that forced him to quit his dancing career, and while initially disliking Lili, he prevents her suicide by having friendly interactions with the girl through his colorful cast of hand puppets.

* Paul from ''Film/{{Lili}}'' is not "evil", but he's far from being a pleasant carnival puppeteer. However, this is subverted because his bitterness comes from suffering a leg injury in WW2 that forced him to quit his dancing career, and while initially disliking Lili, he prevents her suicide by having friendly interactions through his colorful cast of hand puppets.

* Paul from ''Film/{{Lili}}'' is not "evil", but he's far from being a pleasant person to deal with. However, this is subverted when he prevents Lili from killing herself and has friendly interactions with her through his colorful cast of hand puppets, which bring out his best qualities.

* In ''Film/TheWiz'' the NightmareFuel sequence set in a SinisterSubway is kicked off by a [[MalevolentMaskedMan creepy masked peddler]] who unleashes two puppets that start dancing on their own before growing 7 feet tall and begin to chase the terrorized protagonists with a jiggly OminousWalk.

* In ''Film/TheWiz'' the NightmareFuel sequence set in a SinisterSubway is kicked off by a [[MalevolentMaskedMan creepy masked peddler]] who unleashes two puppets that start dancing on their own before growing 7 feet tall and begin to chase the terrorized protagonists.

* Jigsaw from ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' is a non-supernatural variant. He often uses an eerie puppet of his own creation named "Billy" to announce his presence.

* ''Franchise/OnePiece'': Doflamingo is a thoroughly sadistic person with RazorFloss powers that he mainly use for PeoplePuppets - he can manipulate people's body, usually to harm each other.

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* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'': The Puppeteer, aka [[spoiler:Jae-heon]], qualifies. Among the many [[HumanoidAbomination Distortions]] operating within the City, he has the ability to turn people into gruesome-looking puppets who, while fully conscious of their situation, are utterly powerless in resisting his whims. [[spoiler:He transforms the first-class passengers of a Warp Train into Puppets before sending them to the Library as a part of the [[TheHeavy Reverberation Ensemble’s]] plans. The Floor of Language Realization reveals he was once a Backstreets technician who was driven to resurrecting his dead son but got caught up in Roland’s rampage across the City. Roland ended up destroying his laboratory and rendering his efforts all for naught, [[CreateYourOwnVillain leading to Jae-heon distorting.]]]]

Another factor in the negative portrayal of puppeteers is the idea of PeoplePuppets - having another person literally pull you around with strings.