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CONCEPTUAL PROTOTYPEKENNER DEVELOPMENT INDEX · PROTOTYPES

Yoda Hand Puppet — Original Concept Prototype

YEAR UNKNOWN · Character & Novelty Toys

The conceptual prototype that helped shape Kenner’s Yoda Hand Puppet had an unusual origin. Lucasfilm employee Robert Short created an all-latex Yoda on his own initiative; producer Gary Kurtz noticed it and presented it to Kenner. Kenner subsequently licensed the concept. Its history helps distinguish this Lucasfilm-created concept from Kenner’s separate cloth-bodied puppet and Talking Yoda development experiments.

Development OriginUSA
Developer / LicenseeKenner
Development PeriodUnknown
Research ConfidenceHIGH
Public Development Index reference

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What is publicly documented

Development storyOne of the strangest Kenner Star Wars product stories did not begin at Kenner at all. Robert Short, then working for Lucasfilm on costumes and appearing as C-3PO in television commercials, created an all-latex Yoda prototype on his own initiative. It was not an assignment and apparently was not part of a formal Kenner development brief. Producer Gary Kurtz saw what Short had made, recognized its potential, and brought it to Kenner. Kenner then licensed the idea. At the time, Kenner had already explored a different…
How to identify itDocumented development stages: Conceptual prototype.
Production outcomeDevelopment record
Surviving evidenceConfirmed survivor · The original conceptual prototype resurfaced publicly in 2014 in the possession of its creator, Robert Short.
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Territory contextUSA releases
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