Pantomime Animals- The Extra Dimension
- Jun 17
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 18
Ben's unique gallery of panto animals are great fun to play and your audience will love them! Request your Reading Copies and check out what these hilarious and loveable characters can bring to your show!
Animals really can be the secret sauce in pantomime.
The first pantomime script I ever wrote was Dick Whittington and I marvelled at how the audience identified with Tommy the Cat. Ever since then, I’ve never considered a panto script complete without at least one animal.
Whether they’re silent, talking, played by actors or animated as puppets –pantomime animals always bring an extra dimension to panto and always delight the audience.
In fact, they often steal the show. So, when you’re looking at pantomime scripts, don’t forget to check out the animals and remember how much they can add to the fun!
Here’s a roundup of all the furry, feathered and even scaly creatures you’ll find in my pantomime scripts. Just click on the blue links to find out more!
Aladdin - NOBBY THE PANDA. Silent. Bonkers and occasionally psychotic. Great fun!
CHECK OUT ALADDIN (VERSION 1)
Aladdin (Version 2) - BIBI. A pet monkey belonging to Aladdin and his brother. Delightful silent role for a child. FAZIL THE PSYCHIC SNAKE. A voiced glove puppet who belongs to Abanazar. The pair hate each other – until Fazil accidentally falls in love with him.
Ali Baba & The Forty Thieves - KAMIL. A camel. There’s something delightful about a two-person camel!
Alice in Wonderland - THE WRONG RABBITS. A motley crew - answerable to the Wrong Royal Red Queen, they are the inept villains of the piece. Great fun throughout! THE FLAMINGO. Hilarious puppet in the cooking scene. Violently objects to being used as a mallet. And of course, there are also THE WHITE RABBIT, THE MARCH HARE, THE DORMOUSE, THE CHESHIRE CAT and THE JABBERWOCKY. Lots and lots of animals!
Beauty & the Beast - FELIX. A fast-talking French Poodle. He is smart, endearingly childlike and always in danger of stealing the show. Think Shrek’s Donkey with a French accent!
Camelot the Panto - TEDDY. A sweet natured bear. Silent. A great foil for the Dame, who is Royal Nursemaid and Royal Bear Keeper. Very loveable.
Cinderella (Version 1) - DEVON DUMPLING – or whatever you decide to call him! A two-person pantomime horse. Supposedly a racehorse, he is huge fun from start to finish.
Cinderella (Version 2) - MOUSE. Belongs to Buttons and is his charming and silent friend. A great role for a youngster. Gets to drive Cinderella’s coach!
Dick Whittington - TOMMY THE CAT. Feline guile and a very direct, childlike take on the world make Tommy a winner from the get-go!
Jack and the Beanstalk - DAISY. Two-person pantomime cow. The milking routine is one of pantomime’s great gifts to comedy! Equally important, the decision to sell Daisy and saying goodbye to her is one of pantomime’s great tear-jerking moments.
Mother Goose - HEIDI THE GOOSE. Heidi is quite a human goose, and a sort of silent sister to Mother Goose’s daughter, Freya. THE GRAND HIGH SNOW GOOSE. An elderly and rather grumpy despot. SMORG. A Wicked Troll. Is a troll an animal? If not, then Smorg should butt out of this bit!
Puss in Boots - MIME PUSS and PUSS IN BOOTS. A silent part and a talking part. Two cats for the price of one! When Puss has the boots he can talk – and his lineage goes all the way back to commedia dell’arte and the clever servant, who helps their less quick-witted master. THE KILLER RABBITS. MR FLUFFY, MR WIGGLENOSE and MR CHEEKY-COTTON-BOTTOM. Talking cameo roles. Often played as Bouncers or Bikers – but with endearing floppy ears and cotton tails. The audience love them!
Rapunzel - WAYLON THE WEASEL. Witch Gothel’s pet. A character that lives both as a glove puppet – and as a full sized animated human actor. Totally bonkers, but like so many panto animals, he is at heart, a child.
Robin Hood & the Babes in the Wood - THE RABBITS. Two talking glove puppets. Very funny commentators on the action – and keen to perform a Rabbit Ballet at the most inopportune moments. Terrified of being eaten. “Back in the burrow!”
Sleeping Beauty - SPINDLESHANKS and KITTY. Two very different cats. Spindleshanks belongs to the Witch, Carabosse and has an uber competitive relationship with her. Kitty is a goodie. Silent - and a lovely part for a young performer.
Snow White - FANG. A little dog, who belongs to the dame. Can be as simple as a ball of fluff on a string. The string means that Fang can jump all over the place. Nigel Hawthorne introduced a similar dog, when he directed and starred in The Clandestine Marriage. This is a direct and very funny nick – and Fang saves the day!
Treasure Island - POLLY. A seventy-year-old parrot, somewhat touchy about her age. She has a fractious relationship with Long John Silver and just wants to be allowed to sit on his shoulder – not something he encourages.
I hope that’s given you some ideas – do let me know what pantomime scripts you’d like to read. I’m always happy to send them out!
