Offered here is an original production-made Grasshopper puppet mouth appliance from the 1996 Disney stop motion classic James and the Giant Peach.

This is a fascinating piece of original animation-production material from the making of the film. The item is a cast resin replacement mouth component created for the Grasshopper character puppet. The mouth is designed as a removable facial appliance, part of the replacement-animation technique used to create the character's changing expressions and speech.

The production's Grasshopper puppet and its interchangeable mouth system are documented by the Science Museum Group, which holds original Grasshopper puppet material from the film. Their collection notes that individual mouthpieces were painstakingly exchanged during animation to create different facial expressions and dialogue.

The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Allied Filmmakers and Skellington Productions, with stop-motion animation produced at Skellington Productions in San Francisco. Directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi, the film brought Roald Dahl's beloved 1961 story to the screen using elaborate miniature puppets and replacement animation.

The Grasshopper was voiced by Simon Callow, and the character's production puppet was an extensively handmade stop-motion creation.

Important: This particular piece was made for the film's production but is not being represented as screen-used. It is original production material rather than a later reproduction.

The photographs show the actual piece being offered. The second photograph provides a close view of the rear attachment area and construction.

A particularly interesting detail for collectors is that specialist movie-prop dealers have separately offered original production-made James and the Giant Peach mouth appliances in resin, including Grasshopper examples, confirming the type of component represented here.

A fantastic opportunity to own an authentic piece of the miniature puppet-production process behind one of the most distinctive stop-motion films of the 1990s.

From the world of Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Walt Disney, Roald Dahl and Skellington Productions.

Please examine all photographs carefully as they are part of the description.