All three frog puppets featured silicone skins over animatronic armatures. "We chose silicone rather than foam latex for its translucency," noted Rosengrant. "Also, the frogs would be sitting in water, and we were afraid that putting foam latex in water would be a problem." After painting the frogs, mineral oil was used to coat the completed skins, providing a realistic slimy finish Frog armatures were built for each character, complete with properly jointed legs. Rods inserted in the torsos provided body articulation from below. Animatronics allowed the frogs to breathe, bloat their throats, speak, move their eyes, and blink. Eyes were hand-painted to match real frog eyes, with radio-controlled, tiny watch-like mechanisms to effect movement and eyelid blinks. Puppeteers controlled jaw motion through the use of telemetry devices worn over their own jaws Throat ballooning was accomplished by pumping air into custom-made bladders inside each puppet.
