Inhibition-Destroying Puppet

Ben Woodman is a nice guy. The guy on his hand, not so much.

Seidelman: Nice doll, does it come with a dress?
Neal: [speaking through "Morty", a ventriloquist dummy] Nice head, does it come with a neck?
Neal: [as himself] Sorry, I can't control him sometimes.

— Freaks and Geeks, "Noshing and Moshing"

Sometimes, when someone is given a puppet, it doesn't take them over; instead, it causes them to say things that they wouldn't say otherwise. This is usually Played for Laughs, but sometimes it can be cathartic for someone who has been keeping something bottled up.

Related to Consulting Mister Puppet, but unlike in that trope the puppeteer doesn't think the puppet is sentient or acting on its own.

While rarely as dramatic as the fictional form, the idea has enough Truth in Television to be used in certain forms of expressive therapy — a couple in counseling might be asked play out an argument with puppets to add a layer of disarming playfulness and objectivity, or a therapist might ask a child about the feelings and actions of a doll in a representation of a stressful situation.

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Examples:

Comedy

• If his lone stand-up routines are taken as his regular personality, Jeff Dunham features this as his main shtick. Jeff by himself is a mild critic of his own life and usually won't go into anything controversial unless it personally affects him. His puppets are a stark contrast in different ways. Walter represents his gripes about everyday life, including dealing with the outrageous elements of society and family. Achmed is a rip on terrorists and their beliefs, indicated by Achmed's miserable "death", with hints of sexism. Peanut is racist and loathsome of the rest of the group (with José serving as a foil and counterpoint to Peanut's bigotry). The rest of his puppets aren't this so much, although they do get in a jab or two on Jeff's behalf.

Comic Books

• While it tends to be ambiguous or depend on the story he's in, Batman villain Arnold Wesker, a.k.a. the Ventriloquist, has sometimes been depicted as this, having a Split Personality that he vents through his dummy Scarface. Given that Scarface is a hot-tempered and violent mob boss, he definitely presents a stark contrast to the normally meek and submissive Wesker.

Live-Action TV

• Arrested Development has Franklin, an African-American puppet which causes everybody who puts it on their hand to immediately start speaking in a stereotypical 1970s jive style.
• In Everybody Loves Raymond, Robert gets fed up with how he's being treated when he tries to give Ray, Frank, and Debora a driving class, and brings in a ventriloquist dummy, which allows him to say things to Marie and Frank that he normally wouldn't have the courage to do so.
• In Family Tree, Tom's sister Bea uses a monkey puppet to communicate her feelings. (Bea is played by ventriloquist Nina Conti, and Monk is one of the regular puppets in her act.)
• In Freaks and Geeks, Neal has found out about his father's extramarital affair, and has been channeling his pent-up aggression into his performance with "Morty", a ventriloquist's dummy (which he brings to school, much to his friends' horror; even a teacher asks him if he has a death wish). Finally, at a party, he makes a bunch of jokes at his father's expense (using Morty), culminating in him telling everyone at the party that his father is a dentist and not a doctor because he failed medical school.
• In the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Garage Sale", Francis comes across "Schlupi", a sock puppet that is used by Otto to discuss matters that he doesn't want to talk about. Francis puts Schlupi on Otto's hand so he can discuss the issue of his son's estrangement. Later, Francis borrows Schlupi to have a heart-to-heart discussion with Lois.
• The primary suspect in the Murder, She Wrote episode "Where Have You Gone, Billy Boy?" is a nervous ventriloquist who finds it easier to let the dummy (the eponymous Billy Boy) do the talking. When Billy goes missing shortly before the murder, the only way he can explain the situation is by phoning Stanton as Billy.
• In one episode of My Name Is Earl, it's revealed that Randy had a puppet as a kid. He admits he used the puppet to say things he was uncomfortable saying. In a flashback, Randy rats out his brother with the puppet. In the present day, the same thing almost happens, so Randy destroys the puppet.
• In the Jim Henson pilot Puppetman, set behind the scenes on a children's puppet show, one of the puppeteers uses his snarky character to make comments about the human host, even (or especially) when the cameras aren't running. At one point he tries to apologise to her, and the puppet calls him a hypocrite.
• In Victorious, Robbie is a shy, socially awkward boy, but his puppet Rex is very outgoing and a womanizer. Rex also insults the other members of the group, often saying stuff Robbie wouldn't be able to get away with.
• An episode of Wings has Joe go on a date with a woman who's got social anxiety so bad, she can't bring herself to talk directly to another person. Instead, she does all her communicating through a crass, raunchy ventriloquist dummy.

Video Games

• In Ensemble Stars!, Jerk with a Heart of Gold Shu sometimes uses his puppet, Mademoiselle, to say the genuinely kind things he feels too awkward to express as himself.

Visual Novels

• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All has Ben Woodman and his puppet, Trilo Quist. Ben is very meek, while Trilo is everything but.

Western Animation

• Arthur: In "Arthur's Dummy Disaster", George shows his friends Wally, the dummy that he and his dad have built together. Until now, George has been a minor background character, but when "Wally" starts cracking jokes, George suddenly finds himself to be quite popular. He begins bringing it everywhere, to the point that he begins to irritate the others. Eventually, he learns to speak for himself without the crutch of Wally, although Wally does make periodic appearances throughout the rest of the series.
• In the fourth season of Disenchantment, King Zøg's mental state devolves to a point where he can only speak through a hand puppet.
• Family Guy: In "You Can't Do That On Television, Peter", Peter creates a puppet character named "Saggy Naggy", who is an unflattering caricature of Lois, for his TV show. While operating the puppet, Peter's performance grows angrier as he makes it say things that Lois specifically said to him, making it clear he's blowing off some pent-up steam.
• The Simpsons: In "Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk", Mr. Burns is reluctant to open up to Smithers, but he can pour his soul out to "Snappy the Alligator".
• Mr. Garrison's puppet Mr. Hat serves this function in the early seasons of South Park, with Mr. Hat openly expressing Garrison's perverted, sociopathic tendencies, which he tries to keep suppressed. As Garrison becomes more comfortable being his true repulsive self, he eventually ditches Mr. Hat.

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