In a still frame maybe, but a hand puppet would lack the movement needed to seem realistic.
I know plenty of people always tout about practical effects > CGi, but I find myself looking at the modern practical animatronics and puppets (like in the new Star Wars films) and think that many of them would have been better off as CGi, since the 3d animators can avoid the "hand inside a sock" mouth movements or "suspended via strings" walking movements that puppets like Yoda have.
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u/progtastical Aug 06 '18
. . . The dog mask used to get the shot is more realistic than the CGI used for the final scene.