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The Happytime Murders

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The Happytime Murders
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrian Henson
Screenplay byTodd Berger
Story by
  • Todd Berger
  • Dee Austin Robertson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMitchell Amundsen
Edited byBrian Scott Olds
Music byChristopher Lennertz
Production
companies
Distributed bySTX Entertainment
Release date
  • August 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[1]

The Happytime Murders is an upcoming American black comedy crime film directed by Brian Henson and written by Todd Berger. The film stars Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, and Elizabeth Banks. The plot follows a world where puppets and humans co-exist, and a joint police force must solve a recent murder spree. The film is scheduled to be released on August 24, 2018, by STXfilms. The film received mixed to negative reviews, with critics calling the film unfunny and a waste of a good idea, although critics did praise Rudolph's performance and the puppeteer work.

Plot

In a world where puppets coexist with humans, but are reviled by society and considered inferior, puppet private investigator Phil Philips (Bill Barretta) reunites with his ex-partner Detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) to find a serial killer who murdered Phil's brother. The killer is now targeting the cast members of the 1980s television series The Happytime Gang, and Phil's former flame, Jenny (Elizabeth Banks), is next on the list. It’s up to Phil and Edwards, to find the culprit, but as bad blood and old resentments resurface the clues start pointing to the only viable suspect, Phil himself. Now he's on the run with only his wits and hard headed determination, as he tries to solve "The Happytime Murders."

Cast

Humans

Puppeteers

  • Bill Barretta as Phil Philips, a disgraced ex-cop who is now a private investigator. He was the first puppet to become a cop, but was fired from the force.
  • Julianne Buescher as Piddles
  • Kevin Clash as Lyle, an actor on The Happytime Gang who played a sports coach and is now a powerful drug lord.
    • Clash also performs Mr. Bumblypants, a rabbit actor on The Happytime Gang who played a mail carrier.
  • Dorien Davies as Sandra, a puppet who asks Phil to investigate a case for her.
  • Alice Dinnean as Sheila, a puppet prostitute who makes up the "Rotten Cotten Girls."
  • Donna Kimball as Diane, a puppet prostitute who makes up the "Rotten Cotten Girls."
  • Drew Massey as Goofer, an actor on The Happytime Gang who played a handyman and is now homeless and addicted to sugar, which is like heroin to puppets.
    • Massey also performs Vinny, a vulture who works at a sex shop.
  • Ted Michaels as Ezra, an actor on The Happytime Gang and Cara’s twin brother.
  • Colleen Smith as Cara, an actress on The Happytime Gang and Ezra’s twin sister.
  • Victor Yerrid as Larry Shenanigans Philips, Phil's older brother and an actor on The Happytime Gang who played a cop.

Production

Concept art depicting Phil, the grizzled central puppet character

Announced in 2008 as being in development at The Jim Henson Company,[2] the film was picked up two years later by Lionsgate with a targeted January 2011 start date.[3] At the time, Cameron Diaz had been offered a lead role in the film.[4] Diaz dropped out and Katherine Heigl entered into talks to replace her.[5]

In July 2015, it was announced that STX Entertainment had picked up the film rights to The Happytime Murders (Lionsgate having lost them) and put the film in active development with script revisions by Erich and Jon Hoeber.[6] In April 2016, Jamie Foxx entered negotiations to star in the film.[7] In May 2017, it was revealed that Melissa McCarthy had signed on to star in the film as well as contribute minor, uncredited rewrites of the film's screenplay.[8] This was followed by Maya Rudolph being added in August[8] and in September, Elizabeth Banks,[9] puppeteer Bill Barretta,[10] and Joel McHale[11] all officially joined the cast.

Principal photography on the film began in Los Angeles, California on September 11, 2017.[9]

There are a total of 125 puppets in the film, with 40 specifically created for it.[12] To accommodate the puppeteers, all of the sets were built up so that the puppeteers could stand on the floor, since their optimum way to operate the puppets is if they are standing with straight arms. Because the floor of the sets came up in pieces, the human actors had a two-foot margin to stay on their path.[12]

Release

The Happytime Murders is scheduled to be released by STX Entertainment on August 24, 2018.[13] The film was originally going to be released on August 17, 2018 but was pushed back a week.[14]

The first official red-band trailer was released on May 18, 2018, with select screenings of Deadpool 2.[15][16]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Happytime Murders will be released alongside A.X.L., and is projected to gross $13–15 million from 3,225 theaters in its opening weekend.[1]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 26% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Happytime Murders wastes its intriguingly transgressive premise on a witless comedy that blindly pushes buttons instead of attempting to tell an entertaining story."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 33 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[18]

Lawsuit

In May 2018, Sesame Workshop, the organization behind the production of the television series Sesame Street, filed a lawsuit against STX Productions for using their trademark in a film they have no involvement with, including the tagline "No Sesame, all Street." They alleged that associating a children’s program with an adult comedy would smear the former's reputation as well as confuse individuals. In response, STX issued a statement indicating their persistence to keep the marketing for the film unchanged.[19][20] On May 30, 2018, the lawsuit was rejected by the presiding judge for the case, with STX issuing a brief statement soon thereafter:

We fluffing love Sesame Street and we're obviously very pleased that the ruling reinforced what STX's intention was from the very beginning — to honor the heritage of The Jim Henson Company's previous award-winning creations while drawing a clear distinction between any Muppets or Sesame Street characters and the new world Brian Henson and team created. We believe we accomplished that with the very straightforward NO SESAME, ALL STREET tagline. We look forward to continued happytimes as we prepare to release Happytime Murders this summer.[21]

Some TV spots for the film have since made references to the lawsuit by starting the ads with "From the studio that was sued by Sesame Street..."[22][better source needed]

References

  1. ^ a b Faughnder, Ryan (August 22, 2018). "Filthy puppet movie 'Happytime Murders' to battle 'Crazy Rich Asians' at the box office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 22, 2018./
  2. ^ Sciretta, Peter (October 15, 2008). "Happytime Murders - A Muppet Noir". /Film. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  3. ^ Graham, Bill (October 12, 2010). "Lionsgate Picks Up Dark Jim Henson Co. Puppet Film HAPPYTIME MURDERS". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Graham, Bill (November 9, 2010). "Cameron Diaz Offered Role in Dark Henson Puppet Film THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  5. ^ Chitwood, Adam (February 3, 2012). "Katherine Heigl Up for Film Noir Puppet Comedy THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS; Al Pacino Set as Villain in DESPICABLE ME 2". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Kit, Borys (July 7, 2015). "Jim Henson's Crime Puppet Movie Finds New Home at STX". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Busch, Anita (April 27, 2016). "Jamie Foxx Negotiating To Star In 'The Happytime Murders' At STX". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  8. ^ a b McNary, Dave (August 23, 2017). "Maya Rudolph to Reunite With Melissa McCarthy in 'Happytime Murders'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (September 13, 2017). "Elizabeth Banks Joins Gang For 'The Happytime Murders'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  10. ^ Lee, Ashley (September 13, 2017). "Elizabeth Banks Joins STX's Puppet Comedy 'Happytime Murders'". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  11. ^ Kit, Borys (September 15, 2017). "Joel McHale Joins Melissa McCarthy in Puppet Comedy 'Happytime Murders' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Radish, Christina (July 12, 2018). "'The Happytime Murders': 25 Things to Know about the Long-Developing R-Rated Puppet Movie". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Matt (June 22, 2018). "STX Films Shifts 'Mile 22' and 'The Happytime Murders' Release Dates". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  14. ^ Knapp, JD (July 1, 2017). "STX Sets Dates for 'Molly's Game' and 'Happytime Murders'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  15. ^ Schaefer, Sandy (May 18, 2018). "Happytime Murders Trailer: Melissa McCarthy's Filthy Puppet Noir". Screen Rant. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  16. ^ Foutch, Haleigh (May 18, 2018). "Melissa McCarthy Snorts Ecstasy and Punches Puppets in NSFW 'The Happytime Murders' Trailer". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  17. ^ "The Happytime Murders (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  18. ^ "The Happytime Murders Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  19. ^ Lopez, Ricardo (May 25, 2018). "'Sesame Street' Creators Sue STX Entertainment Over Marketing for 'The Happytime Murders'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  20. ^ "Sesame Street sues over violent, puppet-based Happytime Murders film". BBC News. BBC. May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  21. ^ Patten, Dominic; Pedersen, Erik (May 30, 2018). "'Happytime Murders' Lawsuit: Judge Kicks 'Sesame Street' Bosses' Grouchy Case To The Curb". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  22. ^ "Happytime Murders from the studio who was sued by Sesame Street over it". Seriously? OMG! WTF?. July 31, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
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