Released | August 24, 2018 |
Duration | 91 minutes |
Director | Brian Henson |
Written by | Todd Berger |
Music | Christopher Lennertz |
Studio | STX Entertainment |
Rated | R |
The Happytime Murders is a film produced by the Jim Henson Company, under their Henson Alternative branch, released on August 24, 2018. The film is directed and produced by Brian Henson.
Set in downtown Los Angeles, the film centers on a pair of police officers, one human (Melissa McCarthy) and one puppet (Bill Barretta), as they solve the murders of former puppet stars.
Muppet Mentions
- The film's marketing launched on May 18th and includes a trailer and poster featuring the tagline "No Sesame, All Street". A week later on May 25th, Sesame Workshop filed a lawsuit against STX Entertainment for "distributing a trailer that deliberately confuses consumers into mistakenly believing that Sesame is associated with, has allowed, or has even endorsed or produced the movie and tarnishes Sesame’s brand." They subsequently lost the lawsuit.[1] Afterwards a TV spot for the film references the lawsuit, with the tagline "From the studio that was sued by Sesame Street." (YouTube)
- In a scene where Phil Phillips investigates a puppet pornography shop, for the film, he remarks, "Looks like this mystery's brought to you by the letter P." The dialogue was used in a a promotional spot for the film.
- A series of memes created and shared by the movie's promotional Imgur account spoof two popular Kermit the Frog memes (specifically the "None of My Business" and "Evil Kermit" memes).
Cast
Human Cast
- Melissa McCarthy as Det. Connie Edwards
- Maya Rudolph as Bubbles
- Elizabeth Banks as Jenny
- Joel McHale as Agent Campbell
- Leslie David Baker as Lt. Banning
Puppet Cast
- Bill Barretta as Phil Philips, Junkyard and Boar
- Dorien Davies as Sandra
- Kevin Clash as Bumblypants and Lyle
- Victor Yerrid Lyle and Old Man Puppet
- Drew Massey as Goofer and Vinny
- Colleen Smith as Dalmatian and Cara
- Ted Michaels as Sexist Thug and Ezra
- Brian Henson as Crab
- Donna Kimball as Roxy (puppetry), Cow and Rotten Cotton Girl
- Alice Dinnean as Rotten Cotten Girl
- Allan Trautman as Octopus and Puppet Doctor (puppetry)
- Core Puppeteers: Dorien Davies, Alice Dinnean, Jayden Libran, Drew Massey, Ted Michaels, Colleen Smith, Allan Trautman, Victor Yerrid
- Additional Puppeteers: Grant Baciocco, Greg Ballora, Tim Blaney, Kevin Carlson, Kristin Charney, Artie Esposito, Peggy Etra, Dan Garza, Patrick Johnson, Sean Johnson, Donna Kimball, Tim Lagasse, Bruce Lanoil, Lara MacLean, Amanda Maddock, Paul McGinnis, Alison Mork, Michael Oosterom, Nicolette Santino, John Tartaglia, Russ Walko
Creature Shop Credits
- Puppet Designers: Peter Brooke, Brett Bean, Ed Eyth, Casey Miller, Drew Pierce
- Creative Supervisor (New York): Jason Weber
- New York Puppet Fabricators: Heather Asch, David Bizzaro, Mary Brehmer, Jamie Bressler, Brian Carson, Elizabeth Cherry, Benjamin Durocher, Richard W. Dyar, Jonathan Ehrich, Victoria Ellis, James Goodwin, Brian Haims, Liz Hara, Arrow Lkeeman, Joseph Kovacs, Jim Kroupa, Sarah Lafferty, Aria Linz, Mica Linz, Kari Love, Laura Manns, Anney Fresh Ozar, Gabriella N. Padilla, Lily Rosen, Stephen Rotondaro, Kate Rusek, Sierra Schoening, Keely Snook, Mark A. Stys, David Valentine, Matt Witham, James Wojtal
- Los Angeles Puppet Fabricators & Wrangling Team: Scott Johnson, Russ Walko, Andrea Detwiler, Lara MacLean, Amanda Maddock, Tom Newby, Pyn King-Sheers, Wes Humphrey, Luke Peters, Robert Pound, Jocelyn Lynch
Recycled puppets
The film uses a cast of 125 puppets, including 40 made exclusively for the film.[2] Several of the other puppets used in the film were previously used on The Animal Show, Kermit's Swamp Years, Sesame Street and other Henson Company productions prior to the sale of the Muppets to the Walt Disney Company.
Sources
- ↑ SF Gate "Sesame Workshop Sues Over Happytime Murders Trailer Featuring Ejaculating Puppets" by Tim Kenneally, May 25, 2018
- ↑ Collider "‘The Happytime Murders': 25 Things to Know about the Long-Developing R-Rated Puppet Movie" by Christina Radish, July 12, 2018