{"id":2456,"date":"2018-05-30T09:07:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T09:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/samuraijosh.com\/?p=2456"},"modified":"2018-05-31T08:55:11","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T08:55:11","slug":"the-happytime-murders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/samuraijosh.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/30\/the-happytime-murders\/","title":{"rendered":"The Happytime Murders"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I first heard about The Happytime Murders<\/em> I thought this would be a crazy movie. A few days ago STX Entertainment released their first trailer for it and after watching it it is safe to say that it is even crazier than I thought it would be.<\/p>\n

The premise of Happytime Murders<\/em> is this: Taking place in an alternative world where puppets co-exist with humans as a racial minority, Phil Phillips, a puppet private eye and former cop is investigating a serial killer who is targeting cast members of an old television series called The Happytime Gang.<\/p>\n

If the premise sounds familiar it’s probably because it’s a mix of the short-lived Greg the Bunny<\/em> show that aired on Fox along with some elements from Who Framed Roger Rabbit<\/em> mixed with a lot of drugs, sex, and violence.<\/p>\n

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Looking up The Happytime Murders<\/em> it’s a bit surprising that it’s being directed by Brian Henson, the son of legendary puppeteer and children’s entertainer. But when I found out that Happytime Murders<\/em> is being produced by Henson Alternative, the section of the Jim Henson Company that handles more mature projects it started to make sense although it also made me ask outloud “There’s a section of the Jim Henson Company that handles adult-themed stuff?’<\/p>\n

Going off the trailer and Wikipedia it looks like the cast of The Happytime Murders<\/em> consists of:<\/p>\n

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Bill Barretta as Phil Phillips, a former cop turned private investigator.<\/p>\n

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Melisssa McCarthy as Detective Connie Edwards, Phil’s ex-partner who is assigned to assist Phil in solving the Happytime Gang murders.<\/p>\n

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Leslie David Baker AKA Stanley from The Office<\/em> as Lt. Banning, Edwards’ superior.<\/p>\n

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Maya Rudolph as Bubbles, Phil’s secretary.<\/p>\n

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Joel McHale as Agent Campbell, an FBI agent who I’m guessing based on old cop movie cliches will be a source of antagonism for both Phillips and Edwards and he will either A: turn out to be the murderer or B: Is not the murderer but we only find out he’s not the murderer because he is killed by the murderer himself.<\/p>\n

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Elizabeth Banks as a burlesque dancer\/stripper who is a former lover of Phil’s.<\/p>\n

Like I said earlier the idea of a world where puppets exist as living beings alongside humans was done before in 2002 with Greg the Bunny<\/em> and its spin-off Warren the Ape<\/em>. In Greg the Bunny<\/em> puppets were just like humans; they drank, they had sex, they had emotional issues and other problems.<\/p>\n

Happytime Murders<\/em> takes the puppets as just a racial minority to humans complete with human problems and vices and cranks that shit way up as well as does what they can to push the edge as far as possible with humans.<\/p>\n

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Just in the first 30 seconds of he trailer you have a puppet who looks like a homeless tweeker offering to suck Melissa McCarthy’s dick for 50 cents.<\/p>\n

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You also have puppets getting blasted away with a shotgun.<\/p>\n

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Puppet prostitutes offering “rotton cotton”.<\/p>\n

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The main protagonist stomping the shit out of a guy’s nuts.<\/p>\n

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Puppets enjoying strippers.<\/p>\n

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Melissa McCarthy trying to kick down a door before doubling over in pain after she “ruptures her hymen.”<\/p>\n

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Some puppet gangsters forcing Melissa McCarthy to snort what is identified as “pure ecstasy.”<\/p>\n

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And some pretty intense puppet sex that ends in some crazy puppet ejaculation.<\/p>\n

I feel really bad posting this right now considering it’s been almost 2 weeks since the trailer came out. I tried to do this as soon as possible but I kept getting side tracked.<\/p>\n

On the plus side of being this late I do have a few things to add to my post that I just learned and that is that STX Entertainment, the studio behind Happytime Murders<\/em> is currently being sued by Sesame Workshop, the owners and producers of Sesame Street<\/em> due to the film’s tagline “NO SESAME. ALL STREET,” arguing that it is unauthorized usage of the Sesame Street brand. The lawsuit is also based on the idea that due to the subject matter, Happytime Murders<\/em> would be damaging to the family-friendly image that the Sesame Street brand has spent 50 years building.<\/p>\n

STX Entertainment has countered this lawsuit with a puppet lawyer they have created named Fred, Esq. which judging by the pictures I’ve found is looks like a fairly elaborate way for them to tell Sesame Workshop GFY.<\/p>\n

I’m not a legal expert but I won’t be surprised if this lawsuit gets tossed out. If anything there may be a order to change the tagline but that’s it. Not to beat a dead horse but considering how Greg the Bunny<\/em> basically did the same thing with puppets already I won’t be surprised if a judge orders that no damage to the Sesame Street brand will be done from this movie.<\/p>\n

Anyway enjoy the trailer and please come back soon cause I promise I’ll have more good stuff for you up later.<\/p>\n