Happytime Murders is a film project currently in development at the Jim Henson Company. The project, part of the company's Henson Alternative brand, was first announced in October 2008. Happytime Murders, an irreverent puppet comedy, will play on the classic film noir detective genre.^[1]

The film is based on an original story by Todd Berger and Dee Robertson; with the screenplay penned by Berger. Brian Henson is attached to direct.^[1]

Concept artworkEdit

PlotEdit

In a world where puppets co-exist with humans as second class citizens, puppet private eye and disgraced ex-cop, Phil Phillips, is hot on the trail of the serial killer who murdered his brother and is now targeting the cast members of the famous 80s television show, "The Happytime Gang." As the killings continue, Phil’s former flame, Jenny, is next on the list. It’s up to Phil and his ex-partner, Detective 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."

DevelopmentEdit

In October 2010 it was announced that the project had been picked up by Lionsgate, with insiders talking about a possible January 2011 production start.^[2]

Dwayne Johnson was rumored to have met with Brian Henson in early 2011 regarding the project.^[3] In November 2010 Cameron Diaz was rumored to have been offered a starring role in the film.^[4] In February 2012 Katherine Heigl was reported to be in final negotiations to star in the film.^[5]

The initial announcement described the film as:

Featuring the well-known Henson style of irreverence and parody, and taking its cues from such films as Pulp Fiction and LA Confidential, "Happytime Murders" presents a twist on the film noir genre. In a world where puppets are a minority race amongst humans, a puppet detective is forced to solve a string of murders around The Happytime Gang, the cast of a beloved children's show, that is being picked off by a mysterious villain.

In early 2009, Lisa Henson commented on the project, and the prospects of future Henson Alternative feature films, stating:

It's an adult puppet movie. It's going to be a film noir staring a puppet detective and basically it’s a spin-off of our theatre franchise Puppet Up!... We loved the live shows so much that we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do to go to the next level with that kind of comedy. So we want to do a series of Puppet Up! films which would all be in different genres. So this would be film noir detective, and if we do another one it won't be that genre – it would be a teen comedy, or a sci-fi, or something like that. So we would use the Puppet Up! improv style to do different genres.[6]

Brian Henson commented in 2011 that the film was still in development, and that the Henson Company hoped to start shooting in the Spring of 2012. He revealed the series takes place in a world where the puppets are a minority group, and that the main character is a detective that once worked for the LAPD, but was fired.

IM Global sold the film through its Opus label at Berlinale in February 2012.

Concept art for the film was released in March 2012.^[7]

Todd Berger commented on the script and pre-production in a June 2012 interview, saying:

I want to try to make the Heat of puppet movies. I want to be The Dark Knight or Heat but in a world where puppets and humans coexist. Brian [Henson] was like, "This mystery actually needs to be interesting so that even if you took all the comedy out of it, it's still going to be interesting to watch"... Brian has actually already been working on the main character puppet. The Creature Shop has already made a few test puppets that I've met in person that are amazing... It’s a movie in which puppets and humans coexist and a lot of the supporting characters are all puppets. So they have a puppet improv group called Stuffed & Unstrung that tours around America doing improv shows. They’re going to use a lot of those puppets but they’re also going to create a bunch of new ones. There's a whole cast of characters in the script that they're going to create from scratch... It is a full-on R - there is swearing, there’s sex, violence, murder. Maybe with some work it could be PG-13 but as of now we've embraced the R rating.[8]

SourcesEdit

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Jim Henson Company Press Release: Puppets Go Film Noir with Henson Alternative's Newest Feature "Happytime Murders". October 14, 2008.
2. ↑ Hollywood Reporter: Lionsgate nabs 'Happytime Murders', October 12, 2010
3. ↑ ROCK TEAMING WITH HENSON FOR NEW PROJECT??
4. ↑ Cameron Diaz Offered a Role in Dark Puppet Movie The Happytime Murders. November 9, 2010
5. ↑ Variety: Katherine Heigl in talks for 'Happytime Murders'. February 3, 2012.
6. ↑ Could Henson's "Happytime Murders" Lead to a "Puppet Up!" Film Franchise?. February 05, 2009
7. ↑ An Early Look at the Film Noir Puppet Comedy THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS. March 12, 2012
8. ↑ How R-Rated is Brian Henson's The Happytime Murders? June 22, 2012