This R-Rated Puppet Comedy Has a New Streaming Residence Subsequent Month

For those who’re searching for a raunchy R-rated comedy that additionally options the masterful puppeteering of the Jim Henson Company, Netflix has you coated subsequent month. The Happytime Murders, the 2018 box-office bomb that mixed intercourse, violence, and puppets, will likely be accessible to look at on the streaming service beginning December 1. The Happytime Murders was in growth for years; it was first introduced by Brian Henson, who would write and direct it, in 2008. It was the primary (and up to now solely) movie launched below the Henson Different banner, which was meant to supply edgier puppet-based fiction.

The movie is ready in a world the place people co-exist with puppets, who’re thought-about second-class residents. Along with its human solid, it additionally options a variety of notable Muppet performers, together with Invoice Barretta (Pepe the King Prawn), Kevin Clash (Elmo), and Victor Yerrid (Waldorf). The movie was poorly reviewed with a 23% “rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes, and made $27.5 million on a $40-47 million finances. In his contemporary review, Collider’s Dave Trumbore criticized its weak script however was kinder to the movie than most, praising its puppetry and human solid.

What Is ‘The Happytime Murders’ About?

The Happytime Murders facilities round disgraced puppet ex-cop Phil Phillips; now a personal detective, he will get entangled in a sinister thriller through which the solid of the beloved sitcom The Happytime Gang is being killed off. Sadly, that quickly contains Phil’s ex-girlfriend, (Elizabeth Banks). To resolve the case, he will want the assistance of his ex-partner (Melissa McCarthy) — he was kicked off the pressure when he by accident shot and killed a puppet whereas attempting to avoid wasting her from a legal, which additionally resulted in puppets being banned from the police division. As soon as they’re reunited, they delve into the seamy puppet underworld of prostitutes and drug sellers to search out the true conspiracy behind the murders. The human solid additionally contains Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Michael McDonald, and Jimmy O. Yang.

The Happytime Murders wasn’t the primary film to pair R-rated comedy with Muppet-like puppets. Let My Puppets Come was a 1976 fusion of puppetry, comedy, and softcore pornography. Higher identified is Peter Jackson‘s Meet the Feebles, which was even referenced within the latest Disney+ sequence The Muppets Mayhem. Maybe most profitable, nonetheless, was the musical Avenue Q, which lasted six years on Broadway and a decade off-Broadway.

The Happytime Murders will stream on Netflix beginning December 1, 2024. Keep tuned to Collider for future updates.