2012 concept art
As a fan of classic Henson stuff, I’m always intrigued when The Jim Henson Company announces a new puppet-heavy project with genuine potential. We first heard about the not-for-kids puppet movie The Happytime Murders in 2008, and news has been pretty sparse since then, other than 2012’s release of some concept art and rumblings that Katherine Heigl might star in it.
But all this time, Brian Henson has apparently been plugging away at getting this thing made, and this week, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the new studio STX Entertainment will be working with the Henson Company to make it happen. Just to remind you what the movie is about, the Reporter describes it thusly:
Happytime takes place in a world where humans and puppets coexist, with the puppets viewed as second-class citizens. When the puppet cast of 1980s children’s TV show The Happytime Gang begins to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet — with a drinking problem, no less — takes the case with his former human partner.
So yes, it’s kind of like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and kind of like Greg the Bunny. The film has a new script by Erich and Jon Hoeber, who wrote Red and Red 2. I haven’t seen those movies, but I do know they featured Helen Mirren as an action hero secret agent, so if Happytime has anything in it half as cool as that, it should be in good shape. Either way, it seems like it’s closer than ever to becoming a reality. I’m rooting for it!
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by Ryan Roe – Ryan@ToughPigs.com
