It's a film we haven't heard much about yet, but it already generates great promise.
Directed by Brian Henson (Jim's son and buyer with his sister Lisa of the Jim Henson Company, to whom we owe Christmas at the Muppets), The Happytime murders is a mix between comedy and thriller, in a world reminiscent of the universe of the Muppets. Here is his official synopsis, relayed by Den of Geek! :
"In a world where puppets and humans live together, the members of The Happytime Gang TV show are the biggest celebrities around Los Angeles. Yet this "family" leads, off camera, the kind of life that would make the tabloids talk. When these stars are murdered, two detectives with opposing characters once teammates – a human (Melissa McCarthy) making no concessions and an insensitive alcoholic puppet – will have to put aside their differences in order to stop the murderer… before killing each other.»
The feature film will be seen through Phil, the private puppet, formerly a policeman, directly affected by these crimes of which one of the victims is none other than his brother. Accused on all sides, he will also discover that the killer is a serial killer, his next target being his ex-girlfriend Jenny (Elizabeth Banks).
All this makes your mouth water! Melissa McCarthy, who made some changes to the script herself, was also very excited to participate in the project.
"When a really good script combines puppet strippers, Los Angeles' underbelly, and comedy, it's like my fever dream has finally come true.»
"When a really good script combines stripping puppets, the Los Angeles underworld and comedy, it's as if my crazy dream has finally come true.»
Announced in 2008, The Happytime murders was originally scheduled for release in 2011 with Cameron Diaz in one of the lead roles. It wasn't until 2015 that it was revived.
While waiting for its release on August 17, you can admire on this page the 2 concept arts unveiled early last year at Collider.
