Taking children's entertainment icons
The Muppets and filtering them through an R-rated perspective is the central conceit of
The Happytime Murders, a new raunchy comedy from director Brian Henson, son of Jim Henson. If that sounds like a slightly familiar premise, it's because
Happytime Murders is one in a surprisingly long line of projects that have tackled this idea. Most notably, Peter Jackson provided a gruesome peek behind the curtain of a
Muppet Show pastiche in 1989's
Meet The Feebles while Broadway musical
Avenue Q sent up
Sesame Street with its depressingly realistic take on how unfulfilling adulthood can be. Both of these projects, especially
Avenue Q, were of a level of quality that
Happytime Murders only wishes it could rise to.
