I've been eagerly anticipating The Happytime Murders for almost a decade now. First announced in 2008, it languished in development hell, with actors like Cameron Diaz, Katherine Heigl and Jamie Foxx all rumored to play the partner of a puppet detective. But now, this trailer proves it's finally real.
Helmed by long-time Muppets director Brian Henson – who made such childhood classics as The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island – the film goes in a much less family-friendly director than what his father Jim Henson envisioned. Set in a semi-fictional Los Angeles, The Happytime Murders is a neo-noir comedy, as Detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) and disgraced ex-cop Phil Phillips (puppeteer Bill Baretta) team up again to solve a string of puppet murders in the city.
Along for the wild ride are Joel McHale as an FBI agent, Elizabeth Banks as a stripper, and Maya Rudolph as Phil's long-suffering secretary. The film has about a thousand times more F-words, head shots and drug use than you'd expect from the Muppets, though it's not that crazy if you're a fan of Avenue Q.
The Happytime Murders finally hits theaters on Friday, August 17.