WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Brian Henson’s The Happytime Murders, in theaters now.
The Happytime Murders received its share of free publicity in May when Sesame Workshop sued producers STX Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company over the tagline "No Sesame. All Street" used in the marketing campaign for the R-rated comedy. The minds behind Sesame Street were scandalized that viewers might associate their wholesome, decades-old children's show with puppet sex, drug abuse and murder.
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The lawsuit was swiftly dismissed, but not before STX had a little fun by enlisting a puppet lawyer, Fred, Esq., to address the dispute. But looking back at the early marketing that ruffled Sesame Workshop's feathers, and then reconciling that with The Happytime Murders itself, there really was no need for the controversy.
In its lawsuit, Sesame Workshop claimed, “Defendants’ widely-distributed marketing campaign features a just-released trailer with explicit, profane, drug-using, misogynistic, violent, copulating, and even ejaculating puppets, along with the tagline ‘NO SESAME. ALL STREET.’ Defendants do not own, control or have any right to use the Sesame Street mark. Instead, they are distributing a trailer that deliberately confuses consumers into mistakenly believing that Sesame is associated with, has allowed, or has even endorsed or produced the movie and tarnishes Sesame’s brand.”
However, The Happytime Murders stays away from anything affiliated with the iconic Sesame Street brand -- unless you count the use of puppets themselves, and that the central mystery involves the killings of the former stars of a beloved 1980s children's show. The name Sesame Street isn't even mentioned, and there are no character likenesses. Heck, even the voice work feels so different that you'd never associate it with Sesame Street, even though there is a Henson behind the camera.
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OK, we admit there's one minor reference, when puppet detective Phil Phillips (Bill Barreta) chses down a lead in a store, and upon picking up a pornographic magazine, he quips, "This one's brought to you by the letter 'P'!" But aside from the moment passing so quickly, similar jokes inspired by Sesame Street's "Brought to you by ..." have appeared in other works, R-rated and otherwise, without drawing the ire of Sesame Workshop.
That aside, The Happytime Murders is absolutely its own thing. It's not about sunny days, it's about puppets as second-class citizens, many scraping to get by in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles. There are no kids involved (well, except for a crucial flashback), nor are there negative messages directed at them.
Everything is targeted toward adults, as Phil gets caught up in a Basic Instinct-style web of sex, lies and deceit when he investigates the murders of the cast members of Happytime Gang. Director Brian Henson smartly decides to pull no major elements from Sesame Street.
Even the puppets have distinctly mature appearances, ranging from weary to, well, sexy, which you won't see on Sesame Street. Despite the shared use of felt characters, Sesame Street and The Happytime Murders are from different worlds, with the latter coming from a place of parody wrapped in satire, wrapped in dark comedy.
Still, The Happytime Murders benefited greatly from Sesame Workshop's lawsuit, which brought early attention to the film months before its marketing campaign kicked into high gear. By panicking over the tagline, and calling out the "copulating, and even ejaculating puppets," the company turned The Happytime Murders into the subersive movie Big Bird doesn't want you to see. You just can't buy publicity like that.
In theaters now, director Brian Henson’s The Happytime Murders stars Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale and Elizabeth Banks.