The supposedly harmless muppets are finally showing their true colors - obscene, dirty and completely sly! We have certainly never seen Jim Henson's plush creations like this.
Based on a script by Todd Berger and Dee Austin Robertson, STX Entertainment delivers perhaps the most risky comedy of the year with «The Happytime Murders» and takes us into an alternative reality in which puppets and humans coexist peacefully - at least that's how it should be. But when the Muppets are cast in a popular TV show called "The Happytime Gang," one doll after another dies an agonizing, deeply mysterious death. But a special Muppet, demoted from the LAPD department to a private investigator, takes up the search for clues despite his alcohol problem. He is assisted by comedy queen Melissa McCarty, who has already demonstrated her comedic talent in Bridesmaids or Taffe Mädels.
The decision-makers at Sesame Workshop are not at all enthusiastic about the upcoming Muppet parody "The Happytime Murders" and the numerous references to their "original", which can be seen above all in the current marketing strategy. In particular, the subtitles «No Sesame. All Street.”, which can also be found on the poster motif, apparently overflowed the camel's back with Sesame Street. Reason enough for the group to sue STX Entertainment and their spoof. It is required that the film not be associated with the Muppets in any way. "The Happytime Murders" should stand on its own feet, according to Sesame, anything else would pollute the good reputation that has been maintained for fifty years. In addition, it is too unclear to the outside world that the two parties are not working together. STX responded promptly with a statement and was not impressed by all the hustle and bustle. Depending on how the legal dispute develops, it could well happen that the US theatrical release in August has to be postponed.
In a world where puppets coexist as second-class 'humans', private detective and ex-cop Phil Phillips is on the hunt for a murderer who has already killed his brother. The criminal is currently targeting the actors of the famous 80's TV show "The Happytime Gang". It also seems like he wants to kill Phillip's ex-girlfriend Jenny as well. Phillips is now trying to track down the killer with the help of his former colleague Detective Edwards. However, when he is again plagued by old problems, and circumstantial evidence points to the fact that he himself is the killer and he is therefore the hunted, he has to solve the case on his own.