The Happytime Murders Review

The Happytime Murders was an enjoyable comedy that never achieved its full potential. This movie is about a disgraced puppet detective who must team up with his old human partner to stop the murders of the puppet cast from an 80s kids TV show. First thing I want to stress immediately is this movie is Rated R. Just because it involves puppets does not mean this is a family movie. Melissa McCarthy gives a good performance. Her chemistry with the puppets was extremely believable. Maya Rudolph and Leslie David Baker are a lot of fun in their supporting roles. However, this movie belongs to the puppets. Bill Barretta gave a fantastic voice performance and his work as a puppeteer is incredible. All the puppeteer work from the entire cast was extremely well done. Brian Henson’s directing is good, especially in the scenes that only involve puppets. The script is a bit of a mixed bag. While there are hilarious moments to be found here, they do not come as frequently as you might expect. However, thankfully due to likable characters and a compelling plot, I never lost interest. At 91 minutes the pacing is good, but could have been improved with a few more big laughs. Overall The Happytime Murders was not as great as I had hoped, but I still had a fun time.

6.5/10