"The Happytime Murders" premieres August 24, 2018

[LittleJerry92]

Well, SOME examples, but yes, thanks guys.

 

[Blue Frackle]

When I was in middle school I really wanted to watch Crank Yankers so we got it from the library and my parents proof-watched it and were just like no.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I accidentally stumbled upon it way back when I was in 5th grade (2005) and it was like such a wonderful discovery. It became a treat to watch.

Sadly, though, I started watching it when the show was coming to an end.

It really sucks that only the first two seasons got DVD releases, but I'm glad we also got Amazon releases for 3-5.

 

[Froggy Fool]

And don't forget:

*sees Avenue Q* YES YES YES YES YES BEST MUSICAL EVER

 

[MWoO]

This is exactly why I don't get the arguments against Happy Time Murders being about adult puppet humor ruining childhoods. Maybe it's because it was the Henson Company?

*sees Avenue Q* YES YES YES YES YES BEST MUSICAL EVER

What's crazy to me is that Ave Q "ruins our childhood" much more than Happy Time Murders. It had puppet sex, fowl language, puppet nudity, etc. However, it had all this AND was a direct parody of Sesame Street. It had an analog of Bert that was gay, an analog of Cookie Monster that was addicted to pornography instead of cookies. I think the only reason it didn't receive nearly as much backlash is because of when it came out and that it was a play that started in NYC.

Don't get me wrong, I love the play and have seen it 3 times by now I think. I just find it funny that Happy Time Murders was destroyed by the public for the very thing that Ave Q was praised for.

 

[Blue Frackle]

To be honest, the "ruined childhood" thing is coming from people who couldn't care less about the movie or puppets and have only seen the trailers, so don't put much stock into it.

 

[D'Snowth]

The thing about Avenue Q is that it wasn't marketed to the masses as HAPPYTIME MURDERS was, mainly because musical theater isn't really something for everybody anyway, and in fact, much of theater usually caters to mature audiences anyway - lavish shows with complicated plots intertwined with musical numbers aren't something kids, or even most young adults would want to sit through . . . they would be bored out of their skulls. Heck, even the average person would probably only go to such venues if only to see concerts of their favorite musical artists or groups.

And yes, I am aware that theaters also do family shows, but again, they're not exactly something families flock to en masse.

Movie-going, on the other hand, is something that's far more appealing to the general public, and is more likely to be a communal experience for families with kids anyway.

So, when it comes to adult puppetry, outside of us aficiandos, who out there would even be remotely familiar with Avenue Q?

 

[MWoO]

Back when Ave Q was new a lot of people I knew went to see it even though they were not hardcore, or even casual, muppet fans. They thought the idea of puppets with adult problems was funny. The way people reacted to things was also a lot different. Twitter wasn't a thing. Facebook was barely a thing. Myspace was still a niche thing. Youtube hadn't even started yet. So I guess people weren't as quick to outrage and responding to said outrage as quickly. These days, most people see a trailer to a movie and are tweeting about how bad it is before the trailer is even over.

Off subject, but part of me misses the days of smart phones. Computers are great, and the connectivity can be great, but not being disconnected from hive mentality is ruining our youth. People don't get to develop opinions anymore, they are told what their opinions ought to be. It almost happened to me with Happy Time Murders as I assumed it was a stupid raunchy throwaway movie when the reality is that it had a fairly good story that I wish had not been edited down so much.

 

[CBPuppets]

Let's not forget Meet the Feebles!

 

[MartyMuppets]

Let's not forget Meet the Feebles!

Personally I'd rather meet the Flintstones.