Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

The Happytime Murders is a movie that answers the question – what if Puppets were real and part of society? It’s not necessary to know, but they live among us, and in this case, L.A.

What we have here is a traditional film noir story, but involving puppets. Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta) is a puppet, and a former LAPD officer. He’s now a detective, and a beautiful woman puppet approaches him for a case. It leads him to reunite with his former partner Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy), his old squad leader, Lt.  Banning (Leslie David Baker), and a LOT of trouble. It’s all played for laughs. This is a dark comedy with puppets.

It’s directed by Brian Henson (Jim’s son). Runtime is 1:31 and it ends before it wears out its welcome. There’s a lot of humor here that is definitely NOT for kids. It’s amusing and funny. It’s quite sexually explicit and there’s a lot of violence against puppets. It is not your standard puppet faire, but it is amusing. I wouldn’t necessarily rush out to see it, as I’m sure it’ll be on streaming services soon enough. I’d rate it as good, not great.

Standard Review

Not much I feel like saying about the story, however, FBI Agent Campbell (Joel McHale) does make a good foil for the main characters. Maya Rudolph plays the typical noir-ish secretary Bubbles to Phil, and plays it well.

This film was initially announced in 2008, and has had Cameron Diaz and Katherine Heigl associated with the role Melissa McCarthy  finally won out. Melissa plays her typical over-the-top character, and here, it works rather well.

The Credits have some interesting background images, so you might like staying to watch those. Towards the end of the credits, the producers thank Mia Sara, lead actress in both Ferris Beuller’s Day Off and Legend, and both me and another patron were wondering why. After some investigation, I found that she’s been married to Brian Henson since 2010. Just another bit of silly trivia to squirrel away for another day, I guess.

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Christopher Robin is a new live-action film from Disney. Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) left the 100-acre Wood decades ago, and is now an adult. Life has been a mixed bag, and things are going downhill. Its up to Winnie the Pooh and his friends to rescue him from the drudgery his life has become.

Since his departure, Christopher Robin’s gone through a bunch. his backstory is brought up to date in a way that’s delightful, clever, and occasionally sad, because of the  nature of what happens. There hasn’t been as good a quick retelling of a life lived since the movie Up, which sets a very high standard, indeed. It allows them to get to the heart of the story fast.

McGregor puts in a heartwarming performance as the titular character, as does Haley Atwell, as Evelyn, his wife. The story was captivating for both children and adults, so it was quite entertaining for all. I admit I found it bit smarmy, yet delightful. There’s enough of Pooh and his friends to keep it light. I couldn’t help but think how much better Hook would have been if they had used a similar approach.

I definitely recommend it. Christopher Robin is proof that Disney can still capture that old Disney magic, when they really put in the effort. There is a mid-credits song that’s worth watching, too.

Main Review (some spoilers):

There really isn’t too much left to talk about. The CGI of Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and all integrated fairly well into the live-action cast, though everything had a kind of washed-out look which made that simpler.

The voice acting was on-target, and resonated really well, and one choice, in particular, was rather spot-on, but because of who they used (I’ll leave it for you to figure out which). The aphorisms of the various animals really fit, because sometimes, simpler is best.

The film left me feeling nostalgic, but it really wasn’t anything forced or heavy-handed. I really do like this film, and I hope you do, too.