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Trivia / The Happytime Murders

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  • Box Office Bomb: This movie made $27.5 million worldwide ($20.7 million domestically) over a $47 million budget (production alone, does not take into account marketing expenses).
  • Creator Couple: Officer Donny, the cop that Edwards says she "should have fucked" when she had the chance, is played by Melissa McCarthy's real life husband, Ben Falcone.
  • Completely Different Title:
    • In Italy, the film was released as Pupazzi senza gloria ("Inglorious Puppets").
    • In Spain, it was ¿Quién está matando a los moñecos? ("Who is murdering the poppets?", the last word of the original being a sort of colloquial corruption of muñeco or "puppet").
    • In France, it was Carnage chez les Puppets ("Carnage among the Puppets", the English word probably being kept to be reminiscent of "Muppets").
  • Executive Meddling: The film was originally pitched as a serious crime drama that just so happened to star puppets, but after spending time in Development Hell, was turned into a more direct comedy.
  • Prop Recycling: Or rather, Puppet Recycling! Some of the puppets are from past Henson productions like The Animal Show, City Kids and Kermit's Swamp Years. The six people who watched That Puppet Game Show will recognise the Rotten Cotton Girls as the O'Neill sisters.
  • The Other Darrin: In the film, one of the Rotten Cotton Girls, Diane, is performed by Alice Dinnean, speaking with a stereotypical hooker voice. However, in the promotional material for the film (outside the trailers), she speaks in a voice that's awfully similar to Goofer (performed by Drew Massey) sans lisp.
  • Saved from Development Hell: Was initially announced in October 2008 with Cameron Diaz starring, but (as with most projects from Henson in the 2000's onward), development trickled very slowly and the last rumbling was in 2012, when Katherine Heigl was tapped to star. It wasn't until 2017 — almost a decade later — that production got full steam and a release date was announced.
  • Stillborn Franchise: In one 2009 interview, Lisa Henson stated that the film would potentially be the first in a series of adult puppet films inspired by the Puppet Up! improv shows that would dabble in different genres. Given the film's poor critical and financial reception upon release, it's safe to say these plans are more than likely scrapped.

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