Review of The Happytime Murders

The Happytime Murders is less Roger Rabbit and more Cool World or Monkeybone, the movie is much better than either of those films by virtue of having an engaging lead and a coherent story(which both other films lacked) but its humor is a mixed bag. Its brisk running time of 78 minutes makes it a quick sit, and it doesn't linger on any comic set piece too long (save for maybe a puppet sex scene that falls flat). The puppetry is impressive on a technical level and the movie does a good job of bringing to life its sleazy world of puppets and humans, but its reliance on shock humor makes some stretches rather tedious to sit through. Maybe if The Happytime Murders had been made before the glut of The Hangover clones flooded cineplexes for 10 years it might've been able to have a more lasting impression, but as is it's a comedy with a few chuckles, some decent puppet effects, and not much lasting impact.