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"Dark, Twisted" Pinocchio Remake On the Way

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:35:15 -0800

Normally, learning that a remake of Pinocchio is in development might make me roll my eyes and mourn for my lost childhood - you know, things like that. But something tells me this dark and twisted remake is going to be different.

For one thing, it's got Guillermo Del Toro behind it as an executive producer, and if ever there was a person who could create a good "fractured fairytale" remake of this story, I'd think he'd be the one. For another, the Jim Henson Co. is creating the adaptation as a stop-motion animated feature. And third, it will be directed by Gris Grimly, a children's book illustrator who likes all things creepy and ghastly and ghoulish; the style of the movie will be based on the 2002 Pinocchio that he illustrated (that's his cover at right).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "In the retelling, when Pinocchio comes to life, he turns out not to be that nice of a boy, creating mischief and playing mean tricks." But it's not all grim: "He eventually learns a few lessons."

The Pinocchio story always creeped me out a little anyway, and I'd be up for seeing an all-out dark take on the tale. What do you think?

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Henson Co. Working on Puppet Mystery Movie for Adults

BuzzSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:31:28 -0700

Fans of Avenue Q, The Dark Crystal, and the general concept of inappropriate things coming from the mouths of puppets may want to pay special attention to this news: The Jim Henson Co. is working on a film noir comedy-slash-murder mystery movie called The Happytime Murders.

In the world of The Happytime Murders, puppets and humans co-exist together, but puppets are viewed as second-class citizens. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

When the puppet cast of an '80s children's TV show called The Happytime Gang begins to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet - with a drinking problem, no less - takes on the case.

A drunken, disgraced private eye . . . puppet? Investigating the tragic murders of other puppets? Sign. Me. Up.

Even better, according to the Reporter, there are tons of awesome influences at work for this project, from Avenue Q to LA Confidential to Pulp Fiction. Jim Henson's son Brian is signed up to direct.

There's been lots of cool Muppet-related news lately, but this just might be my favorite. What do you all think? Anyone else share my enthusiasm for foul-mouthed puppets?

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Weinstein Co. to Make Live-Action Fraggle Rock Movie

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:29:44 -0700

Guess what? It's time to "Dance your cares away/ Worry's for another day/ Let the music play/ Down at Fraggle Rock!" The Fraggles are back! According to Variety, the Weinsteins are teaming up with Lisa Henson of the Jim Henson Company to bring a live-action, half-human half-puppet Fraggle Rock extravaganza to the big screen. Check it out:

Just like the series, the film will be populated by a mix of human characters and Fraggle Rock puppets. . .Pic will take the core characters Gobo, Wembley, Mokey, Boober and Red outside of their home in Fraggle Rock, where they interact with humans, which they think are aliens. The show premiered on HBO in 1983, ran five seasons and was broadcast in more than 80 countries. It posted strong sales recently when the first three seasons were released on DVD.

Awww! I'm excited about this news for so many reasons, but first and foremost: Hooray for no CGI! It'll be so great to get some good old-fashioned puppets, just like we'll get with Jason Segel's Muppet project. Plus, I can't wait to see some Fraggle musical production numbers choreographed for the big screen - and hopefully accompanied by Gobo on his gourd guitar.

Want to take a sweet little trip down Memory Lane? After the jump, relive the adorableness that is the opening sequence to Fraggle Rock. You can enjoy when you read more.

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Dance Your Cares Away! Fraggle Rock Hits iTunes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:31:49 -0800

It's been a big month for childhood icons: Legos and Smurfs turned 50, and now, Fraggle Rock is available on iTunes!

The first season of Fraggle Rock can be downloaded now, with more to come in the future. It and cult sci-fi show Farscape both hit iTunes this week, and the Jim Henson Company plans to put more shows online soon. Unfortunately, that doesn't include any Muppet-related content, as that all was sold to Disney a few years back.

But who cares about Muppets when there's Fraggle Rock to watch right now? Seriously - Mokey, Boober, the Gorgs, Sprocket the dog, radishes? I'm so there. Yeah, it's been available on DVD for a while, but DVDs don't fit in my pocket.

What other shows of your childhood would you love to see on iTunes eventually? Personally, I'd lobby for Jem and She-Ra: Princess of Power.

If you need a little cheer, you can watch the Fraggle Rock opening if you read more.

Photo courtesy of The Jim Henson Company