10) The Happytime Murders
What is it?
A Who Framed Roger Rabbit-esque dark comedy-noir, about a world in which humans and puppets co-exist. Created by the great Jim Henson (The Muppets), the plot concerns a pairing of detectives – one human, one puppet – investigating the murders of cast members of The Happytime Gang, an old kids’ TV show.
Why it could escape development hell:
The Jim Henson Company formally announced that The Happytime Murders was in development back in 2008, but understandably, it’s not been easy getting studios on board with an R-rated puppet movie that has aspirations to be the next LA Confidential. Things went quiet, until this year, when Jim Henson’s son Brian Henson announced he was – fingers crossed – hoping to finally direct the film, with Red and Red 2 writers Erich and Jon Hoeber on writing duties.