Larry Downing/Reuters
The creators of the iconic children’s show Sesame Street are suing over an upcoming Melissa McCarthy film that they say hijacks the show’s brand to depict puppets engaging in lewd activities. In a lawsuit filed this week against the STX film studio, Sesame Street’s parent company says the R-rated movie, The Happytime Murders, threatens to damage its brand with “explicit, profane, drug-using, misogynistic, violent, copulating, and even ejaculating puppets.” The film, slated for an August release and directed by one of Jim Henson’s family members, features the tagline, “No Sesame. All Street.” “Sesame seeks an injunction that forces Defendants to cease and desist their trading upon the goodwill associated with Sesame Street in furtherance of box office receipts,” the lawsuit says. “The promotion of The Happytime Murders should succeed or fail on its own merits, not on a cynical, unlawful attempt to deceive and confuse the public into associating it with the most celebrated children’s program in history.” STX responded by expressing disappointment that Sesame Street “does not share in the fun” and vowed to fight the lawsuit in court.