Enter Phil Phillips (voiced by Bill Barretta), a disgraced LAPD officer turned private eye. Phil is the first puppet detective in history, but after a lawsuit stemming from a shooting (he shot a puppet perp, thinking he was human), he now works in a leaky office out of a strip mall. When a mysterious killer begins dispatching former Happytime Gang members—starting with the beloved "Gummy Bear" violently bleached to death—Phil is forced to partner with his former human colleague, the foul-mouthed, burnt-out Detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy).
Melissa McCarthy, fresh off her Oscar nomination for Can You Ever Forgive Me? , plays Connie Edwards. McCarthy is a physical comedy genius, but here she plays the "straight man" to the puppets. She delivers lines like "I’m gonna tie your little felt fingers in a knot" with genuine malice. Critics noted that McCarthy seemed exhausted, not by the role, but by the effort of acting against invisible characters that would be added in post. The Happytime Murders
