2015 television film directed by Kirk Thatcher
Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow
is a 2015
Thanksgiving
television film
created by
The Jim Henson Company
and aired on
Lifetime
on November 21, 2015. The film is directed by
Kirk R. Thatcher
, adapted by Tim Burns and Christopher Baldi from a story by
Jim Henson
,
Jerry Juhl
, and Kirk Thatcher, narrated by
Ludacris
, and starring
Mary Steenburgen
,
Jay Harrington
,
Graham Verchere
,
Genevieve Buechner
, Reese Alexander,
Gabe Khouth
,
Peter New
, and Linden Banks.
The television film was met with mixed reviews.
Plot
[
edit
]
As part of the
Thanksgiving
holidays, a recently divorced man named Ron Emmerson (
Jay Harrington
) takes his children Tim (
Graham Verchere
) and Annie (
Genevieve Buechner
) to the farm of Ron's eccentric Aunt Cly (
Mary Steenburgen
) in the town of Turkey Hollow which has no technology. Tim and Annie find themselves caught up in searching for the "Howling Hoodoo," an elusive 10 ft. monster that has been considered a legend to the citizens of Turkey Hollow while also coming across the plot of the scheming neighbor Eldridge Slump (Linden Banks) and his
farmworker
minions Buzz (
Gabe Khouth
) and Junior (
Peter New
) that involves illegal
turkeys
activities and a plot for Eldridge to claim Aunt Cly's farm. With the aid of some new creature friends named Squonk, Zorp, Burble, and Thring, the Emmersons must expose Slump's plot and save the day.
Cast
[
edit
]
Kirk Thatcher
cameos in a photo as Uncle Ned.
Puppeteers
[
edit
]
- Alice Dinnean
? Squonk
- Jason Hopley ? Zorp
- Rob Mills ? Burble
- Gord Robertson ? Thrink
Additional puppeteers
[
edit
]
- Jeny Cassady
- Morris Chapdelaine
- Kellie Hanes
- Paul Hooson
- Geoff Rednapp
- James Rowley
Production
[
edit
]
Turkey Hollow started out as a story called "The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow" which was written by
Jerry Juhl
as one of
Jim Henson
's proposed specials.
[2]
The original production phase of "The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow" made it as far as puppet design where some of them were built and still exist in the archives. Photos of
Lisa Henson
and Cheryl Henson were taken in Jim Henson's backyard as a test to see how the puppets would look in the real world outside of a sound stage. The intention was to shoot the special on location.
[3]
In 2014, "The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow" was adapted into a graphic novel.
[4]
When
Turkey Hollow
went into production, the original puppets in storage were refurbished by
Jim Henson's Creature Shop
with their designs updated by Robert Bennett (the winner of
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge
) and Peter Brooke, the fabrication done by Julie Zobel, and the animatronics provided by John Criswell as seen in the
Google+ Hangout
tour.
[5]
Principal photography was set to begin in the spring of 2015 in
Nova Scotia
, Canada.
[6]
Because of a new tax credit, production on the special moved to Front Street Pictures in
Vancouver
where filming began on June 8, 2015.
[7]
Release
[
edit
]
Turkey Hollow
was later released on
Disney+
on February 10, 2023.
[8]
Reception
[
edit
]
It has a score of 50 out of 100 on
Metacritic
based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews"
[9]
and 60% on
Rotten Tomatoes
based on 5 reviews with an average rating of 6.1/10.
[10]
Variety
awarded it a mildly positive review, saying "this Lifetime movie turns into a passable family adventure, showcasing the Henson Co.'s trademark creature designs while inoffensively building a new holiday-friendly legend around them."
[11]
The Hollywood Reporter
awarded it a mixed review, and was particularly critical of the lack of screen time for the puppets, saying "However, if you want to watch two amiable but unremarkable child actors meander Muppet-less through the woods while their father does paperwork and Ludacris reads cue cards in a shawl-collar sweater I can only describe as glorious, you may have found a new Thanksgiving tradition."
[12]
Collider
awarded it three of out five stars, saying "Mostly though,
Turkey Hollow
is just fine. It's family-friendly and has enough humor and delight to potentially appeal to anyone gathered around the TV over Thanksgiving. The cast is cute and likeable, and a romantic subplot for the older set is a unique change of pace."
[13]
The A.V. Club
also awarded it a mixed review, saying "The film isn’t going to improve the reputation of the Thanksgiving TV special, but it's definitely something that can play in the background of a family gathering, piquing someone's interest every 20 minutes or so."
[14]
The
Los Angeles Times
gave it a positive review, writing "Overall, this is smart, solid whole-family entertainment, modest in its ambitions yet far above the run of made-for-TV holiday yuck you will be offered in the weeks ahead."
[15]
The film's premiere drew 1.6 million viewers and a 0.39 demo share.
[16]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Mick Giacchino Scoring Lifetime's 'Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow' | Film Music Reporter"
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-02-19
. Retrieved
2016-05-16
.
- ^
Manhattan Research, Inc.
book, chapter by Karen Falk and
Irwin Chusid
.
- ^
"The Jim Henson Company"
. The Jim Henson Company.
Archived
from the original on 2015-11-17
. Retrieved
2015-11-19
.
- ^
"Old Henson creatures come alive in 'Turkey Hollow'
"
.
USA Today
. 2014-06-04
. Retrieved
2015-11-19
.
- ^
Archived at
Ghostarchive
and the
Wayback Machine
:
"Maker Camp Field Trip: Creature Shop!"
.
YouTube
.
- ^
"Jim Henson film first of many to leave Nova Scotia thanks to tax credit cut: John Dunsworth | Metro News"
.
Metronews.ca
. 2015-04-13.
Archived
from the original on 2015-11-18
. Retrieved
2015-11-19
.
- ^
"Cameras set to roll on 'The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow' in B.C. - BC"
.
Global News
. 2015-06-02.
Archived
from the original on 2015-10-19
. Retrieved
2015-11-19
.
- ^
Carpenter, Michael (January 30, 2023).
"
"Coming to Disney+ in February 2023"
"
.
Rutherford Source
.
Archived
from the original on November 13, 2023
. Retrieved
November 13,
2023
.
- ^
"Turkey Hollow Metacritic listing". (
http://www.metacritic.com/tv/jim-hensons-turkey-hollow
).
Metacritic
. Accessed 6 July 2016.
- ^
"Turkey Hollow Rotten Tomatoes listing"(
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jim_hensons_turkey_hollow/
Archived
2016-05-04 at the
Wayback Machine
)
Rotten Tomatoes
. Accessed 6 July 2016.
- ^
Lowry, Brian, November 18, 2015, "TV Review: ‘Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow’".
Variety
. Accessed 6 July 2016.
- ^
Fienberg, Daniel, 11/20/2015, "'Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow': TV Review" (
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/jim-hensons-turkey-hollow-tv-842511
Archived
2016-04-05 at the
Wayback Machine
).
The Hollywood Reporter
. Accessed 6 July 2016.
- ^
Keene, Allison, November 19, 2015, "‘Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow’ Review: A Family-Friendly, Old School Creature Feature" (
http://collider.com/jim-hensons-turkey-hollow-review-lifetime/
Archived
2016-05-12 at the
Wayback Machine
).
Collider
. Accessed 6 July 2016.
- ^
Adams, Eric, November 20, 2015, "Jim Henson's Thanksgiving leftovers are reheated in Turkey Hollow" (
http://www.avclub.com/review/jim-hensons-thanksgiving-leftovers-are-reheated-tu-228627
Archived
2016-05-16 at the
Wayback Machine
).
The A.V. Club
. Accessed 6 July 2016.
- ^
Lloyd, Robert, "Review 'Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow' serves up all the familiar holiday stuffing in a solid, smart way" (
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-turkey-hollow-review-20151121-column.html
Archived
2016-07-08 at the
Wayback Machine
).
The LA Times
. Accessed 6 July 2016.
- ^
Metcalf, Mitch (November 24, 2015).
"UPDATED: EXPANDED SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Update: 11.21.2015"
.
ShowBuzzDaily
. Archived from
the original
on November 25, 2015
. Retrieved
July 19,
2017
.
External links
[
edit
]
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|
Henson family
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Major works
| | Theatrical
films
| |
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TV series
| |
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TV specials
| |
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Other
projects
|
- Time Piece
(1965, short film)
- The Cube
(1969, teleplay)
- Gulliver's Travels
(1996, miniseries)
- Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story
(2001, miniseries)
- Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
(2004, miniseries)
- The Sam Plenty Cavalcade of Action Show Plus Singing!
(2008, web series)
- Unstable Fables
(2008,
DTV
film)
- Tale of Sand
- Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures
(2015, web series)
- Turkey Hollow
(2015, TV film)
- Pinocchio
(2022,
Netflix
film)
- The Portable Door
(2023,
Stan
film)
- Jim Henson Idea Man
(2024,
Disney+
documentary)
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip
(TBA,
Disney+
film)
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Henson
Alternative
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Divisions
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Related
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