Turkey Hollow
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''Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow'' is a 2015
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
created by
The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...
and aired on Lifetime on November 21, 2015. The film is narrated by
Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
and stars
Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in 1978 Western comedy film ''Goin' ...
,
Jay Harrington James H. Harrington III, professionally known as Jay Harrington, (born November 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his role as the title character in the ABC sitcom ''Better Off Ted'' in 2009-2010 and since 2017 as Sgt. David "Deacon" ...
,
Graham Verchere Graham Marc Verchere (born 4 February 2002) is a Canadian actor, known for roles in '' Stargirl,'' '' Fargo'', '' The Good Doctor'', and '' Summer of 84''. Early life Verchere was born in Vancouver to Cynthia, a pediatric plastic surgeon at BC ...
,
Genevieve Buechner Genevieve Sterling Buechner (born November 10, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles such as Tamara Adama on the Syfy series '' Caprica'', Fox on The CW series ''The 100'', and Madison on the Lifetime series ''UnRE ...
, Reese Alexander,
Gabe Khouth Gabriel Forest Khouth (November 22, 1972 – July 23, 2019) was a Canadian voice and television actor who worked for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Khouth had played several roles in anime, most notably Nicol Amalfi in '' ...
,
Peter New Peter New is a Canadian actor and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Big McIntosh in ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and Sunil Nevla in ''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop''. In 2007, New's script "The Bar" wo ...
, and Linden Banks.


Plot

As part of the
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
holidays, a recently divorced man named Ron Emmerson (
Jay Harrington James H. Harrington III, professionally known as Jay Harrington, (born November 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his role as the title character in the ABC sitcom ''Better Off Ted'' in 2009-2010 and since 2017 as Sgt. David "Deacon" ...
) takes his children Tim (
Graham Verchere Graham Marc Verchere (born 4 February 2002) is a Canadian actor, known for roles in '' Stargirl,'' '' Fargo'', '' The Good Doctor'', and '' Summer of 84''. Early life Verchere was born in Vancouver to Cynthia, a pediatric plastic surgeon at BC ...
) and Annie (
Genevieve Buechner Genevieve Sterling Buechner (born November 10, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles such as Tamara Adama on the Syfy series '' Caprica'', Fox on The CW series ''The 100'', and Madison on the Lifetime series ''UnRE ...
) to the farm of Ron's eccentric Aunt Cly (
Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in 1978 Western comedy film ''Goin' ...
) 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 A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harv ...
minions Buzz (
Gabe Khouth Gabriel Forest Khouth (November 22, 1972 – July 23, 2019) was a Canadian voice and television actor who worked for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Khouth had played several roles in anime, most notably Nicol Amalfi in '' ...
) and Junior (
Peter New Peter New is a Canadian actor and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Big McIntosh in ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and Sunil Nevla in ''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop''. In 2007, New's script "The Bar" wo ...
) that involves illegal
turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
s 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

*
Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in 1978 Western comedy film ''Goin' ...
– Aunt Cly *
Jay Harrington James H. Harrington III, professionally known as Jay Harrington, (born November 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his role as the title character in the ABC sitcom ''Better Off Ted'' in 2009-2010 and since 2017 as Sgt. David "Deacon" ...
– Ron Emmerson *
Genevieve Buechner Genevieve Sterling Buechner (born November 10, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her television roles such as Tamara Adama on the Syfy series '' Caprica'', Fox on The CW series ''The 100'', and Madison on the Lifetime series ''UnRE ...
– Annie Emmerson *
Graham Verchere Graham Marc Verchere (born 4 February 2002) is a Canadian actor, known for roles in '' Stargirl,'' '' Fargo'', '' The Good Doctor'', and '' Summer of 84''. Early life Verchere was born in Vancouver to Cynthia, a pediatric plastic surgeon at BC ...
– Tim Emmerson *
Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...
– Narrator * Reese Alexander –
Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
Grover * Linden Banks – Eldridge Slump *
Gabe Khouth Gabriel Forest Khouth (November 22, 1972 – July 23, 2019) was a Canadian voice and television actor who worked for Ocean Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Khouth had played several roles in anime, most notably Nicol Amalfi in '' ...
- Buzz *
Peter New Peter New is a Canadian actor and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Big McIntosh in ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' and Sunil Nevla in ''Littlest Pet Shop (2012 TV series), Littlest Pet Shop''. In 2007, New's script "The Bar" wo ...
- Junior * Elliot Mandelcorn -
Lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
* Kathryn Kirkpatrick -
Shopkeeper A shopkeeper is a retail merchant or tradesman; one who owns or operates a small store or shop. Generally, shop employees are not shopkeepers, but are often incorrectly referred to as such. At larger companies, a shopkeeper is usually referred t ...
Kirk Thatcher Kirk R. Thatcher (born February 14, 1962) is an American writer, producer, television and film director, an Internet video director, and a production designer. Personal life Thatcher was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. In high school, ...
cameos in a photo as Uncle Ned.


Puppeteers

*
Alice Dinnean Alice Catherine Dinnean (born May 23, 1969) is an American puppeteer, voice actress and creative writer who works at The Jim Henson Company. Dinnean has performed on many children's television shows such as ''The Puzzle Place'', ''Sesame Street ...
– Squonk * Jason Hopley – Zorp * Rob Mills – Burble * Gord Robertson – Thrink


Additional puppeteers

* Jeny Cassady * Morris Chapdelaine * Kellie Hanes * Paul Hooson * Geoff Rednapp * James Rowley


Production

Turkey Hollow started out as a story called "The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow" which was written by
Jerry Juhl Jerome Ravn Juhl (July 27, 1938 – September 27, 2005) was an American television and film writer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Biography Juhl was born in St. Paul, Minnesota; his family moved to Menlo Park, California, when ...
as one of
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
's proposed specials. 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 Lisa Marie Henson (born May 9, 1960) is an American television and film producer and former actress who has been involved in television shows such as ''Sid the Science Kid''. She is the CEO of The Jim Henson Company, founded by her parents Jim an ...
and Cheryl Henson were taken in Jim Henson's back yard 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. In 2014, "The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow" was adapted into a graphic novel. When ''Turkey Hollow'' went into production, the original puppets in storage were refurbished by
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Burbank, California, United States. History Jim Henson's Creature Shop was originally ...
with their designs updated by Robert Bennett (the winner of ''
Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge ''Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge'' is an American reality television game show on the Syfy cable network. It premiered on March 25, 2014 and ended on May 13, 2014. Plot A group of Creature Designers compete against each other to create pupp ...
'') and Peter Brooke, the fabrication done by Julie Zobel, and the animatronics provided by John Criswell as seen in the
Google+ Hangout Google Hangouts is a discontinued Cross-platform software, cross-platform instant messaging service developed by Google. It originally was a feature of Google+, becoming a standalone product in 2013, when Google also began integrating features ...
tour. Principal photography was set to begin in the spring of 2015 in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Canada. Because of a new tax credit, production on the special moved to Front Street Pictures in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
where filming began on June 8, 2015.


Reception

It has a score of 50 out of 100 on
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews" and 60% on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 5 reviews with an average rating of 6.1/10. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' 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." ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' 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."
Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
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 likable, and a romantic subplot for the older set is a unique change of pace."
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
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." The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' 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." The film's premiere drew 1.6 million viewers and a 0.39 demo share.


References


External links

* * {{Kirk Thatcher 2015 television films 2015 films American fantasy adventure films Canadian fantasy films Canadian television films English-language Canadian films Puppet films Films set on farms Films shot in Vancouver Lifetime (TV network) films Thanksgiving television specials The Jim Henson Company films Films directed by Kirk Thatcher 2010s Canadian films 2010s American films