Forget Burble, Squonk, Thwring and Zorp; Lifetime had me at Mary Steenburgen.
Although I must admit that the four magical musical woodland monsters (see cover photo) are pretty adorable in their own right (they feast on rocks and are always up for a nice belly rub), we're kind of partial to anything our Arkansas-grown Oscar-winner does.
Steenburgen and the new Muppet creatures (they're named after the sounds they make) star in a thoroughly delightful family-friendly movie that may just become an annual Thanksgiving staple. Turkey Hollow premieres at 7 p.m. Saturday on Lifetime.
Turkey Hollow might be new, but the concept has been sitting on the shelves since 1968, when the late Jim Henson and longtime writing partner Jerry Juhl dreamed up the tale.
Henson's daughter, Lisa Henson, is now chief executive officer of The Jim Henson Co.
"Turkey Hollow is an unproduced gem from our company's archives," she said. "I have fond memories from my childhood of my father planning and developing this production. He was delighted by the idea of magical creatures living in the woods and was excited to portray them in a more realistic way than his other well-known puppet characters."
The movie follows the tale of the Emmerson family, which includes recently divorced father Ron (Jay Harrington, Better Off Ted) and his kids, Tim (Graham Verchere, A Girl's Best Friend) and Annie (Genevieve Buechner, The Final Cut), as they head to the quirky town of Turkey Hollow to spend a traditional family Thanksgiving at the farm of Ron's eccentric Aunt Cly (Steenburgen).
Just how picturesque is "the Turkey capital of the Northwest," population 2,879?
As on-screen narrator Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges tells us, "It's a quaint little town nestled right in the Podunk section of the most unhip and damp section of the Pacific Northwest. Every year, tourists from far and wide descend upon this little town to celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving holiday."
Aside: Having rapper/actor Ludacris (the Fast and the Furious film series) step in to break the fourth wall and interject commentary seemed woefully out of place in the film. It's superfluous and a distraction.
But Ludacris is correct. Turkey Hollow is a tiny town nestled up against the Siempre Verde Forest. In fact, cell service ceases once you cross the city limits, much to the horror of 16-year-old Annie.
A fuming Annie gets the best line of the movie, screaming at her father: "When Janna's parents divorced, at least they had the decency to spoil her!"
Ten-year-old Tim, however, is thrilled because he has never been off the grid. He considers it a big adventure to go hunt for the Hoodoo.
The what? Turkey Hollow is also home to the "Hideous Howling Hoodoo." The legendary 10-foot-tall creature with barracuda teeth brings in the tourists much like a local Bigfoot or Fouke Monster. Don't leave town without a T-shirt or a package of dried Hoodoo doodoo.
Feisty, outspoken (and a little grumpy) hippie Aunt Cly (she has a Lava Lamp and burns incense) is also quite happy to live off the grid on her all-natural produce farm. She understands what is in the mystical forest of Turkey Hollow and protects it from intruders.
Cly is also portrayed as an attractive older woman, but the movie stumbles when it has Sheriff Grover Cowly (Reese Alexander) so twitter-pated and tongue-tied in her presence to the point his conversation stumbles out as sexual innuendo.
It's distracting and inappropriate and hopefully will sail way over the heads of the youngest viewers.
Many dads of temperamental, cynical, back-talking, know-it-all teenage daughters will identify with Ron's plight. He was "cleaned out" in the divorce and just wants to work during the holiday so he can "make ends meet." Naturally, Annie translates that to being "baby-sat" by Aunt Cly.
And we can't have an idyllic family movie without an evil villain out to spoil it for everyone.
Cly's nemesis is her ruthless, law-breaking, miserly turkey farmer neighbor Elridge Sump (Linden Banks). He fits that role perfectly. He also has an officious lawyer and two sniveling minions to help him in his attempt to take over Cly's farm.
Will the Hoodoo show itself? Will the Hoodoo get sweet, sweet revenge on Sump? Will Annie miraculously transform her nasty teen self into a loving, adoring daughter?
You'll have to watch to find out.
"When faced with adversity, a family can find magic and transformation in unexpected places and unexpected ways," Henson says. "At the end of it, I'd like for people to feel that it was a good family experience to watch it together and to see a movie about a family having an adventure together."
Style on 11/15/2015