Meet the Feebles: The Early Years

Meet the Feebles: The Early Years is a 2020 New Zealand musical black comedy film directed by Peter Spears, which serves as a prequel to the 1989 Peter Jackson film ''Meet the Feebles. The story centers primarily around Bletch the walrus (the Feebles' boss) and his gang, detailedly exploring his personal life as an infamous drug dealer while also telling of his struggles to put on a syndicated variety show starring his performing troupe, the Feebles, a la Jim Henson's Muppets (Trevor the rat even refers to said program as "a shameless rip-off of The Muppet Show"'' in one scene). Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, who directed and wrote the original film, serve as "creative consultants".

Like the original film, the puppets were rebuilt by Weta Workshop (based on original designs by Cameron Chittock), but are performed by puppeteers from (and with connections to) the Jim Henson Company, as opposed to the lesser-known, more amateurish puppeteers from the original film. All of the characters (except for Heidi, Barry, and Robert) are recast to different actors, most professional voice actors, with some celebrities (i.e. Tim Curry, Mark Hamill) with major voice acting experience.

The film was released in New Zealand by WingNut Films (and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer) on September 24, 2020 (Jim Henson's 84th birthday), and in the United States four months later.

Cast
Bletch the Walrus - puppeteered by Peter Linz, voiced by Tim Curry

Trevor the Rat - puppeteered by Matt Vogel, voiced by Tom Kenny

Mr. Big - puppeteered by Martin Robinson, voiced by Mark Hamill

Cedric the Warthog - puppeteered by John E. Kennedy, voiced by James Cummings

Barry the Bulldog - puppeteered by Tyler Bunch, voiced by Mark Hadlow

Heidi the Hippo - puppeteered by Edward Noel MacNeal & R. Bruce Connelly, voiced by Mark Hadlow

Louie the Dog - puppeteered by Kevin Clash, voiced by Corey Burton

Sebastian the Fox - puppeteered by David Rudman, voiced by Jeffrey G. Bennett

Wynyard the Frog - puppeteered by Bill Barretta, voiced by Frank Welker

Arthur the Worm - puppeteered by Karen Prell, voiced by Carlos Alazraqui

Samantha the Cat - puppeteered by Jennifer Barnhardt, voiced by Fran Brill

Harry the Hare - puppeteered by Brian Henson, voiced by Charlie Adler

F.W. Fly - puppeteered by Joseph Mazzarino, voiced by Frank Welker

Sidney the Elephant - puppeteered by Eric Jacobson, voiced by Bill Farmer

Sandy the Chicken - puppeteered by Timothy LaGasse, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker

Dorothy the Sheep - puppeteered by Alice Dinnean, voiced by Louise Gold

Daisy the Cow - puppeteered by Jim Martin, voiced by Mona Marshall

The Masked Masochist - puppeteered by Anthony Asbury, voiced by Fred Tatasciore

Dennis the Aardvark - puppeteered by Rick Lyon, voiced by Rob Paulsen

Dr. Quack - puppeteered by Bruce Lanoil, voiced by Roger Bumpass

Abi the Contortionist - puppeteered by Pam Arciero, voiced by Jess Harnell

Musician Frog - puppeteered by Leslie Cararra Rudolph, voiced by Kevin M. Richardson

The Spider - puppeteered by Julianne Buescher, voiced by Robert Bergen

The Baker - puppeteered by Ricky Boyd, voiced by Clancy Brown

Pekingese - puppeteered by Mak Wilson, voiced by Bill West

Newspaper Mouse - puppeteered by Kathryn Mullen, voiced by Townsend Coleman

Seymour the Elechicken - puppeteered by Neil Sterenberg, voiced by Larraine Newman

Robert the Hedgehog - puppeteered by John Tartaglia, voiced by Mark Hadlow

Lucille the Poodle - puppeteered by Stephanie D'Abruzzo, voiced by Tara Strong

The Announcer - voiced by Peter Vere-Jones (archival audio)

Additional Puppeteers: Brad Abrell, Heather Asch, Grant Baciocco, Gregory Ballora, David Barclay, Nate Begel, Tau Bennett, Ron Binion, Tim Blaney, Cheryl Blaylock, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Lisa Buckley, Kevin D. Carlson, Ray Carr, Kristen Charney, Brian Clarke, Frank Cordero, Nathan Danforth, Dorian Davies, Ryan Dillon, Jodie Eichelberger, Artie Esposito, Dave Feldman, Mark Gale, James Godwin, B.J. Guyer, Terry Hardin, Hayley Jenkins, Patrick Johnson, Sean W. Johnson, Brian Jones, James Kemp, Vicky Kenderes Eibner, Donna Kimball, Joseph Kovacs, James Kroupa, Michael Lisa, Spencer Lott, Jess MacKay, Laura MacLean, Amanda Maddock, Andrew Massey, Edward May, Paul McGinnis, Ted Michaels, Allison Mork, James Murray, Michael Oosterom, Carmen Osbhar, Mark Petrosino, Bret O. Quinn, Michael Quinn, Tim Rose, Micheline Sisti, David Skelly, Colleen Smith, J. Andrew Stone, Alan Trautman, Russ Walko, Robin Walsh, Victor Yerrid

Additional Voices: Ava Acres, Isabelle Acres, Lori Alan, Rita Artmann, Troy Baker, Joe Bauer, Eric Bauza, Greg Berg, Gregg Berger, Jeff Bergman, J.B. Blanc, Dave Boat, Julianne Buescher, Max Burkholder, Steve Burns, Cam Clarke, Peter Cullen, Debi Derryberry, Jessica DiCicco, John DiMaggio, Robin A. Downes, Chris Edgerly, Paul Eiding, Jeffrey T. Fischer, Patrick Fraley, Edward Frierson, Elisa Gabrielli, Barbara Goodson, Jennifer Hale, Gary Hecker, Bridget Hoffman, Sirena Irwin, Daniel Jacobs, Tom Kane, John Kassir, Daniel Kaye, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Kate Leigh, Sherry Lynn, Daniel Mann, Mickie McGowan, Scott Menville, Matthew Mercer, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Paul Pape, Donovan Patton, Pat Pinney, Phil Proctor, Sam Riegel, Bumper Robinson, Will Ryan, Ben Schwartz, Roger C. Smith, Andre Sogliuzzo, Kathy Soucie, Stephen Stanton, April Stewart, Lynn Marie Stewart, James P. Stuart, Cree Summer, Shane Sweet, James A. Taylor, Doug Walker, James K. Ward, Claudette Wells, Joseph Whyte, Debra Wilson, Wally Wingert, Ariel Winter, Michael L. Wooley, Lynn Ann Zager