Little Shop of Horrors (2021 film)

Little Shop of Horrors is a 2021 musical horror film directed by Greg Berlanti, based on the musical comedy of the same name written by Howard Ashman with music by Alan Menken, which in turn was based on the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman. The film stars Josh Gad, Celine Dion, J.K. Simmons, Jim Carrey, and Mark Hamill as the voice of Audrey II, with Destiny's Child as the three urchins and cameo appearances from Jack Black, Steve Buscemi, Bill Hader, and others.

Like other adaptations of the play, the film follows Seymour Krelborn (Gad), a passive, nerdy florist shop employee who becomes a celebrity on the filthy town of Skid Row when he discovers a strange flytrap-like plant lovingly dubbed "Audrey II". Unfortunately for Seymour (and all of mankind), this plant needs human blood to grow, and when it begins to demand more blood than one man can give, poor Seymour is forced to commit murder. Meanwhile, Seymour's secret crush, Audrey (Dion), is in an abusive relationship with sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello (D.D.S.) (Carrey), and while Seymour's meek demeanor prevents any dominate action on his part, all it takes is a little push from the plant and Seymour serves revenge in a dish best served bloody.

The most notable difference between this film and other adaptations of the play is the downplaying or even removal of its comedic elements and a larger emphasis on genuine horror. For example, the song "Now (It's Just the Gas)" is removed, and the scene where Orin suffocates to death from his laughing gas is replaced with Seymour becoming so incensed over Orin insulting Audrey that he grabs a chainsaw (which he found in the tool shed behind Mr. Mushnik's florist shop) and goes straight-up Leatherface on the screaming dentist (off-screen, of course) before feeding his bloody remains to Audrey II, justifying the crime to Mr. Mushnik as being for Audrey's sake. This was to make Seymour less sympathetic than most portrayals for actively committing murder, and thus making his consumption by Audrey II near the end all the more well-deserved. Some of the dialogue and song lyrics are rewritten (for example, "He knows your life of crime" from "Suppertime" to "He knows about your crime"), Seymour omits "...and so am I!" when referring to Audrey II as a monster during the climax, and a sequence is added during Patrick Martin's appearance where Seymour flashes back to the events of the film, realizing in horror that the plant had a plan to take over the world, and that he had helped it grow in power. Unlike the theatrical version of the 1986 film, the movie ends with the song "Don't Feed the Plants", as in the stage version, where Audrey II succeeds in conquering the world.

The film was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and released in the United States on September 21, 2021, and shot on-location at the Bowery, known as New York's Skid Row, and the Skid Row in Los Angeles (for the "Skid Row (Downtown)" number), to accurately depict the Skid Row featured in the show. Scenes taking place inside the florist shop, as well as the "Somewhere That's Green" and "The Meek Shall Inherit" sequences were filmed on the soundstages of Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. The beginning of the "Don't Feed the Plants" number was filmed in Dallas, Texas, and the film crew travelled across America and around the world for the plant rampage montage during the song. It received mixed reviews, with the direction, acting (particularly the performances of Gad, Dion and Hamill), songs, special effects, and overall presentation praised, with criticism directed at the lack of comedic aspects usually found in the show, and at Seymour's change in characterization starting from the end of the first act; most critics argued that Seymour is not supposed to be an intentional killer. The film cost around $200 million to make and received an R rating from the Motion Pictures Association of America for scenes with graphic violence and mild language.

Eight Audrey IIs, all of varying sizes, were built for this film by Jim Henson's Creature Shop (the Los Angeles shop designing the animatronics, and the New York shop handling the puppet construction and fabrication), based on puppet designs for the original musical by Martin P. Robinson. Robinson was directly involved with the creation of the puppets, overseeing the building process and even serving as principal performer for Audrey II, leading a team of 12 of his fellow puppeteers from the Jim Henson Company (he also coordinated the puppeteers' performances, performed plant 1, worked the crane lifting the head of plant 8, and performed the lead plant in "Don't Feed the Plants"). To ensure that no jealousy or conflict occurred between them, each performer took turns operating the mouth, while the others controlled the tongue, vines, and leaves. For example, Robinson was lead plant performer for the song "Grow for Me", Karen Prell performed the plant's mouth during "Feed Me", David Rudman lip-synced to "Suppertime", Joey Mazzarino performed the mouth in the "Suppertime" reprise, and Kevin Clash was head puppeteer in the climax. The "Don't Feed the Plants" number featured three puppets of the plant at its largest size, each operated by 17 people, all reused for several shots to illustrate the idea of a large plant army taking over Earth, with the main performers controlling the mouth of each plant, swapping puppeteers from shot to shot.

Plot
"On the twenty-first day of the month of September, in an early year of a decade not too long before our own, the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence. And this terrifying enemy surfaced, as such enemies often do, in the seemingly most innocent and unlikely of places..."

Three street urchins (Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon) introduce the film, as they tell of forthcoming horror ("Prologue/Little Shop of Horrors"). We are introduced to Seymour Krelborn, a pathetic orphan living in a gritty New York neighborhood called "Skid Row", and Audrey, a beautiful but meek woman with a tacky fashion sense and no self-worth. Both desperately wish to escape the city, but can't because they're poor and down on their luck ("Skid Row (Downtown)"). They work at a florist shop run and owned by the grumpy but well-meaning Mr. Mushnik, one that's run-down and on the verge of bankruptcy. Seymour has recently bought a new, weird-looking plant, but doesn't know what it needs to grow. Suddenly, a man stops by the store and notices the plant, asking Seymour where he got it. Seymour reveals ("Da-Doo") that he was walking by a florist shop run by a Chinese man one day, when an eclipse of the sun occurred. As it did, a new plant suddenly materialized in the shop, and while even the Chinese man had no idea where it came from, he offered to sell it to Seymour for a cheap price. Seymour, who has a secret crush on Audrey, names the plant after her: "Audrey II".

In his bedroom underneath the shop, Seymour laments to a dying Audrey II that he has tried numerous ways to make it grow, all to no avail, and wonders aloud what the plant needs ("Grow for Me"). During the song, while filing Mushnik's taxes, Seymour gets a paper cut and his finger bleeds. This attracts Audrey II's appetite, and Seymour realizes that's what the plant needs to grow; he reluctantly agrees to feed it a few drops of blood, on the condition that it not make this a habit. Sure enough, once Seymour exits the room, Audrey II does indeed grow. The plant soon becomes a popular tourist attraction on Skid Row, revitalizing Mushnik's business and making Seymour the hottest celebrity in town. Meanwhile, Audrey returns with a black eye and her arm in a sling, and despite concern from even the urchins, is too afraid to leave her abusive boyfriend. That said, she does have feelings for Seymour, and secretly wishes to live a modest life in the suburbs and start a family with him ("Somewhere That's Green"). Unfortunately, her lack of self-esteem prevents her from believing she even deserves this lifestyle.

Meanwhile, Mushnik decides to renovate the shop using all the money they've made from Audrey II being displayed in the window, and asks Seymour to help him. Audrey arrives late again, her injuries still remaining. Mushnik angrily demands to know who she's been dating, and in the next scene, we get the answer: Orin Scrivello, a shameless sadist who rides around on a Harley, gets off on bringing pain and suffering to those around him, and has a job as a dentist ("Dentist!"). His mere presence intimidates anyone who sees him, including Seymour, who calls him "a disgrace to the oral care industry. And the motorcycle industry." Orin, while respectful of Audrey II's success, tells Seymour to take the plant and get out of Skid Row, explaining that Seymour could "go big on Wall Street" with a plant like Audrey II. Mushnik then realizes that the plant (and Seymour) is the sole reason why his shop has been doing good business, and offers to adopt him as his "son" and have him as his business partner. Seymour happily accepts ("Mushnik and Son").

Alone in the shop, Seymour reflects on his newfound fame, and thanks the plant for helping him ("Sudden Changes"). As he leaves, however, the plant starts dying again, and as Seymour tells it that he needs to heal his finger, he hears cries of, "Feed me!" Audrey II reveals itself to be able to talk, refusing Seymour's offer of chopped sirloin and insisting it must be fed blood. The plant promises Seymour everything he's ever dreamed of, including fame, fortune, and the love of Audrey, if he continues to feed it ("Feed Me (Git It)"). Seymour, though tempted by these offers, refuses, fearing he may have to start killing people and feeding them to the plant to keep it healthy, and showing clear disgust at the notion that anyone could deserve such a fate, as the plant claims. Audrey II directs his attention to Orin, who continues to berate and abuse Audrey outside. Inside Audrey's apartment, Orin attempts to rape her and smothers her cries for help. This is the last straw for Seymour, who declares, his voice filled with raw rage, that the dentist has more than enough blood, of course encouraged by the ravenous plant, its voice displaying complete disgust by what it's just seen.

After Orin finishes with a masochistic patient named Arthur Denton, who wishes for "a long, slow root canal", Seymour barges through the door, armed with a chainsaw owned by Mushnik. This terrifies Orin, who tries to reason with Seymour and demands he drop the tool, and even promises to quit his job and leave Skid Row, never to return. Seymour contemplates letting Orin live, until the misogynistic dentist calls Audrey "a pathetic slut with a lotta ass but no balls." This insult pushes Seymour over the edge, as he grinds the dentist into chunks as he screams for mercy. Outside, a woman witnesses Seymour committing the murder and runs off to phone the police. Soon after, Seymour drags the pieces of Orin's body outside, leaving a heavy trail of blood, and into Mushnik's, where Audrey II happily consumes its meal.

The next morning, Seymour wakes up to find the police at Audrey's house, asking her about Orin's disappearance; they suspect that "foul play" was involved. Audrey confesses to Seymour that while she's happy that Orin is finally gone, she also feels guilty, because deep down, she wished the day would come. When asked by Seymour why she was willing to put up with Orin, Audrey reveals she was once a stripper at a nightclub, wearing crude, tacky attires, and believes she deserves no better man than Orin. Seymour tries to convince Audrey to put her relationship with Orin in the past, and tells her there are nicer guys willing to do anything to please a girl like Audrey, subtly revealing his own feelings for her ("Suddenly, Seymour"). At the end of the song, Seymour and Audrey share a passionate kiss.

The two say goodbye and Seymour returns to the shop to take a nap in his room. Suddenly, Mr. Mushnik emerges from the shadows, unintentionally scaring Seymour, and reveals that the woman who had seen Seymour kill Orin, a frequent customer at the shop, had told him what had happened. While Mushnik refused to believe it at first, he started noticing something was up when he discovered the trail of blood connecting from Orin's office to his shop, followed by his chainsaw splattered with blood. Mr. Mushnik exasperatedly asks Seymour how he could do such a thing, and Seymour tries to justify his actions as being for the sake of Audrey. This causes Mr. Mushnik to suspect that his crush on Audrey was his motivation for the crime, and prepares to turn him in to the police. All the while, Audrey II's voice appears in Seymour's head, telling him he has to get rid of Mushnik now, or else he will lose Audrey's affections and his new reputation will be ruined ("Suppertime"). Mushnik tells Seymour he hates to do this, but insists it's best that Seymour go to prison before he can kill again. Seymour refuses, saying he'll turn himself in, and says farewell to Mushnik. As Seymour solemnly leaves the shop, Mushnik walks backwards, right into the gaping maw of Audrey II, which bites his head off before using its tongue to force him down its throat, chomping all the while. As he's eaten alive, Mushnik angrily screams, "Seymour Krelborn! You son of a--!" before being swallowed whole.

As Seymour exits the shop, he is greeted by network executives, salesmen, talent agents, television producers, businessmen, financial investors, magazine publishers, news reporters and photographers, all promising Seymour TV appearances, magazine photo ops, lecture tours, and even more fame and fortune ("The Meek Shall Inherit"). Although he at first is interested in these offers, Seymour tries to talk himself out of it, realizing that if he signed their contracts, he'd have to "keep on doing all these bloody, awful things" to preserve the plant, and begins to have nightmares about himself turning into Audrey II. He initially decides to destroy Audrey II for good, but then realizes that without the plant, Audrey may not love him anymore. Against his own will, but feeling he has no other choice, Seymour begins selling his soul.

As Seymour begins writing a script for a lecture tour, Audrey II begins squawking for more blood. An annoyed Seymour tells the plant, which complains about not being fed since eating Mr. Mushnik the week prior, to wait a few more days until Time magazine arrives to interview him tomorrow, then, in his words, the plant will "never go hungry again." Audrey walks in on Seymour rambling about Audrey II, and smacks him back to his senses, then asks when Mr. Mushnik will return from "visiting his long-lost stepdaughter in Cincinnati." Seymour asks Audrey if she would still love him even if he had never bought Audrey II to begin with, to which Audrey reassures that she'd love Seymour no matter what. Smiling on the outside but depressed inside, Seymour promises Audrey that they'll soon be out of Skid Row and into the house and lifestyle she's always dreamed of, before asking her politely to leave the shop so he can pull himself together. Audrey obliges and runs off into the night. All alone now, Seymour tells himself that he's decided that once Time takes a photo of him and Audrey II, he will destroy the plant.

Audrey II resumes demanding blood. Just about had it with the "vegetable", Seymour offers to pick up "a nice medium rare" for it to eat. The plant refuses, but reluctantly accepts the offer once it finds out that it's Seymour's last. Seymour runs off, but not before telling the plant not to even think about dessert. After he leaves, the plant whispers sinisterly, "I know I'm getting dessert!" Worried about Seymour, Audrey returns to the shop, only to find him gone. As she continues to search, the voice of Audrey II appears in her head ("Suppertime (Reprise)"). As she follows the voice, she discovers the plant in its default position, with only its voice and moving trap providing clues to her as to its sentience. Audrey II tells an overwhelmed Audrey to water it quickly, as its "branches" are beginning to "dry up". However, this is all a ruse, for as Audrey returns with a watering can, the plant reveals its full sentience and prepares to eat her, even revealing to her with twisted glee that Mr. Mushnik and Orin are "right inside!" Seymour returns to find Audrey in the plant's trap, and forcefully pulls her out. But the damage is done: Audrey has lost most of her blood from the experience, and she knows she'll die soon. As her dying wish, Audrey asks Seymour to feed her to the plant, happy that "finally, [she]'ll be somewhere that's green." ("Somewhere That's Green (Reprise)") Reluctant to feed Audrey to the plant, but respecting her wish, he slowly walks into the store, and Audrey II slowly lowers its jaw as Seymour gently places her body in the plant and sadly watches her devoured. After this, Audrey II lowers its head and sniffles while shedding a "tear".

Seymour grabs a shotgun from the back of the shop and steps outside, prepared to commit public suicide. He pulls the trigger, only to find the weapon jammed. World Botanical Enterprises representative Patrick Martin approaches the despondent Seymour, who tells Martin to go away and leave him alone. The determined Martin tells Seymour that he has a business proposal for him; WBE has sent Martin to ask for Seymour's permission to sell miniature Audrey IIs, made from leaf cuttings of Seymour's plant, in stores across America. The horrified Seymour flashes back to the events of the film as Martin continues his sales pitch, confident that all American households will soon own an Audrey II, and that they can even sell the cuttings around the world, ensuring that with proper advertising, the plants could be "bigger than hula hoops!" Martin asks Seymour if they have a deal, and Seymour wordlessly runs away. Martin doesn't see this as a problem; since the Audrey II is now in the public domain, they can sell them no matter what.

Seymour returns to the shop, confronting the plant about "hundreds of millions of [it], everywhere, eating" being its plan all along. The plant confirms its plans for world domination, and thanks him. Calling Audrey II a monster and berating it for eating "the only thing [he] ever loved", Seymour concludes that the plant must be destroyed now. He uses a machine gun, a large pack of rat poison, a butchering knife, a pickaxe, a flamethrower, and a stick of lit dynamite to off Audrey II, all with no success. Finally, a desperate Seymour whips out the chainsaw with which he killed Orin Scrivello. "You made me kill the dentist with this...and now...it's time you got your just deserts!" Very poor choice of words, for as Seymour runs into the plant's trap, it gobbles him up, then burps out the chainsaw. Patrick Martin soon returns, looking for Seymour in the shop, with no success, although he does spot the bloodied chainsaw. Still insistent that he doesn't need Seymour's help, Martin directs his co-workers to start taking leaf cuttings and loading them into their moving truck. The camera pans out to a wide shot of Skid Row as the scene fades to black.

As the credits roll, we see the three urchins standing in front of a large supermarket as they, through song ("Finale (Don't Feed the Plants)"), reveal that similar plants across the United States began to attract other "unsuspecting jerks" and "sweet-talked" them into feeding them blood until they were big and powerful enough to rampage through whole cities, devouring everyone in sight. The scene then changes to shots of a large army of Audrey IIs destroying New York City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Seattle, and other American cities. Eventually, we get shots of the plants destroying cities around the world, like London, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Berlin, Glasgow, Paris, Dublin, Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow, Jerusalem, and Madrid. Through voice-over, Seymour, Audrey, Mr. Mushnik, and Orin warn that no matter what the plants persuade you with to be fed, you must not give in to greed and selfishness. The song ends with a shot of Earth combusting in a massive fireball, similar to the destruction of the Death Star in Star Wars (another film with sci-fi elements starring Mark Hamill).

After this, we cut to a mid-credits scene featuring a '60s-style parody of Fox News, with an unnamed anchorman claiming that the Audrey IIs were made by President John F. Kennedy and "deep state operatives" to undermine the integrity of the Republican establishment. He is promptly eaten by an Audrey II, which then lunges at the camera, after which the credits begin to roll. Songs during the credits include covers of "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" (sung by Mark Hamill as Audrey II), "Feed Me" (sung by Randy Rainbow as Seymour and Lori Alan, using her Pearl Krabs voice, as Audrey II), and "Suddenly, Seymour" (sung by Mj Rodriguez as Seymour and Ellen Greene as Audrey).

Cast
Audrey II Puppeteers

Anthony Asbury

Kevin Clash

Noel MacNeal

Tyler Bunch

David Rudman

Bill Barretta

Matt Vogel

Eric Jacobson

Joey Mazzarino

Karen Prell

Peter Linz

Ryan Dillon

Additional Puppeteers Pam Arciero Heather Asch Grant Baciocco Jennifer Barnhart Tau Bennett Ronald Binion Tim Blaney Rickey Boyd Warrick Brownlow-Pike Lisa Buckley Julianne Buescher Kevin Carlson Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Frankie Cordero Stephanie D'Abruzzo Alice Dinnean Artie Esposito Mark Gale James Godwin BJ Guyer Andy Hayward Haley Jenkins Patrick Johnson Sean Johnson Vicki Kenderes-Eibner John Kennedy Donna Kimball Jim Kroupa Tim Lagasse Bruce Lanoil Michael Latini Spencer Lott Rick Lyon Lara MacLean Amanda Maddock Jim Martin Drew Massey Paul McGinnis Alison Mork James Murray Carmen Osbahr Marc Petrosino Michelan Sisti Colleen Smith John Tartaglia Allan Trautman Russ Walko James Wojtal Victor Yerrid Bryant Young

Crew
Directed by Greg Berlanti

Screenplay by Kevin Williamson

Based on the musical by Howard Ashman, which was based on The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman and written by Charles Byron Griffith

Produced by Mark Platt and Tim Rice

Executive Producers: Tim Burton and David Geffen

Director of Photography: John Bailey

Edited by Gregory Plotkin

Original Score by Hans Zimmer

Songs from the musical: Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman

Production Designer: Bo Welch

Costume Designer: Tom Broecker

"Audrey II" built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop based on original puppet designs by Martin P. Robinson

Additional Puppet Effects by Paul Andrejco (Puppet Heap Workshop), Michael Latini and Marc Petrosino (Monkey Boys Productions)

Special Effects Supervisors: David Barclay, Rick Lazzarini

Puppeteer Performance Coordinators: Anthony Asbury, Martin P. Robinson

Technical Consultant: Mike Quinn

Stunt Coordinator: Alex Daniels

Stunts: Dan Bell, Patty Chong, Amanda Foster, Tom McComas, Kyle Pacek, Chris Palermo

Audrey Performance Consultant: Ellen Greene

Trivia
Before Josh Gad was cast as Seymour, Justin Bieber, Daniel Boys, Zach Braff, Matthew Broderick, Michael Buble, Darren Criss, Adam Driver, Zac Efron, Taron Egerton, Chris Evans, Santino Fontana, Michael J. Fox, Andrew Garfield, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Topher Grace, Seth Green, Jonathan Groff, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Hader, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, both Jonas Brothers, Zachary Levi, Tobey Maguire, Jack McBrayer, Bobby Moynihan, Edward Norton, Haley Joel Osment, Jim Parsons, Randy Rainbow, Andy Samberg, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Justin Timberlake, and Peyton Wich were all considered for the part. Hader was later cast as the masochistic dental patient Arthur Denton, played by Bill Murray in the 1986 film, and Samberg was cast as Bernstein, an NBC executive who tries to give Seymour his own show during "The Meek Shall Inherit". Groff had previously played Seymour in the 2019 off-Broadway production.

Amy Adams, Adele, Christina Aguilera, Jillian Banks, Kristen Bell, Jodi Benson, Emily Blunt, Mariah Carey, Kristin Chenoweth, Miley Cyrus, Kirsten Dunst, Jenny Elfman, Anna Faris, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Ellie Goulding, Ellen Greene, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Faith Hill, Kate Hudson, Bonnie Hunt, Brie Larson, Avril Lavigne, Madonna, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Idina Menzel, Debra Messing, Kylie Minogue, Mandy Moore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Katy Perry, Pink, Julia Roberts, Kristen Schaal, Sarah Silverman, Britney Spears, Emma Stone, Taylor Swift, Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman, Jennifer Tilly, Ashley Tisdale, Meghan Trainor, Kristen Wiig, Rebel Wilson, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead auditioned for Audrey before Celine Dion won the role. While Greene didn't reprise Audrey from the original off-Broadway adaptation of the play and its subsequent 1986 film version, she did have a cameo in the film, as a woman witnessing Seymour sawing Orin into pieces and rushing to call the police (and being credited as "Audrey Performance Consultant"), while Hunt portrayed a supermarket clerk during "Don't Feed the Plants", trying in vain to quell the mob of customers fighting over Audrey II's.

Actors in contention for the part of Mr. Mushnik include Jason Alexander, Dan Aykroyd, Alec Baldwin, Ed Begley Jr., Benjamin Bratt, Clancy Brown, Steve Buscemi, James Caan, Blake Clark, Stephen Colbert, Chris Cooper, Bryan Cranston, Tim Curry, Timothy Dalton, Robert De Niro, Johnny Depp, Danny DeVito, Brad Dourif, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Englund, Colin Farrell, Will Ferrell, Harvey Fierstein, Ralph Fiennes, Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, Brad Garrett, Jeff Goldblum, John Goodman, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Ed Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Jeremy Irons, Jason Isaacs, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Keaton, Richard Kind, David Koechner, Nathan Lane, Jon Lovitz, James Marsters, Ewan McGregor, Michael McKean, Ian McShane, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Jack Nicholson, Nick Nolte, Gary Oldman, Al Pacino, Joe Pantoliano, Chris Parnell, Joe Pesci, Joaquin Phoenix, David Hyde Pierce, John Ratzenberger, John C. Reilly, Keanu Reeves, Steve Schirippa, Rob Schneider, William Shatner, Wallace Shawn, Tony Sirico, Brent Spiner, Sylvester Stallone, Jon Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Mark Strong, Jeffrey Tambor, Patrick Warburton, Lee Wilkof, and Bruce Willis. The role eventually went to J.K. Simmons. Nicholson had a bit part in the original Roger Corman film. Murray originally played Arthur Denton in the 1986 film. Wilkof, who played Seymour in the original off-Broadway production, made a cameo as a newspaper salesman. Kind cameos as a police chief who talks to Audrey after Orin's death.

Jack Black, Steve Buscemi, Steve Carell, David Cross, Tom Cruise, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell, Will Ferrell, Dave Foley, Will Forte, Topher Grace, Neil Patrick Harris, Sean Hayes, Kevin James, Jason Lee, John Malkovich, Howie Mandel, Seth Meyers, Jim Parsons, Pedro Pascal, John C. Reilly, Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler, Adam Scott, Jason Segel, Jerry Seinfeld, David Spade, Ben Stiller, and Steve Zahn auditioned for Orin Scrivello before the role went to Jim Carrey. Black, who also auditioned to voice Audrey II, later appeared as radio DJ Wink Wilkinson, Buscemi was brought in to play salesman Patrick Martin (who offers to sell cuttings of the plant all over America), and Sandler and James were cast as the first Skid Row resident to take a liking to Seymour's new plant and Skip Snip, respectively.

For Audrey II, the director wanted an actor who could at least act threatening enough if not able to sing. Lori Alan, Jack Black, Brandon Boyd, Wayne Brady, Clancy Brown, Jim Carrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Common, Lilli Cooper, Cavin Cornwall, Terry Crews, Jim Cummings, Tim Curry, Elliot Dash, Keith David, Daveed Diggs, Taye Diggs, Snoop Dogg, Brad Dourif, Danny Elfman, Donald Faison, Harvey Fierstein, Gilbert Gottfried, Kelsey Grammer, Cee Lo Green, David Alan Grier, Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey, James Monroe Iglehart, Jason Isaacs, Dwayne Johnson, James Earl Jones, Tom Kenny, Keegan-Michael Key, Martin Lawrence, Seth MacFarlane, John Malkovich, Ian McShane, Mr. T, Eddie Murphy, Gary Oldman, Ozzy Osborne, Ken Page, Jordan Peele, Billy Porter, Randy Rainbow, Amber Reilly, Ving Rhames, Kevin Michael Richardson, Chris Rock, Axl Rose, J.K. Simmons, Sam Smith, Will Smith, Wanda Sykes, Tony Todd, Alan Tudyk, Sigourney Weaver, and Stevie Wonder all auditioned for the part. Mark Hamill was eventually brought in to voice the plant, being both a talented villain voice actor and a good singer. Simmons was cast as Mr. Mushnik, Carrey won the role of Orin Scrivello, Black was cast as Wink Wilkinson, while Reilly voiced Audrey II in a 2019 production at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Before Hamill was cast as Audrey II, the voices of the main puppeteers were considered (giving the plant a purposely inconsistent sound). Eventually, the voice of lead puppeteer Martin P. Robinson was used during filming, and would have been used in the final cut if no suitable voice actor had been found. Robinson's Audrey II voice was used in promotional material for the film, including an interview with the character.

Actresses/puppeteers Louise Gold, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph and Colleen Smith make cameos as Skid Row denizens: Gold plays an old lady begging for money, Carrara-Rudolph appears as a dental patient, and Smith as the first shopper to barge into the supermarket to buy an Audrey II. The latter two also worked, uncredited, as Audrey II puppeteers.

The manner in which Audrey II is designed, operated and voiced contains shout-outs to the original Roger Corman film, the stage version, and the 1986 musical film. Audrey II's design combines elements of the 1982 off-Broadway and 2003 Broadway puppet designs, both created by Martin P. Robinson, who also performed the plant in those shows and this film. From the scene where we're introduced to the plant to the moment in "Feed Me" when it asks Seymour if he believes his newfound success is a coincidence, Audrey II is operated as though it were a hinged prop, just like in the original Roger Corman film. It's only when Seymour dismisses the plant as an inanimate object, and it aggressively proves otherwise, that Audrey II is revealed to be an intricate puppet, similar to the 1986 film, but operated similarly to Marty Robinson's original stage puppets. When the plant begins to talk and demand to be fed, voice actor Mark Hamill initially does his best impression of Charles B. Griffith's voice for Audrey Jr. from the original Roger Corman film. When it starts singing and promising Seymour lots of riches, Hamill changes his voice to resemble his own. Throughout the film, Hamill changes between his Audrey Jr. impression and a different voice, which at times resembles the Joker.

Some of the songs are composed and performed differently in this film than in other adaptations. For example, "Somewhere That's Green" is orchestrated in the key of F major, identical to "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. Likewise, the final song, "Don't Feed the Plants", is arranged in the same key as the 2003 Broadway version of the song, albeit in a slower tempo, with a backup church choir, and limiting the orchestration to a soft piano and low, somber-sounding bass violins, with bass drums and a baritone violin heard during the first half of the song. This gives its accompanying scene a more tragic feel, as it plays over shoppers barging into a supermarket to buy an Audrey II, a montage of innocent people being eaten by the plants, entire cities left in ruins from their rampage, and a discomforting shot of Earth exploding a la the Death Star as the rampaging Audrey IIs maniacally cackle.

Eight Audrey II puppets, all of varying sizes, were created for the film by puppet builders from the Jim Henson Creature Shop, based on puppet designs by Martin P. Robinson, and each has its own purpose and function. The first plant is basically a prop handled by Seymour's actor, operated when on a table or flat surface by simply opening and closing its mouth on a hinge; this plant was seen during "Grow for Me", worked by Marty Robinson himself. The second plant is also a prop, with its "jaw" moved by controlling a joystick inside its pot; it can be seen in scenes between "Grow for Me" and "Dentist" (performed in said scenes by Anthony Asbury). The third plant, seen at the start of the "Feed Me" scene, is another prop, this time using a car pedal to control its jaw. The fourth plant, first seen when it shouts, "Does this look inanimate to you, punk?!" is now a fully functional puppet; to control it, puppeteer Karen Prell pops her body out of a large trapdoor underneath the set, and through the plant's pot, where she inserts her whole upper body into the plant's "head", and holds it above her head with her right hand while her left hand moves the trap, while additional puppeteers control its vines, pedals, and tongue with rods and RC control units. The fifth plant, used during "Suppertime", is puppeteered by David Rudman, who sits on the plant pot in a crouching position, and inserts his whole body into its head, moving his hands simultaneously to move the mouth; again, extra performers control the other parts, including a radio-controlled tongue. The sixth plant is seen after "The Meek Shall Inherit"; its head is performed by Joey Mazzarino, who stands on top of the pot and leans forward inside the plant costume, controlling its mouth by inserting his arms into holes inside the puppet, and pulling and pushing his arms together; additional performers are again needed to control its vines, which can now form humanlike hands, operated via a cable control connected to the puppeteers' fingers. The seventh plant, from most of the "Suppertime" reprise, is the biggest "prop" plant, controlled by pulling a large lever to move the jaw. The eighth and largest form comes during the climax. The head of the plant is now big enough to fit a whole human inside; puppeteer Kevin Clash moves his arms and whole body to control the mouth, and is lifted off the ground by a pulley system connected from the top of the puppet to a crane operated high above the set, which can be lowered should the plant be required to lower its head. Over eighty extra puppeteers are needed to control its vines, "hands", petals, roots, and tongue, or just to support the puppet's weight, including up to five people manning the crane. Three versions of plant #8 were built for the "Don't Feed the Plants" number.

Though practical effects were mostly used for the film, using the plant puppetry, red paint splattering all over the dentist's office for blood, paint-stained pieces of an Orin dummy when he is fed to the plant, a Mushnik dummy and fake blood for the end of the "Suppertime" number when he gets his head bitten off, and a prop gun when Seymour tries to kill himself, there were some effects that involved CGI. These included digital editing to erase on-screen puppeteers and rods, CGI fire from the flamethrower (so the puppet would not suffer any real damage), and the end shot of Earth blowing up.