Little Shop of Horrors (2021 film)

Little Shop of Horrors is a 2020 horror comedy musical 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, Danny DeVito, 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, 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, is in an abusive relationship with sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello (D.D.S.), 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.

Like the 1986 film adaptation, this film is faithful to the stage version, with a few changes; for examples, 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 blood-soaked remains to Audrey II. The change was so audiences could feel less sympathy for Seymour when he actively kills the dentist, and thus satisfy them when he's eaten near the end. Much 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 1986 film, the movie ends with the song "Don't Feed the Plants" (composed in a slower, more somber tone), 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 October 30, 2020, the day before Halloween. The film was shot on-location at the Bowery, known as New York's Skid Row, and the Skid Row in Los Angeles, to accurately depict the Skid Row featured in the show.

The plant pod puppets in the film were built by Jim Henson's Creature Shop in New York, based on original designs for the off-Broadway play by Martin P. Robinson. Robinson was directly involved with the creation of the film's puppets, overseeing the building process and even acting as principal performer for Audrey II, leading a team of eleven puppeteers from the Jim Henson Company, in charge of operating its lips, vines, and leaves. During the "Don't Feed the Plants" number, the twelve-ft puppet required 112 puppeteers to control all of its parts.

Cast
Mark Hamill as Audrey II (voice)

Josh Gad as Seymour Krelborn

Celine Dion as Audrey

Danny DeVito as Mr. Mushnik

Jim Carrey as Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.

Beyonce Knowles-Carter as Crystal

Michelle Williams as Ronette

Kelly Rowland as Chiffon

Steve Buscemi as Patrick Martin

Jack Black as Wink Wilkinson

Bill Hader as Arthur Denton

Pam Ferris as Mrs. Luce

Adam Sandler as First Customer

Andy Samberg as Skip Snip

Kevin James as Bernstein

Ellen Greene as Murder Witness

Jet Li as Chinese Florist

Bonnie Hunt as Supermarket Clerk

Lee Wilkof as Newspaper Salesman

Al Roker as Television News Reporter

Morgan Freeman as Narrator

Audrey II Lead Puppeteer: Martin P. Robinson

Audrey II Puppeteers: Anthony Asbury, David Rudman, Karen Prell, Bill Barretta, Matt Vogel, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, Noel MacNeal, Tyler Bunch, Ryan Dillon

Additional Puppeteers: Brad Abrell, Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Grant Baciocco, Greg Ballora, David Barclay, Jennifer Barnhart, Nate Begle, Tau Bennett, Carol Binion, Ronald Binion, Tim Blaney, Rickey Boyd, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Lisa Buckley, Julianne Buescher, Kevin Carlson, Raymond Carr, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Kristin Charney, Ceili Clemens, Bruce Connelly, Frankie Cordero, Melissa CreightSeth Rogen, Dylan and Cole Sprouse, and Justin Timberlake were all considered for the part.

Amy Adams, Adele, Christina Aguilera, Jillian Banks, Kristen Bell, Jodi Benson, Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Miley Cyrus, Kirsten Dunst, Jenny Elfman, Anna Faris, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Ellie Goulding, Ellen Greene, Faith Hill, Bonnie Hunt, Avril Lavigne, Madonna, Idina Menzel, Kylie Minogue, Mandy Moore, Pink, Kristen Schaal, Shakira, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Uma Thurman, Meghan Trainor, Kristen Wiig, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead auditioned for Audrey before Celine Dion won the role. While Greene didn't reprise Audrey, she did have a cameo in the film, as the woman witnessing Seymour murdering Orin and rushing to call the police.

Actors in contention for the part of Mr. Mushnik include Dan Aykroyd, Alec Baldwin, Ed Begley Jr., Wayne Brady, Benjamin Bratt, James Caan, Blake Clark, Chris Cooper, Tim Curry, Timothy Dalton, Robert De Niro, Brad Dourif, Robert Downey Jr., Harrison Ford, Brad Garrett, John Goodman, Woody Harrelson, Dustin Hoffman, Jeremy Irons, Jason Isaacs, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Keaton, Nathan Lane, Jon Lovitz, Ewan McGregor, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Gary Oldman, Chris Parnell, Joe Pesci, Joaquin Phoenix, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, William Shatner, Wallace Shawn, J.K. Simmons, Tony Sirico, Patrick Stewart, Mark Strong, Jeffrey Tambor, Patrick Warburton, Lee Wilkof, and James Woods. The role went to Danny DeVito.

Jack Black, David Cross, Jason Lee, John Malkovich, and Jason Segel auditioned for Orin Scrivello before the role went to Jim Carrey.

For Audrey II, the director wanted an actor who could sing and act threatening enough. Jack Black, Clancy Brown, Jim Carrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Common, Eddie Cooper, Tim Curry, Elliot Dash, Keith David, Daveed Diggs, Taye Diggs, Brad Dourif, composer Danny Elfman, Robert Englund, Gilbert Gottfried, CeeLo Green, Jason Isaacs, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth MacFarlane, Ian McShane, Eddie Murphy, Gary Oldman, Ken Page, Billy Porter, Randy Rainbow, Chris Rock, Axl Rose, Sam Smith, and Will Smith all auditioned for the part. The voice of lead plant puppeteer Martin P. Robinson was eventually used during filming, and would have been used in the final cut if no suitable voice actor had been found. Mark Hamill was later brought in to voice the plant.