Sunny Days

Making puppets “mature” is no new phenomenon (see: Avenue Q, or that terrible Melissa McCarthy movie, The Happytime Murders – sorry for reminding you of that film’s existence). But most content struggles to move beyond “Hey, isn’t it sooo funny that puppets are having sex and swearing?” It takes a special work to make the puppets an essential part of the theme, but with Sunny Days, Reina Hardy moves past novelty and toward intense introspection. Named for the iconic Sesame Street theme song, Hardy takes the gentle, educational approach of that classic property to explain her not-so-fictional world ravaged by political unrest and climate change. The puppets are an integral part of the story. They’re needed for this unmissable call to action told with hilarity, heartbreak, and hand puppets. – Cat McCarrey