As we told you yesterday, the Sesame Workshop has filed a lawsuit against Brian Henson’s upcoming rated “R” comedy The Happytime Murders, asserting that the film’s marketing tarnishes the beloved Sesame Street brand. The film is essentially presented as a peek behind the curtain at what the Muppets are up to when they’re not entertaining children, and the tagline (“No Sesame. All Street”) is considered particularly damaging by the family-friendly brand. In the lawsuit, filed Thursday, Sesame Workshop elaborates…

“Defendants’ widely-distributed marketing campaign features a just-released trailer with explicit, profane, drug-using, misogynistic, violent, copulating, and even ejaculating puppets, along with the tagline ‘NO SESAME. ALL STREET.’ Defendants do not own, control or have any right to use the SESAME STREET mark. Instead, they are distributing a trailer that deliberately confuses consumers into mistakenly believing that Sesame is associated with, has allowed, or has even endorsed or produced the movie and tarnishes Sesame’s brand.”

Via Huffington Post, STX Entertainment has publicly responded to the lawsuit today, issuing a statement of their own – courtesy of Fred, Esquire… a puppet lawyer…

“STX loved the idea of working closely with Brian Henson and the Jim Henson Company to tell the untold story of the active lives of Henson puppets when they’re not performing in front of children. ‘Happytime Murders’ is the happy result of that collaboration and we’re incredibly pleased with the early reaction to the film and how well the trailer has been received by its intended audience. While we’re disappointed that Sesame Street does not share in the fun, we are confident in our legal position. We look forward to introducing adult moviegoers to our adorably unapologetic characters this summer.” – Fred, Esq., lawyer for STX Entertainment

We’re thinking we haven’t heard the last of this one.

The Happytime Murders, starring Melissa McCarthy, arrives on August 17.