The VHS Strikes Back
Meet the Feebles (1989)
Published: 9 April 2025 at 05:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Blake has done it again! After bringing us cinematic gems like Surf Nazis Must Die, Bad Taste, and the legendary disasterpiece The Room, our resident connoisseur of chaos has picked another fever dream for us to unravel—Peter Jackson’s Meet the Feebles. If Bad Taste showed Jackson’s love for over-the-top gore, Meet the Feebles proves he was just as committed to pushing the boundaries of decency, this time with puppets.
Meet the Feebles was envisioned as a satirical take on the entertainment industry, blending puppetry with extreme violence, crude humor, and dark social commentary. The project was initially planned as a television series but evolved into a full-length film when Jackson and his team realized the scope of their chaotic vision.
The film was produced on a shoestring budget in Jackson’s native New Zealand, with much of the work done by a small, dedicated team—including many who would later go on to work on The Lord of the Rings. The puppets were created by hand, with their grotesque designs pushing well beyond anything audiences had seen in traditional puppet-based entertainment. Despite limited distribution and a niche audience at the time of release, Meet the Feebles has since gained a cult following, solidifying its place as one of the most bizarre and audacious films in Jackson’s early career.
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Trailer Guy Plot Summary
In a world... where puppets have problems just like the rest of us—only much, much worse—one variety show is about to become a full-blown disaster. Behind the curtain of The Fabulous Feebles, drug deals are going down, backstabbing is rampant, and the star of the show, Heidi the hippo, is on the verge of a total meltdown. As betrayals stack up and tensions reach a breaking point, this cast of misfit puppets hurtles toward an explosive, blood-soaked finale. From the twisted mind of Peter Jackson comes a no-holds-barred assault on good taste—get ready to Meet the Feebles!
