The Farrellys said that they were not going to do a biopic or remake , but instead new '' Three Stooges '' episodes set in the present day . The film was divided into three segments , each with a stand-alone story , and each being 27 minutes long . The Farrellys aimed to receive a PG rating from the MPAA , while still incorporating physical comedy . In Britain several images were cut before the film achieved the equivalent rating . The Farrellys have also said it would have " non-stop slapping , more in the tone of '' Dumb and Dumber '' than we 've done . Our goal is 85 minutes of laughs in a film that will be very respectful of who the Stooges were . It 's by far the riskiest project we 've ever done , without question , but it is also the one closest to our hearts . " In March 2009 , Benicio del Toro and Hank Azaria were in consideration to play the lead role of Moe Howard . The role of Moe went to Chris Diamantopoulos . Sean Penn was already set to play Larry Fine but dropped out to concentrate on his charitable efforts in Haiti . Sean Hayes was chosen to play Larry . Jim Carrey was set to play Curly Howard and gained 40 pounds for the role but ultimately dropped out because of not wanting to endanger his health gaining 60 to 70 pounds . The role went to Will Sasso . Johnny Knoxville , Andy Samberg and Shane Jacobson were all on the short list to play Moe , Larry and Curly , respectively . As the Farrellys note in the DVD/Blu-ray featurette on casting the picture , Sasso was cast as Curly despite being considerably taller than the other Stooges ( the original Curly was roughly the same height as Moe and Larry )
charitable efforts in Haiti
2010 Haiti earthquake
The Three Stooges (2012 film)