Hello to all my faithful readers!
Tonight, I shall be looking at 1992's 'A Muppet Christmas Carol.' Directed by Jim Henson's son Brian (Dedicated to the memory of his father as well as the memory of Muppet actor Richard Hunt), it stars Michael Caine, and of course the Muppets.
As the film's title indicates, it is basically the Muppets performing their version of the Dickens classic 'A Christmas Carol.' The Great Gonzo plays the part of Dickens telling the story for the audience (With his gluttonous and accident- prone friend Rizzo the Rat tagging along), Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy play Bob Cratchet and his wife respectively, Kermit's nephew Robin plays Tiny Tim, and so on. Scrooge (Here played by Michael Caine) is a cynical and icy- hearted miser who mistreats everyone around them, being distant from his nephew Fred, refusing to even give the bookkeeping staff an extra shovelful of coal for the stoves and cruelly casting out two charity workers seeking a donation (Played by the Muppets Bunsen and Beaker, the latter of whom appears to give Scrooge a less than complimentary gesture upon leaving the office).
Unlike in other versions of 'A Christmas Carol' where Scrooge's only partner was Jacob Marley, here his deceased partners are the Marley brothers, Jacob and Robert (Played by Statler and Waldorf, the hilarious sarcastic old men Muppets that always heckled everybody). They appear to him, sing a spooky yet catchy song called ‘Marley & Marley,’ and tell him he will be visited by three ghosts to save his soul from meeting the same fate as theirs.
The Ghost of Christmas past is an interesting- looking CGI (I think, though it was a very new art back then) spirit that resembles a child wrapped in white robes. She shows Ebenezer his childhood at school (With his headmaster played by the Muppet Sam Eagle), then his time working under his friendly boss Mr. Fozziwig (Fozzie Bear), and his tragic courtship of young Belle (Who in this version breaks off her engagement to young Ebenezer by singing the heartbreaking song "When Love is Gone," that was cut out of the theatrical version but included on video), to help show why Scrooge became the way he is.
The Ghost of Christmas Future is a huge, jolly Muppet who helps Scrooge see what a wonderful, festive time of year Christmas is and sings a happy song called 'It Feels Like Christmas.' It is around this time that Scrooge first starts to really "get it," as his heart noticeably softens towards everyone he sees. Of course, seeing his nephew Fred’s celebrations as well as the meager yet loving dinner of the Cratchet family help him realize what he is really like and how desperately the Cratchets need his help.
Then, of course, it is time for the third Spirit to appear. Out of all the different movie versions of 'A Christmas Carol' I've seen in my life, this one has hands- down the best Christmas Future scene. The music, atmosphere, and characters are all perfectly done(i.e. It’s dreary and rainy out, the music’s low and somber, the rag and bones dealer that people are selling Scrooge’s belongings to is a sinister- looking Muppet spider); the scene is depressing, ominous, sad, and scary as hell. As for the Ghost of Christmas Future itself, it certainly looks genuinely spooky, standing at least a foot taller than Scrooge, wearing the dirty greyish- black hood that obscures its face, and the rotted- looking skin of its hands. Also adding to the creepy effect of this scene is that, as soon as the Ghost of Christmas Future shows up, our narrators Gonzo and Rizzo, who had been with us from the beginning, abruptly leave, saying that "We'll see you in the finale." The feeling that we the audience are now sort of on our own for this awful scene further enhances its dread.
Scrooge of course wakes up, and begins setting things right, while he and the others begin singing a lovely, festive song called 'A Thankful Heart.' He decides to do right by the Cratchets, and begins making a merry Christmas for everyone.
One of the only problems I had with ‘A Muppet Christmas Special’ is that, while some of the songs were good (i.e. ‘Marley & Marley,’ ‘A Thankful Heart’), others were rather unnecessary (i.e. the song early in the film that Bob Cratchet and the bookkeeping staff were singing as they close up the office for Christmas). Also, they could have used Miss Piggy a bit more, she’s only seen in three scenes of the movie (The Cratchets’ house in Christmas Present, their house in Christmas Future, and in the very end when Scrooge comes to see them).
There is so much to like about ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol.’ Right off the bat, other than obviously the fact that half the cast are Muppets and Scrooge has another dead partner, it makes for a quite faithful adaptation of the classic story. The set designs for the various areas (i.e. The streets of London, Scrooge’s old school, Fozziwig’s Christmas party) are amazing. As is usually the case in their movies, the Muppets are able to inject a lot of humor into their various scenes, yet still have some poignant moments as well. Kermit the Frog makes for a great choice to be Bob Cratchet, as the humility and gentleness Kermit always possesses fit perfectly with the character of Bob Cratchet. Gonzo and Rizzo as our narrators/ guides in the story are quite likable and funny, between reciting parts of the book and getting into various kinds of trouble (They’re both quite clumsy and have a tendency to fell from large heights often). Michael Caine makes for a very effective Scrooge, iron- hearted and short- tempered, yet not too much so, so we can still eagerly see his change (Starting in Christmas Present, growing deeper in Christmas Future, and coming to a joyous fruition in the finale) and it is very believable.
So, there you have ‘A Muppet Christmas Carol.’ A classic Christmas film, a classic Muppet film, and one of my all- time favorite takes on the Dickens classic. Stay tuned next time as I start to go into the next theme.
