This movie is the version of the Christmas carol that was my introduction to the text, and I am glad to return to it. I have no memory of when I first watched it, and I have listened to the soundtrack so much that I can recognise the songs from memory.
“The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchitt, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). Other Muppets — Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and Sam the Eagle — weave in and out of the story, while Scrooge receives visits from spirits of three Christmases — past, present and future. They show him the error of his self-serving ways, but the miserable old man seems to be past any hope of redemption and happiness.”
This is an incredible adaptation as well as a great muppet movie. This movie has made a great impact on my childhood. Also, if you are going to watch this movie on Disney+, go to the movie, select Extras and go to The Muppet Christmas Carol (Full Length Version). Here you will see the movie with one of the songs that was cut from the original movie.
For this adaptation, I have four thoughts.
Firstly, I would like to talk about Michel Caine as Scrooge. Throughout the last year, I have been watching The Muppet Show, and one thing that I have learned is that what makes a good human host is if either the human treats the muppets as fellow actors or they act like a muppet themselves. When it comes to this movie, you can see perfectly that Michel is acting his heart out in an Oscar-worthy performance, not caring that his co-stars are felt.
Secondly, Gonzo the Great as Charles Dickens. Cards on the table, Gonzo is my favourite muppet, and I cannot imagine what this movie would be like without him. I truly enjoy the idea of having Charles Dickens in the movie, because it gives the chance to include a lot more lines from the book. Also, because Gonzo is physically there, it means there is a good amount of comedy around his attempts to keep up.
Thirdly, remember what I said about the added song? I should say that there are three songs that are on the soundtrack but not in the original movie. Firstly, Room in Your Heart sung by Dr Bunsen Honeydew and Beeker as they ask Scrooge to donate, secondly Chairman of the Board sung by Sam the American Eagle, all about Scrooge’s future career and finally When Love Is Gone, which is sung by Belle when she breaks off with Scrooge. This was the song that was filmed but cut because the creators thought that it would be boring to young children. I do enjoy that it has been added back because it makes the movie feel complete. This was because there is a reprise to this song at the end of the movie that stayed in.
Fourthly, ok, now I need to be a little critical. In the book with the ghost of Christmas past, the point of this section is about how Scrooge used to love Christmas and was a lot happier. But Muppets Christmas Carol seems to have missed the boat on this topic, they portray Scrooge as someone who always hated Christmas. This makes most of this section a bit pointless. It also raises an important question, Belle met Scrooge when he was worrying about the cost of the Christmas party, why did she leave him for his love of money?
This has been a lot of fun to come back to this movie and until next time.
Happy reading to all and to all a good night.
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