dragonfire88's Full Review: Muppet Christmas Carol
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot.
When I was growing up, I loved The Muppet Show and saw all the movies featuring the characters. When Jim Henson died, I was very sad and afraid that his death would mean the end of characters I had come to love so much. I was thrilled when a new Muppet movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol, was released a few years later. I finally tracked down a copy of the movie on DVD in December of 2004 so I can how enjoy the movie every year.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of many versions of the classic story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Most people are probably at least somewhat familiar with the basic plot of the story. A very rich but not so nice man, Ebenezer Scrooge, hates Christmas and only reluctantly agrees to let his employees have the day off work. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, who tells him that three other ghosts, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future, will be visiting that night. The ghosts showed Scrooge different things in an attempt to get him to change his ways before it was too late.
I have seen several different movie versions of A Christmas Carol. Most of the versions that have been made more recently have made a lot of changes and updates to the original story. Many of them have been set in modern times, some have made Ebenezer a woman, and a few have done both. I think The Muppet Christmas Carol stayed fairly close to the original story. I have never read A Christmas Carol, so I am going by the different movie versions I have seen. I do know that the story was set in London though I’m not sure exactly what year. I think it was sometime in the 1800's. The Muppet Christmas Carol was set in London and the time looked right to me as well. There were a few minor changes made to the basic story.
Muppet characters played some of the characters from the story. Gonzo actually played Charles Dickens and acted as a narrator throughout the movie. He and Rizzo the Rat were seen in most of the scenes, watching what was going on with Scrooge. I don’t remember seeing any other version of the story that had Dickens included or any sort of narrator. At the beginning of the movie, a little bit of basic information about Dickens was shared. For this version, Jacob Marley had a brother. Both had been Scrooges partners and both appeared as ghosts. Probably the biggest change was the addition of several songs throughout the movie. All of the songs were original creations for this movie. Each song fit in with the movie and helped to move the story forward. When Scrooge was first introduced, people around London were singing about what kind of man he was and how disliked he was. I did see a version of A Christmas Carol that had a female Ebenezer that was a singer. That movie also included songs, though they didn’t actually help to tell the story like they did in this version. Most of the songs were fun and upbeat, but one of them, When Love is Gone, is a slower more emotional type of song that I think was important to show why Scrooge acted the way he did. I think it is a very pretty song, though I could see some children being a bit bored with that scene. All of the songs were written by Paul Williams.
A Christmas Carol ends up giving a good message and is uplifting by the end, but earlier in the story it is a bit dark and dreary. Scrooge was not a nice man and only concerned with making more money. He treated his employees horribly. Bob Cratchit and his wife were struggling to raise their small family and take care of one son, Tiny Tim, who was sick. Some things the different ghosts showed Scrooge could be depressing. The Muppet Christmas Carol added humor throughout the movie, making this version a bit more fun. Rizzo and Gonzo were responsible for adding a lot of the humor with the things they said and did. The small part from Scrooge’s past showing a Christmas party thrown by his former boss Fozziwig was very amusing and entertaining. The different Muppet characters added their own unique takes to the classic characters they were playing that made me laugh at different times as well. The addition of humor did make this a more family friendly version of the story.
The Muppets were all in supporting roles in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Scrooge was human and played wonderfully by Michael Caine. He handled the part well and was believable in it. Scrooge went through a lot during the visits from the ghosts which caused him to change. I think Caine is one of the best portrayals of Scrooge that I have seen. The other human characters in the movie were much smaller parts, like Fred, Scrooge’s nephew. Statler and Waldorf were used as Jacob and Robert Marley. They were grumpy and heckled other characters just like they did during The Muppet Show and fit the parts perfectly. Kermit worked well as Bob Cratchit. This was the first time that Steve Whitmire performed as Kermit instead of Jim Henson. The voice is different, but I quickly got past that because the character was still the same. Kermit was still the same character that Henson created.
Miss Piggy played Bob’s wife in a few short scenes. Miss Piggy has always been one of my favorite characters, so I would have liked to see her in more of the movie. She didn’t even get the chance to have one of her fits and send someone flying across the room, though I guess that wouldn’t have really fit into the story. Other characters, like Sam the Eagle and Fozzy, had even smaller parts. I did think the Muppets fit into the story well. I just would have liked to have seen some of the characters more. Gonzo and Rizzo ended up having the most to do of the Muppets since they were around in just about every scene as narrators. The three ghosts that visited Scrooge were puppets that I think were created just for this movie. I did see one character from Fraggle Rock, Sprocket the dog, at the end of the movie.
Main Cast and Muppet Performers
Meredith Braun - Belle Michael Caine - Ebenezer Scrooge Dave Goelz - Gonzo/Robert Marley/Dr. Bunsen Honeydew/Betina Cratchit Jerry Nelson - Tiny Tim/Jacob Marley/Ghost of Christmas Present Frank Oz - Miss Piggy/Fozzy/Sam the Eagle/Animal David Rudman - Swedish Chef/Peter Cratchit Steve Whitmire - Kermit the Frog/Rizzo the Rat/Beaker/Bean Bunny/Sprocket the Dog/Belinda Cratchit
Brian Henson - Director
DVD Information
I got my DVD of The Muppet Christmas Carol in December of 2004. The DVD only has the full screen version of the movie. There is a commentary with Brian Henson and a few featurettes about the making of the movie. That was it for special features. In November of 2005, a new DVD was released. I’ve read that this new version also has the widescreen version of the movie, which is missing the song When Love is Gone. I’ve read that the song wasn’t in the original theatrical version and that’s why it was left out of the widescreen version on the new DVD. I believe there are a few other new extras on the DVD as well.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a fun family friendly Christmas movie. It really is one of my favorite Christmas movies and I’ll be watching it every year since I have the DVD. I know that many Muppet fans weren’t happy about this movie because it wasn’t an original Muppet movie, but I think they should give the movie a chance.
With Kermit as the dutiful Bob Cratchit and Miss Piggy as his feisty wife the Muppets do Dickens with Michael Caine as the miserly Scrooge. The songs ...More at Family Video
Tis the season for love, laughter, and one of the most cherished stories of all time! Join Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and all the hilarious Muppets ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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