Muppet Christmas Carol/It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas

Starting in 1901, 58 years after Charles Dickens’ beloved but short story A Christmas Carol was written, 19 different movie teams have tried to adapt it for the theaters. None of them has had the charm of the Muppets. Jennie Kermode said in her review, “By far the best of their works, this unlikely marriage of laboured political fable and showbusiness spectacular has wit, energy and a lot of heart.” It’s one of those occasional seasonal films that can be seen by the entire family, and for many people it has become a tradition of Christmas movies to watch.

Parents watching this film have got to know the story of a grump visited by three ghosts (Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future) who make him change his behavior. Kermode said, “For the benefit of younger viewers, supporting narration is provided by Gonzo the Great, with the excuse that he is educating streetwise but not very erudite sidekick Rizzo the Rat.” Despite Gonzo’s (Dave Goelz) natural charm and Rizzo’s (Steve Whitmire) role as the sidekick, it’s really the rat who is the highlight, with his joking and with his ability to go through sudden sad accidents when trying to get food. Kermode noted, “He epitomises the street urchins of whose follies Dickens was fond, but with a distinctly American twist.”

It would be difficult for any actor to make an impression outside of them. Michael Caine doesn’t even try, putting in his performance (Kermode said, “and so little moved by it himself that he has continued to make Scrooge-like comments since with no apparent sense of irony”). It’s one of the downsides of the film, and is especially challenging in the scenes that show Scrooge’s romance with an equally boring young woman, played by Meredith Braun, whose heart he really wants to ruin.

Fortunately the Muppet performances are really good to move any scene where they show up. Kermit the Frog (Whitmire) makes a sympathizing Bob Chratchett, while Miss Piggy (Frank Oz) is smartly pushed aside from the main screen as his wife, though she still overacts at every chance and lands her role on the film. There’s a nice turn from Bunsen (Goelz) and Beaker (Whitmire) as charity workers, and Sam the Eagle (Oz), appearing as the young Scrooge’s headmaster, could not have been better cast.

Mainly, this being a Muppet film, there are more song and dance scenes than Dickens thought up and the locals of London are kind of more diverse, but the right tribute is made to the original setting with money problems and jokes about chimney sweeps. Kermode said, “Despite its cheery façade, the film effectively captures the grit and grime essential to the author's works, and it goes to sufficiently dark places that when the happy ending arrives it feels earned.” No holiday is cherry as a Muppet celebration, so don’t wait until there’s only one more night till Christmas, enjoy “The Muppet Christmas Carol” at any opportunity you have.

There are two kinds of people: those who like the Muppets and those who don’t. The people who say the only good Muppet movies are the first two or three aren’t real fans at all. If you’re fan, you’re a real fan and “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” is one for the fans. This 2002 made-for-TV movie has its usual amount of celebrities as cameos, celebrities as themselves, pop culture references, original songs and a clichéd plot.

The basic story of the movie is their version of “It’s A Wonderful Life” Kermit acts in the Jimmy Stewart role as owner of the Muppet Theater, which is going through some financial problems. With every Muppet going to Kermit for help, he becomes crushed and is visited by an angel played by David Arquette. The angel helps Kermit through so many looks of what the Muppet place would be like without him.

In these looks, Joan Cusack plays an evil banker who converts the local park to a shopping mall and Muppet Theater to a nightclub. We see many familiar Muppets go through some strange changes, as we see Rizzo the Rat on “Fear Factor,” Beaker as a club bouncer, Dr. Bunsen as a rapper and Fozzie as a pickpocket. Jake Lasker said in his review, “The movie also has a great tip of the cap to longtime Muppet fans as one of the new aspects of the world without Kermit is that Doc Hopper’s French Fried Frog Legs, the evil food chain from the first Muppet movie.

Like every Muppet movie, the laughs aren’t in the story itself but from the pop culture references. Lasker noted, “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie features parodies of Fear Factor, Moulin Rouge (here called Moulin Scrooge), Cirque Du Soleil (called Cirque du So Lame), A Beautiful Mind, the “For Dummies” books, Spongebob, and the Crocodile Hunter. The movie also features an Emmy award nominated song “Everyone Matters”.” Also in the cast are Matthew Lillard, Whoopi Goldberg and William H. Macy and cameos from Carson Daly, Kelly Ripa and the cast of “Scrubs.”

While “It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie” may not be one of the all-time classics, it’s still a usually fun Muppet movie with plenty of jokes for kids and adults altogether.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a blessed holiday with the family doing the usual Christmas traditions, but also make it a tradition to see these two movies every year. “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is one of my all time favorite holiday movies, but “It’s A Very Muppet Christmas Movie” is also a good one to check out as well.

Look out tomorrow for more installments in “Disney Live-Action Month.”