It’s silly, sad, scary and has songs – what more do you want? (Picture: Disney)
It’s been 30 years since the Muppets cast gave us their seminal take on the festive season via a classic literary adaptation, presenting us with The Muppet Christmas Carol.
Created by legendary puppeteer Jim Henson in the late 1950s, over the decades we’ve all grown to know and love the iconic characters from Gonzo and Fozzie Bear to Beaker, Sam Eagle and, of course, Miss Piggy and Kermit.
Alongside a hit TV series in the 1970s, which attracted a slew of celebrity appearances, including everyone from Rita Moreno and Mark Hamill to Diana Ross and Sir Elton John, our favourite fuzzy friends have also made it onto the big screen in movies several times.
There’s been The Muppets Take Manhattan, Muppets from Space and Muppet Treasure Island, as well as recent reboot efforts in the 2010s – but none of them have quite soared to the heights of The Muppet Christmas Carol.
A perfect blend of silly, sad, scary and songs, the film has stood the test of time and remained the best Muppet movie out there, one of the best Christmas movies out there and also one of the best film adaptations of Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol – and here’s why.
Gonzo’s commitment to being Charles Dickens despite Rizzo
Gonzo guides viewers through the film as Charles Dickens, quoting plenty from the actual novella (Picture: Disney/YouTube)
From the delightful opening of the film, where Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat are seen selling apples on a market stall, Gonzo is keen to properly act the part of Dickens, introducing himself as such and saying: ‘I am here to tell the story,’ while Rizzo adds: ‘And I am here for the food.’
Rizzo then voices his disbelief over ‘a blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat,’ but they make it work throughout the film.
Aside from the usual Muppet mischief between them (“Light the lamp, not the rat! Light the lamp, not the rat!”), Gonzo proves himself to be a reliable narrator throughout.
This extends to plenty of his lines in the film being lifted directly from the pages of A Christmas Carol itself, from ‘Marley was dead: to begin with’ and ‘solitary as an oyster’ to ‘darkness is cheap and Scrooge liked it’.
You’ll find no better way to appreciate Dickens’ words than via The Muppets.
Sir Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge
Hands down, the best onscreen Scrooge (Picture: Terry O’Neil/Jim Henson Prods/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)
In genius casting, Sir Michael Caine takes the central role of Ebenezer Scrooge, surrounded mostly by Muppets in all the supporting roles bar his relatives and past love interest.
He nails his role, playing it totally straight to give his Scrooge gravitas and let the Muppets shine.
There’s no holding back for this Scrooge, even when confronted by a little hopeful caroler, played by Bean Bunny, who ends up with a wreath thrown at him.
Sir Michael played it straight opposite the chaos of his Muppet co-stars (Picture: Jim Henson Productions/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)
Director Brian Henson recalled in a 2015 interview with the Guardian that the actor would only accept the part on the condition that he could play it ‘like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company’, and with no suggestion that his co-stars were, in fact, puppets.
It’s also been reported that the revered actor was keen to star alongside the Muppets after missing out on a guest role on their TV series in the 70s, and having been told it was a lot of fun – as well as popular with the grandkids.
The Christmas Ghosts
A rather terrifying Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come (Picture: Disney/YouTube)
The way The Muppet Christmas Carol opts to depict the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come is inspired and, again, pretty faithful to the text.
The Ghost of Christmas Past is not given a gender in the novella, but is described as having long hair, no wrinkles on its face, dressed in white and with a flame on top of its head.
The Muppets morphed that into the ethereal form of a young female ghost with a doll-like face, dressed in white and glowing from within.
The Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back in time to some painful memories (Picture: Disney/YouTube)
The Ghost of Christmas Present is then particularly accurate, with his long brown curls, green robe and massive size.
Also, he gets possibly the song of the film with the jolly It Feels Like Christmas, courtesy of songwriter Paul Williams.
Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is yet another character loyal to Dickens’ description with its unseen face, black robe, silence and outstretched hand.
However, the character design, with its yawning black space beneath the hood, as well as looming size, serves to very successfully communicate the sense of foreboding Scrooge gets from peeping into the future.
Scrooge, performed by a lovable supporting cast of vegetables, mice and penguins
The real stars of the show, singing vegetables (Picture: Disney/YouTube)
Another delightful song in The Muppet Christmas Carol is opening number Scrooge, performed by the Muppet ensemble as Sir Michael strides throught the crowd, face unseen.
It’s stuffed full with brilliant lyrics, including: ‘There goes Mr Humbug, there goes Mr Grim / If they gave a prize for being mean, the winner would be him.’
And in a nod to the lovable critters and creatures that are often spotted among the cast in small roles, the Muppets go all in here on singing mice, vegetables, penguins, sheep and horses.
As the family of miffed mice put it: ‘Don’t ask him for a favour, cause his nastiness increases / No crust of bread for those in need, no cheeses for us meeses’, in a brilliant bit of rhyming wizadry.
Meanwhile the vegetables sing (naturally): ‘If he became our flavour, you can bet he would be sour,’ while the stallholder adds: ‘Even the vegetables don’t like him!’
Could Scrooge’s scrooginess be emphasised any better?
The lobster and what that says about accuracy
Top hats – check, scarves – check, and lobster – check! (Picture: Jim Henson Productions/Kobal/Rex/Shutterstock)
Red lobsters have featured in several Muppet productions over the years, after debuting in 1977 on an episode of the TV show in a sketch with the Swedish Chef.
In The Muppet Christmas Carol though, we experience perhaps the most brilliantly specific cameo for one of them ever.
Hidden in the background of one of the crowd scenes, you can spot a Muppet lobster hanging out of a basement window.
If you’re wondering why, it’s an homage to one of author Dickens’ more odd turns of phrase, ‘like bad lobster in a dark cellar’.
It’s understood that the writer was referring to bioluminescence with his comparison as shellfish start to glow when they go off.
This is in reference to the knocker on the door when it transforms into Marley’s face.
Where to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol this Christmas
Here’s how to watch the finest Dickens adaptation of all time (Picture: Disney/YouTube)
Disney acquire the Muppets from The Jim Henson Company in 2004, meaning this film has found a home on Disney Plus.
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It’s available for subscribers to stream, with an extended edition on the platform featuring When Love Is Gone, a song removed for the film’s original theatrical release.
It’s also available to buy and stream on Amazon Prime Video.
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