Review of The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) by Brian B — 23 Dec 2010

In 1992, it had been eight years since the Muppets had last graced the silver screen and two years since their founder Jim Henson had passed away from pneumonia. Henson's sudden, unexpected death put off a possible sale of Kermit and friends to the Walt Disney company, but the Muppets still wound up at Disney for their next feature film production. Rather than devise an original story as had been done for the Muppets' first three theatrical outings, the creative talent behind the project turned to a classic, much-adapted piece of literature, Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol." Among the key players bringing the film to the screen were longtime head writer of "The Muppet Show" Jerry Juhl (penning the screenplay), longtime collaborator Frank Oz (serving as executive producer and Muppet performer) and Jim Henson's son Brian (as a producer and making his feature film directorial debut).

With a source text that had been brought to both the big or small screen hundreds of times, could the Muppets bring anything new to the table? The revolutionary thing that this adaptation would do is remain remarkably faithful to Dickens' words. Juhl's screenplay casts likable weirdo Gonzo the Great as a storyteller who claims he is Charles Dickens himself. This allows large chunks of Dickens' prose to be used as narration. As his sidekick, streetwise Rizzo the Rat provides physical comedy to keep things from getting too dark and dreary and also acts as designated audience spokesperson. Together, they are our guides to what is a greatly entertaining revisiting of the 1843 book.

At its heart, Dickens' immortal novel deals with pretty dark and weighty themes, which may seem out of place for the happy-go-lucky Muppets or any G-rated movie at all. But "The Muppet Christmas Carol" is an entertaining, moving, and remarkably atmospheric motion picture which transcends the prior expectations of a Muppet movie and stands as one of the best adaptations of the perennial tale. The movie holds up to repeated viewings (it is an annual Christmas tradition in my house) and delights viewers young and old alike. Caine deserves credit for bringing such a thoughtful, realistic performance as Ebenezer Scrooge.

With the father of the Muppets gone, a dramatic, frequently-filmed text as a starting point, and the gang's self-referential, free-wheeling comedy style toned down "The Muppet Christmas Carol" defies the odds and delivers one of the best holiday films. Needless to say, fans of either Christmas, the Muppets, Dickens, Disney or movies in general should make room in their hearts (and their DVD collections) for this excellent film.