I got a VHS copy of it as a kid The Muppet Christmas Carol. I’ve loved Jim Henson’s adaptation of the Charles Dickens literary classic ever since, brilliantly substituting the beloved Muppet characters for the lead role in the Christmas fable. As with any adaptation, some liberties were taken, such as combining Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat to tell the story, but it is in these subtle nuances that the film appeals to and satisfies children’s attention, while intelligent jokes and puns grip adult audiences . cheerful and intrigued.
The impressive achievement of this film is its ability to preserve the core values, storylines and morals behind Mr. Dickens’ original masterpiece. The film begins and hits hard on Ebeneezer Scrooge’s sheer meanness and (apparently) the entire town’s disdain for the miser. Puppet singing and dancing clarify the honest perceptions while conveying comic undertones through many techniques, including deliberately incorrect pluralization of words to fit rhyme schemes.
Through the woven tapestry that only Jim Henson could weave with the proverbial thread of Charles Dickens, the story ebbs and flows from comedy to plot, effortlessly glued together with incredibly well-written songs that bring home the bliss every Christmas movie needs. Like every Dickens/A Christmas carol fan knows, however, that this story isn’t 100% light and airy. In Scrooge’s childhood, through flashbacks involving the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, we find the true reasons for his pitiful character.
In fact, Disney, who distributed the movie, was so focused on keeping the movie fun and upbeat for kids that one of the most poignant songs in a movie ever was cut from the movie’s theatrical release because they deemed the song too unfortunate for a children’s movie. Listen to the song for yourself here. Because Brian Henson, the film’s director, was unapologetically against removal, the scene was allowed to appear in full screen on all VHS versions. However, all television broadcasts of the film (and even electronic library versions, such as those on Amazon Prime) continue to leave the heartbreaking number out of the story. Frankly, its absence makes the scene almost confusingly sad, and as a kid I’m not sure I would have understood why Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat were in tears after Belle expressed the belief that Scrooge ever loved her. It seems disconnected and without substance.
While we won’t find any spoilers here, I highly recommend anyone looking for a heartwarming, moralistic, and kid-friendly Christmas movie to check out Jim Henson’s. A Muppet Christmas carol. You will find it to be a favorite for years to come.