Post by Rob W. Case on Dec 24, 2022 21:21:39 GMT -6
1992 was a significantly memorable year as it was a year of transformation and transition on many fronts, particularly in television and film. For movies, it was a year of unique, memorable, and creative blockbusters, and characters to go with them, that graced us with their presence on the silver screen. By the end of the year, movie theaters across America were playing many films that sent moviegoers to the theaters numerous times per month. And movies had a longer run in theaters in those days in part so that people would have more of a chance to see the movie(s) that they wanted to see. And the more creative the movie was, coupled with a great story and memorable characters, the more it became a part of American culture. In 1992, for example, not long after the theatrical release of Disney’s Aladdin, Disney also released a full-length film featuring the world renowned, iconic cast of puppet characters, created by Jim Henson, called The Muppets.
After a popular variety TV show, music albums, and three successful feature films, the Muppets became popular with not only kids, but adults. After the death of Jim Henson, it became essential for his family to continue the legacy he created with the Muppets, and they, along with Walt Disney Pictures, collaborated together to produce a new movie that would both keep Jim Henson’s legacy alive, as well as move the franchise forward to keep it alive and fresh with new audiences. In this collaboration between the Disney company and Jim Henson Productions, they decided on doing a new production of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”.
This rendition would feature some of the many Muppet characters that its fans came to know and love, as well as feature new characters that would earn their place in people’s hearts from here on out. The movie would star iconic British actor Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, the dark, stingy, and selfish man who hates Christmas and open displays of joy in his presence. Most of the other cast would be portrayed by Muppet characters, such as Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit, The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens narrating the story and facilitating its movement forward, and his assistant, Rizzo the rat, adding a comedic element to the film that helps to make the film stay fresh and unique, but also gives you a bit of a break from the overall storyline.
The Story:
Ebenezer Scrooge is a shrewd businessman who charges his way through the streets of London with not a moment to waste to conduct business. His greed motivates him to spend his life working. When his clerk Bob Cratchit tries to appeal to Scrooge to get an extra shovel full of coal for the fire both for the bookeepers and him, Scrooge responds with the threat of firing them...and they buckle. Christmas is tomorrow and Bob looks to have the day off, but since Scrooge hates people and Christmas, he sees no reason to give them the day off, until Bob gives Scrooge an economic reasoning to persuade him. As everyone goes to celebrate Christmas, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of his former business partners Marley and Marley (the two old guys who would insult people in a sort of "Gong Show" sort of way from the balcony in The Muppet Show). With this encounter, they inform Scrooge of the agony that awaits him on the other side when he dies, and why.
Scrooge is then visited by three spirits (the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future) to confront him with an objective view of his life outside of his subjective experiences. It is by these encounters, he sees the progression of his own heart growing cold, how that coldness has warped his mind and soul, and how that has negatively affected others like the love of his life in his past, his most loyal worker and his family, and how his presence affects everyone in an environment he so darkly influenced in the future. For Scrooge, his encounters are an act of grace and a clarion call to redemption.
This movie is a musical, with some very memorable songs (a feature Disney films prided themselves in creating particularly in the late 80’s and through the 1990’s). One unfortunate occurrence with this movie, after it was released on VHS tape and laserdisc in 1993, was the omission of the song “When Love is Gone”, the highly emotional scene where the Ghost of Christmas Past confronts Ebenezer with the moment his fiancée breaks ties with him due to him giving all of his love and his heart to his money and business.
You can view that scene here:
When I first saw this movie in theaters as a kid, I thought that this scene was kind of boring and slowed down the story. As an adult, I see this scene as very critical and needed to complement the counter song which appears at the end of the movie called “When Love is Found”. They both work hand together. After the film was released, Disney (under the direction of Jeffrey Katzenberg) conducted audience tests on the movie, which marked the scene as either too boring, too sad, or too unnecessary. They found that younger audiences lost interest during this scene, and took their focus off of the film. As a result, they scrapped the number from all future releases (DVD/ Blu-ray) or featured it as a “deleted scene”. Since this became a controversial decision on behalf of the people who wanted the scene to remain in the film, they decided to resolve the problem by offering two versions of it; one without the song, and one with the song. The version with the song is classified as “the extended version/edition”, and it was recently released on the Disney Plus streaming app.
My Take:
I originally saw this movie in theaters in 1992. I was impressed by the production, the music, the comedy, the drama, and especially the acting, particularly by Michael Caine. Even though this film is a Muppet film, the production values, the acting, and the effort are all taken seriously, which makes this film not only entertaining, but impactful. In watching it as an adult, I would say that this movie still holds strong today, and makes for an enjoyable Christmas movie. As for the songs, one of the best and most impactful songs in the film that couples a spirit of thanksgiving with a redemptive message is “A Thankful Heart”, with the vocals performed by Michael Caine (which was a first, since he never sang on stage or on film prior to this movie). This musical number is a good one not only to play at Christmastime, but one to listen to any time in celebrating a spirit of Thanksgiving.
You can hear the song here:
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a memorable film that I would call a “comfort movie,” meaning one that would be fitting for a night of watching Christmas movies to curl up and relax to. It is one that deserves 4 stars, and adds another level of respect towards actor Michael Caine as an actor, because he does play his role very seriously, and in that, he does add depth and meaning to the story. In other words, you can feel the impact of Ebenezer’s life, behavior, and experiences by his performance.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is rated G and runs 1 hour and 25 minutes normally as the “regular version”, and runs 1 hour and 29 minutes as “the extended cut”.
To view a trailer, please click on the “Play” button below.
"The Muppet Christmas Carol" is available on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, the Disney Plus streaming app, as well as other various streaming services, of which the details can be found HERE.
After a popular variety TV show, music albums, and three successful feature films, the Muppets became popular with not only kids, but adults. After the death of Jim Henson, it became essential for his family to continue the legacy he created with the Muppets, and they, along with Walt Disney Pictures, collaborated together to produce a new movie that would both keep Jim Henson’s legacy alive, as well as move the franchise forward to keep it alive and fresh with new audiences. In this collaboration between the Disney company and Jim Henson Productions, they decided on doing a new production of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”.
This rendition would feature some of the many Muppet characters that its fans came to know and love, as well as feature new characters that would earn their place in people’s hearts from here on out. The movie would star iconic British actor Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, the dark, stingy, and selfish man who hates Christmas and open displays of joy in his presence. Most of the other cast would be portrayed by Muppet characters, such as Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit, The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens narrating the story and facilitating its movement forward, and his assistant, Rizzo the rat, adding a comedic element to the film that helps to make the film stay fresh and unique, but also gives you a bit of a break from the overall storyline.
The Story:
Ebenezer Scrooge is a shrewd businessman who charges his way through the streets of London with not a moment to waste to conduct business. His greed motivates him to spend his life working. When his clerk Bob Cratchit tries to appeal to Scrooge to get an extra shovel full of coal for the fire both for the bookeepers and him, Scrooge responds with the threat of firing them...and they buckle. Christmas is tomorrow and Bob looks to have the day off, but since Scrooge hates people and Christmas, he sees no reason to give them the day off, until Bob gives Scrooge an economic reasoning to persuade him. As everyone goes to celebrate Christmas, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of his former business partners Marley and Marley (the two old guys who would insult people in a sort of "Gong Show" sort of way from the balcony in The Muppet Show). With this encounter, they inform Scrooge of the agony that awaits him on the other side when he dies, and why.
Scrooge is then visited by three spirits (the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future) to confront him with an objective view of his life outside of his subjective experiences. It is by these encounters, he sees the progression of his own heart growing cold, how that coldness has warped his mind and soul, and how that has negatively affected others like the love of his life in his past, his most loyal worker and his family, and how his presence affects everyone in an environment he so darkly influenced in the future. For Scrooge, his encounters are an act of grace and a clarion call to redemption.
This movie is a musical, with some very memorable songs (a feature Disney films prided themselves in creating particularly in the late 80’s and through the 1990’s). One unfortunate occurrence with this movie, after it was released on VHS tape and laserdisc in 1993, was the omission of the song “When Love is Gone”, the highly emotional scene where the Ghost of Christmas Past confronts Ebenezer with the moment his fiancée breaks ties with him due to him giving all of his love and his heart to his money and business.
You can view that scene here:
When I first saw this movie in theaters as a kid, I thought that this scene was kind of boring and slowed down the story. As an adult, I see this scene as very critical and needed to complement the counter song which appears at the end of the movie called “When Love is Found”. They both work hand together. After the film was released, Disney (under the direction of Jeffrey Katzenberg) conducted audience tests on the movie, which marked the scene as either too boring, too sad, or too unnecessary. They found that younger audiences lost interest during this scene, and took their focus off of the film. As a result, they scrapped the number from all future releases (DVD/ Blu-ray) or featured it as a “deleted scene”. Since this became a controversial decision on behalf of the people who wanted the scene to remain in the film, they decided to resolve the problem by offering two versions of it; one without the song, and one with the song. The version with the song is classified as “the extended version/edition”, and it was recently released on the Disney Plus streaming app.
My Take:
I originally saw this movie in theaters in 1992. I was impressed by the production, the music, the comedy, the drama, and especially the acting, particularly by Michael Caine. Even though this film is a Muppet film, the production values, the acting, and the effort are all taken seriously, which makes this film not only entertaining, but impactful. In watching it as an adult, I would say that this movie still holds strong today, and makes for an enjoyable Christmas movie. As for the songs, one of the best and most impactful songs in the film that couples a spirit of thanksgiving with a redemptive message is “A Thankful Heart”, with the vocals performed by Michael Caine (which was a first, since he never sang on stage or on film prior to this movie). This musical number is a good one not only to play at Christmastime, but one to listen to any time in celebrating a spirit of Thanksgiving.
You can hear the song here:
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a memorable film that I would call a “comfort movie,” meaning one that would be fitting for a night of watching Christmas movies to curl up and relax to. It is one that deserves 4 stars, and adds another level of respect towards actor Michael Caine as an actor, because he does play his role very seriously, and in that, he does add depth and meaning to the story. In other words, you can feel the impact of Ebenezer’s life, behavior, and experiences by his performance.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is rated G and runs 1 hour and 25 minutes normally as the “regular version”, and runs 1 hour and 29 minutes as “the extended cut”.
To view a trailer, please click on the “Play” button below.
"The Muppet Christmas Carol" is available on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, the Disney Plus streaming app, as well as other various streaming services, of which the details can be found HERE.