{"id":32307,"date":"2021-08-11T00:18:17","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T06:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/?p=32307"},"modified":"2021-08-11T00:18:17","modified_gmt":"2021-08-11T06:18:17","slug":"muppet-christmas-carol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mymerrychristmas.com\/x\/muppet-christmas-carol\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of The Muppet Christmas Carol"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Muppet Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> came out nearly three decades ago. Today it is considered a classic among Christmas<\/a> movies, a must-watch film season after season in the same vein as It\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/em> and Christmas<\/a> Vacation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The movie was the first Muppet production after the untimely death of Muppet creator Jim Henson and its production carries countless stories that make the movie even more inspiring.<\/p>\n

The story, of course, begins long before a Muppet was ever known \u2013 with Charles Dickens in 1844.<\/p>\n

In fact, Charles Dickens<\/a><\/strong> changed the way that The Muppet Christmas Carol<\/a><\/em><\/strong> came about entirely.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

~ What the Critics Said When It Came Out ~<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It may be unfair to movie critics to review them for their reviews of any movie.<\/p>\n

How were they to know that The Muppet Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> would be a hit and go on to enjoy cult classic status as a perennial must-watch film of Christmas<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Said the Baltimore Sun in 1992: With a few sprightly moments and some satisfying illusions, the movie is nevertheless far too slow and overpopulated with blue-headed fur balls to work any emotional magic on an audience.<\/em><\/p>\n

Roger Ebert was more kind<\/a><\/strong>. He said, \u201cIt could have done with a few more songs than it has, and the merrymaking at the end might have been carried on a little longer, just to offset the gloom of most of Scrooge’s tour through his lifetime spent spreading misery.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The LA Times was Scroog-iest of them all with their review:<\/p>\n

\u201cDie-hard Muppet fans may get a boost from the film (citywide) but Dickens lovers will fare less well. Somewhere along the way–’round about the Ghost of Christmas<\/a> Past stuff–the magic has fallen out of the story. The treacly score by Miles Goodman, with songs by Paul Williams, doesn\u2019t help. The Muppets are at their best when they\u2019re anarchic, without all this soggy whimsy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

How could the critics get it all so wrong?<\/p>\n

Two reasons: they do not know Dickens and they do not realize the Muppets are not just for kids.<\/p>\n

In fact, if most people, let alone movie critics, knew not only the story of the creation of A Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> but also the dialogue as written by Charles Dickens they would immediately agree with one very small supposition:<\/p>\n

Charles Dickens<\/a><\/strong> would have loved the Muppets telling his story of Scrooge.<\/p>\n

~ Other Productions of A Christmas Carol<\/em> ~<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> had been tried many different ways long before the Muppets came along. We will mention just a few of them, working backwards.<\/p>\n

It was just a few years previous that a dark comedic version of A Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> was released with Bill Murray in the lead role. The modernized tale was called Scrooged<\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Scrooged<\/em> too has gone on to some renown as a repeat of each Christmas<\/a> season it never has enjoyed the popularity of The Muppet Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sharp, blunt humor was never Dicken\u2019s way and it does not work for Bill Murray\u2019s version of the story.<\/p>\n

In fact, there seems to be just as many haters Scrooged<\/em> as there are fans.<\/p>\n

Though clever in parts (anything with Lee Majors in a cameo role is bound to be clever) the tale is just dark and lacks the real redemption we love<\/a> the character of Scrooge for.<\/p>\n

A Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> as a musical is another difficult call.<\/p>\n

It was famously done in 1970 in a film starring Albert Finney and titled Scrooge<\/em><\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Roger Ebert mused about why the movie was so enjoyable and he settled on this reason: \u201c\u2026So if all of these things are wrong, why does “Scrooge” work? Because it’s a universal story, I guess, and we like to see it told again\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Where Scrooge<\/em> really failed, however, came in trying to remain true to the darker parts of Dicken\u2019s tale.<\/p>\n

There was a public outcry in 1970 when Scrooge is introduced to hell in the movie musical. There Marley serves as Satan\u2019s clerk and Scrooge sees his fate as completely doomed. He\u2019s not only dead \u2013 as the book merely suggests \u2013 but he continues to suffer beyond death, beyond chains, and beyond merely being alone.<\/p>\n

How were the Muppets to deal with these heavy themes?<\/p>\n

The truth is that The Muppet Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> kind of evolved.<\/p>\n

It was first to be just a TV movie for ABC.<\/p>\n

As the script was first being conceptualized each of the Muppets would take a starring role \u2013 from Scrooge to Tiny Tim, every part would be played by a Muppet.<\/p>\n

And the Muppet version would be a farce \u2013 a parody of the first order, as most of their movies are. That parody would include, as always, clever music to help tell the comedic tale.<\/p>\n

But then something happened to change all that.<\/p>\n

Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, suddenly died.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

~ Let the Muppets be the Muppets ~<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The passing of Jim Henson shook the Muppet world like nothing else had.<\/p>\n

Would all those associated with his brilliant productions now be out of a job? Or could they continue to create and build Henson\u2019s legacy?<\/p>\n

Henson passed in May of 1990. It created an identity crisis for nearly everyone. If they were to move forward they not only had to get past the grieving of their partner and inspiration but they would need a vehicle strong enough to work behind the scenes as well as on the screen.<\/p>\n

Enter Dickens.<\/p>\n

Jim Henson\u2019s son, Brian Henson, at just 28 years of age and now in charge of his father\u2019s Muppet empire, was advised to pursue A Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Knowing that everything of the Muppet future rested on the success of the project Henson collaborated with the best talent known to his father\u2019s team and was wise beyond his years in allowing their creative instincts to take over.<\/p>\n

Of course, many associated with the Muppets were taking on new responsibilities. Steve Whitmire had the unenviable task of becoming the voice of Kermit the Frog, a distinction that belonged before to Jim Henson himself.<\/p>\n

He was more than right to be worked up about it. But he later famously reported that on the night before recording songs for the movie he had an odd dream. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it was more of a visit than a dream,\u201d Whitmire reportedly said. During the experience Henson told him his nerves would pass.<\/p>\n

But besides the ever present absence of Jim Henson in this production there was something more that was present that gives The Muppet Christmas<\/a> Carol<\/em> its magic: Charles Dickens.<\/p>\n

Director Brian Henson and screen writer Jerry Juhl considered previous film versions of the story. They realized nobody had actually captured Dicken\u2019s prose as part of their productions.<\/p>\n

In this vein they saw opportunity with Muppet characters adapting straight storytelling, much as Dickens wrote it. The Muppets would not be the stars of the movie \u2013 they would be the storytellers.<\/p>\n

This allowed them to be close to Dicken\u2019s original story while giving them great flexibility in adapting the story to general audiences. They would not need gimmicks like hell \u2013 they had Muppets.<\/p>\n