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I've always been a huge Gonzo fan, and this movie is a big part of the reason why. Not only is it my favorite Muppet movie, but I think it really gives Gonzo a chance to shine as "Charles Dickens"--he's still the same theatrical, cheerfully ridiculous daredevil he's always been, but there's a real heart and soul to him as well in just how invested he is in telling the story and getting Rizzo and the audience to experience it with him. There was a video I watched recently that said Gonzo has the potential to become just as important and moving as Kermit, and... not gonna lie, I could see it. :)
Michael Caine played the role so convincingly that when he says ‘this is Fozziwig’s old rubber chicken factory’ I actually forget that the original story didn’t involve a rubber chicken factory.
I heard somebody online once say that A Muppet Christmas Carol works great, because Michael Caine is acting like a committed actor, while Treasure Island is great because Tim Curry acts like a muppet. It's two incredible performances from two incredible stars.
Yes, Abby is so excited over the smocking on a tiny outfits, that it makes you realise that they all took this seriously and didn't skip any detail. I love that about this.
The portrayal of Scrooge comes closest to the book in that he changes with each Spirit he sees. In the other film versions, he mostly denies everything until he sees his own grave. Michael Caine captured the book version perfectly.
Agreed. And that helps gloss over the inevitability of the gravestone reveal. Is anyone ever surprised by that part of the story? And everyone dies, so what's the big deal? But the first two spirits humanized him so the third could expose his deepest fear: dying alone. My favorite part of the whole film is one tiny detail: Scrooge tries to get out of it by going to the wrong gravestone. Such a human touch.
@@sm5574 Ideally, the gravestone isn’t really meant to be surprising. It’s not death that Scrooge is afraid of, it’s dying alone and unloved especially when he’s shown the alternative of Bob Cratchit’s loving family mourning Tiny Tim. The gravestone is simply the final symbol that can’t be dismissed that Scrooge is left with.
One of my favorite movie moments is when Scrooge cracks the joke: "Imagine the grocery bills." You can tell it is the first time he has tried to connect with anybody in years.
There are so many moments like that which show just how much care went into every little detail. Near the start where Scrooge gets scared and accidentally attacks his dressing gown - then starts to tenderly apologize to it. It just goes to show how desperately isolated from humanity he has become
I also think it’s funny the first joke he makes in however long is still about money and how expensive it is. It does a good job of showing that money is always on his mind.
The line that always gets me is when he sees the future with Tiny Tim missing, and he says “How can we endure it?” Not “how can he endure it” (which alone would have shown that he finally found empathy) or “how can they endure it”, but “how can WE endure it”, because it includes him, and he connects himself to the Cratchit family.
That same line gets me too. He's never actually met Tiny Tim in person at this point, but now he can't dare imagine a future without him. A subtle use of words that creates a really poignant moment.
I didn’t know about Caine’s attitude towards the film but that makes me admire him 100% more. Nowadays the actors in Muppet movies ham it up (which has its own appeal, don’t get me wrong), but I feel like Caine treated this role with the gravitas it deserved and the Muppets likewise. Good for him.
He apparently didn’t know it was Brian Henson’s first Muppet film but went in with the intent of being as Shakespearean/serious as he could. Legit one of the best Scrooge performances out there
With Muppet Christmas Carol, you can tell the writers actually read the book. There's enough adaptations out there, I wouldn't be surprised if a number of them were based on other adaptations.
Read the book? Hell, they quote it in about half of the lines. all of Gonzo's narrations when he's not riffing with Rizzo are direct from the novel. not to mention Scrooge's quip to his old partners the Marleys come right out of the book.
I genuinely believe Charles Dickens would've loved this version. The soundtrack also deserves all applause. It's both lyrically and melodically perfect.
@@jenni5104 The only issue would be you’d have to show him some other Muppet media first so he’d understand more of the humor. After that, I’d love to see his reaction to the adaptation.
Something this movie does that I really appreciate is really hit the serious tone hard during the third ghost. They remove the comic relief that's kept our spirits up this whole time and force us to face the grim cold future that awaited Scrooge. It makes the whole end really hit hard.
But all that can easily be improved by the ghost chasing Scrooge with a horse carriage through the streets while Scrooge slides around on an icicle, all in 3D. No? Oh well maybe, just maybe Bob Zemeckis lost his touch. The Muppet version is and stays the best adaptation, period.
Michael Caine CARRIES this film. The past scene with his first love still makes me well up. It's a crime against humanity that they decided to cut the breakup scene in later releases because "durr, kids shouldn't feel sad."
@@zorakj I'm a film buff and generally prefer uncut/director's cut versions, and my sister and I 100% disagree, but in this case I really feel the "love is gone" number grinds the film to a screeching halt and is better left implied. All the things this video points out are generally stronger, and the shorter it is for kids, the better. But adults can watch it if they feel the need.
@@benvoliothefirst the song ain't great. But I think the link to the reprise at the end is almost worth it, and I quite like how it's shot. Festive AF. And the song's not THAT bad in my opinion.
I think the whole break-up really loses it's impact when the song is cut. Without it, it feels like Belle shows up and is gone before the audience has any time to get invested in their relationship. That's why it always seems weird to me to see Rizzo crying in the cut version.
Loved the scene where Gonzo falls from the carriage , onto his back yet sits up and continues to narrate . Rizo comments , "nothing breaks this guy's concentration " .
Every time I think of this movie, I'm reminded of my favorite little tidbit of trivia: Michael Caine was so enraptured by 'It Feels Like Christmas' that for even the tiny little errors in filming the sequence? He would offer/'request' to start over from the very beginning of the sequence that he might be able to go through the whole scene again.
I am 75 years old, and The Muppet Christmas Carol is still my favorite version of the tale. I watch it at least 2 or 3 times during the month of December every year.
The focus the movie brings to the relationship between Cratchit and Tiny Tim is especially beautiful when you remember that Kermit was seen by everyone at Muppet Studios as Jim Henson’s stand-in for himself, and was by all accounts very similar to him in personality and worldview (just a little more elevated, according to Henson himself). There’s an almost literal sense in which Muppet Christmas Carol was a way for Brian Henson to spend one last Christmas with his father, and that tenderness really shines through.
I think what I love best about this adaptation is that they really went for a full-on historical adaptation, more than most human-only versions. And for a movie that constantly breaks the 4th wall, it's amazing how much it draws in the audience.
I feel like this is the version that really sells Scrooge's redemption, more than any others. The "Thankful Heart" sequence just conveys such a feeling of "This is what it feels like to be good? Yes, more of it!", and the moment that always gets me is when he just drops by Fred's house. I do like the 1951 version too, but The Muppets version will always be my best.
His awkward little dance is so perfect because these creaky old bones haven't done a single happy thing in decades, and they're BAD at it. This is no "I've Got a Golden Ticket" where the bedridden old man can suddenly do a whole musical number all around the room, this is more.. "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank" where the decrepit old coot is being genuine but wobbling all over the place.
Well... it isn't about him redeeming himself, it is changing his perspective. The moral is you can be the sourly grump no one will bother to remember. Or the happy kind one people will speak of and remember fully... with heavy tones of it is never too late to change yourself (for the better).
Actually, i'd say it's a bit of both him changing his respective and redeeming himself. After all, the Marley and Marley song scene is a warning to him what will happen in the afterlife if he doesn't change his way! ''So have your fun, when life is done, a nightmare wait for you!''. So he's both saving his soul from damnation while also finaly finding happiness and joy in spending time with his loved ones and helping the ones who are in need.
the portrayal of the Ghost of Christmas Present really shines here, with his song and boisterous energy, really showing Scrooge the joy that can be shared with others. It really shows how those bright moments are to be cherished, and it's much appreciated after seeing Scrooge's looming regrets of his past and his fear of the future. Most others show this ghost as somewhat callous, trying to make scrooge feel guilty over how he treated the cratchits but I felt it wasn't as effective without first showing scrooge the happiness and joy first
You definitely understand why Scrooge gets so much out of the voyage Christmas Present takes him on. After Belle leaves him, and assuming other incarnations' showing Jacob dying and him being Scrooge's only "friend", him having only bitter feelings about Christmas is understandable. Everyone he ever let himself care about has left him, and usually it happened around X-mas. Christmas Present showing him what he could still connect with people and have that bring more to his life than what he'd lost was probably a revelation he never expected.
Just watched the film again last night, and it really struck me how this Ghost presented the Cratchits and their plight. He highlighted how they clearly loved each other and relished the season as much as their meager living allowed, but let Scrooge draw his own conclusions about that. He didn’t browbeat Scrooge, never implied, “This could be better if you weren’t such a jerk…” until the end of the scene with the Cratchits when he delivers Scrooge’s own words back to him (“if he’s going to die, he better do it” etc.) when Scrooge can finally understand the harshness of that statement. But the Ghost doesn’t turn cruel. He remains characteristically jovial and hopeful, and fades away reassuring Scrooge that he is prepared to face his final test. Far and away the best version of this ghost ever put to film.
@@deborahingle2301 This difference in the delivery of Scrooge's own words is best seen contrasting with the George C. Scott version. While Muppet looses something by forgoing the children (and Scott looses something in not pointing out that of the two Ignorance is to be feared more). Muppet shines by having the heretofore compassionate and jovial spirit use an affected dismissive huff to throw Scrooge's words in his face when Scrooge is feeling true compassionate pity. While Scott simply has the spirit have a palpable dislike for the man from the start and sneer Scrooge's words back to him at a simple moment of passing concern.
I've shared my thoughts on Present here and fully agree with your assessment, though all the spirits are on point in my opinion. Past is caring and somewhat pitying fully knowing what made him what he is. It is interesting to note that when Scrooge threatened to dismiss her before delivering her message she had a note of deep concern and in the end when he commanded her to leave she did. Hinting at refusing salvation was an option. Throughout their time together she was taking the role of guide and comforter only rebuking him (gently) when he tried to insinuate she had some kind of blame for the visions. Future is somewhat less than the powerful figure in the George C. Scott version yet the relentless, emotionless, responseless twisted, half formed humanoid visage is a force of its own and gives more of an emphasis on his death being a little noted thing contrasted with the deep emotion of Tiny Tim's passing rather than the "You're dead, your stuff is gone and that kid is dead too." of Scott.
This was ALWAYS a favorite of mine. Also, the lines from Scrouge's nephew "that certainly is true" and "that most certainly is NOT true" should be a meme.
Not only the best adaptation, but I would say, the most memorable sound track of the Christmas season. The french horns alone send you to a place of holiday serenity. At least they do for me.
@@angrytheclown801 Was about to say Scrooged is my fave version of A Christmas Carol too. Its cynicism is hilarious but it gives way to warm sentimentality. I well up every time Murray does the optimistic speech and the little boy speaks for the first time.
Also there’s some genuinely impressive puppetry; that final tracking shot with almost every muppet in the movie singing together?! I still wonder how many takes that took.
The Muppet Christmas Carol always was and will forever be my favorite adaptation. There are other good Christmas Carol movies, and they're probably more faithful to the exact text of the book, but nothing will ever match the charm of this version.
The framing of Scrooge's introduction is something I didn't catch. It very much makes him this looming twisted darkness for the rest of the cast. The shots are all stunning, but they serve an incredible purpose subconsciously!
Everything you put in your movie, even the smallest bit, can make or break the movie. Anybody who says a movie is just a movie clearly does not think about the effort that went into it!
So I actually went to the Muppet Christmas Carol Anniversary Panel at D23 this year. It was one of the best things I’ve ever got the privilege of sitting in on. Brian Henson, Dave Goelz, Paul Williams, and the lead costumer (I forget her name!) for that movie all spoke. There was so much respect and warmth when they regarded working on the film. Brian said that the crew felt so much like a family. I think the conditions in which this movie was made had a phenomenal impact on the end result. There’s so much love. Dave (Gonzo) said he never gets through the movie with dry eyes. They also had a laugh about how it has been voted the most accurate depiction. I’ve always loved this movie, but that experience made it so much more special somehow :) and let me tell you, seeing the muppet characters puppeteered live is mind-blowing. I love the damn muppets man.
The joy in Tiny Tim's gruff little voice when he sees the Goose roasting over the fire is one of the few moments in film which always makes me well up with tears. Great film.
I also adore how the sad violin music plays at times very quietly when Scrooge does something mean. Like when he shouts down the homeless rabbit. The music and score in general shows that on some level, Scrooge was not only mean, he was lonely and sad (I know they joke about this in the opening song but the music makes it more than a joke). Also for me, the ghost of the future being a void is not just a symptom of death, it’s an incarnation of fear of the unknown. Scrooge is realising two things: that the future is both inescapable but totally unknowable. In the books there’s more of a hint that this is about what happens after we die (go to hell?) although the film only lightly touches on this in the Marley Brothers ghost scene. For me as an atheist, no meaning is really lost, the future is still scary and unknowable: what will people think of me, did I make the world better or worse, would I be proud of ashamed of myself when I look at my life as a whole after I die? Also the idea of a faceless person maps close to the fear that when I die, there is nothing left, no person, no memories, no feelings. The faceless shroud who doesn’t speak is a terrifyingly accurate metaphors for the fear of death, and sets up nicely the realisation that what is left behind is your influence on the wider world. I will die but my good deeds and love for others can live on, and also make my current life more meaningful to boot.
I've always been haunted by how, in the book, when Marley leaves, Scrooge sees the crowd of ghosts in the street, and they're miserable because now, after selfish lives, all they want to do is help people, but they can't. There was something so powerfully lonely about that fate. Something pleading for Scrooge to take perspective before he dies. I'm amazed the movie could ignore that scene and still have us reach that perfect conclusion.
Scrooge yelling about how the poor might as well die has such a note of nihilistic anger. He hates that they're in such a terrible condition and wants it to end, he just isn't willing to do anything about it (and quite rightly knows he can't do that much about it in a broad sense, he basically already is by paying his taxes as he points out). It's something you say when life just isn't fair and you're mad about it, but selfishly mad that it's suddenly your problem when you feel like you didn't make any mistakes.
Also - there’s a faint leitmotif that’s a minor key version of “Good King Wenceslas”. Y’know, the story of a king who sees a poor man struggling on a cold night, and orders his servants to send the man some of the food from the Christmas feast?
When I first read the description of the dementers in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this version of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is what came to mind.
I find that very funny as I watched this the other night with my brother and sister-in-law who had never seen it before and she said they looked just like a dementer
Me too!! I first read the Harry Potter books (four at the time) before the were movies released. A Muppet Christmas Carol was also instrumental in adding another Harry Potter character's image for me. Not only did the Dementors in my imagination look like the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, but I also imagined Hagrid as looking like the Ghost of Christmas Present!
I always feel like there's a German Expressionist feel to the shots and sets too - the way Scrooge is framed and also, the wonkiness and skewed perspective of the Crachitt's street in particular. It's just such a beautifully made film in so so many ways
@Melody Phelan-Clark - I hadn't considered that German Expressionist link before, but you are absolutely correct. The layers of this film just keep developing!
@@inframeout Just what I thought I'd never ask for but suddenly want as a present: _A Christmas Carol_ but with Dr. Caligari in place of Scrooge. *IT!.....COULD!......WORK!*
@@nicholastosoni707 especially since we can take Caligari as a stand in for an authoritarian fascist. What trauma has led him to force a young man to bend his will while sleeping?? Only the ghost of Christmas past knows...
I never thought about the implications of almost everyone in Scrooge's life being a Muppet as symbolic of Scrooge's mindset, but that is a keen observation and a new reason to love this movie! The Marley brothers song is a lot darker than I remembered as a kid. I remember it being funny and sort of scary, but my appreciation for the lyrics has only grown as I've gotten older.
Nice review! I agree, The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of the best adaptions of Dickens' famous work. Take note of the ending: "Nice story Mister Dickens," says Rizzo. "Thanks," replies Gonzo. "If you liked that you should read the book."
I gotta admit, I never thought of the whole Muppets casting as an allegory to how Scrooge sees the people around him. That's an interesting angle to consider. By the way, did you know that the dog throwing snowballs in the beginning of the movie was Sprocket, from Fraggle Rock? And the old guy who starts the song "Scrooge" is in fact, George the janitor from the first season of the Muppet Show?
Historical fashion TH-camrs say it has the most accurate costumes of any version. Just looking at the sets, as much as they're scaled down, they're some of the most accurate I've seen in _any_ period piece (most have too much space and aren't cramped enough). Even the snow and ice are notably well-done. Everyone involved just did an amazingly good job.
4:35 It's such a little thing, but I love the way Gonzo says "He was a Tightfisted hand to the Grindstone Scrooge..." He just just so much relish and expression into it, and it's seriously my favorite thing.
I watch this film nearly every Christmas. I'm not even a Christian, but there is a "Christmas spirit" and nothing encapsulates it better from what I've seen than this film. Great music and beautiful emotion. The Henson company maybe doesn't have the biggest budget but they've been creating masterpieces with so much depth to them and respect for the source material they're adapting for so long.
i love the way they portray the spirits in the muppets version. the ghost of christmas present is happy enough to affect even scrooge, and he's so focused on what's happening in the moment that he has no memory of the past and no sight into the future. the ghost of christmas yet to come shows off how the style of the muppets can actually be used in more ways than just comedy. its design is so strange, with an empty hood and extremely long arms, it presents itself in a calm way but still comes off as imposing
So for probably longer than I’d like to admit, I didn’t realize there were sections of A Christmas Carol that Muppet Christmas Carol didn’t use (Belle having a large and happy family, Ignorance and Want, etc). And the more I thought about it after watching other adaptations, the more it made me appreciate Muppet Christmas Carol for adapting the way it did. Sometimes, yes, matching the book works better, but sometimes the writer was paid by the word and it’s more economical to have Belle sing a devastating song (that Jeffrey Katzenberg apparently hated and that’s why it wasn’t in the theatrical cut) and for Scrooge to watch his new friend fade into nothingness.
Is that why it's not been in the on-TV/DVD version but my tape still happily has it?? I need to preserve that because I cannot do a Caddicarus and rip it to blu-ray....
@@Roadent1241 Yeah, the compromise was that the scene could be restored for home video releases. The problem was though that after the VHS release, Disney lost the film the scene was on and weren’t able to add it back in for future upscales for like 20 years. So if you had the DVD version, the “complete” version was only available if you selected full screen. Brian Henson confirmed last year that Disney found it while working on a bluray upscale of the film, but there’s been no confirmed release date. And to think this could have been avoided if Jeffrey Katzenberg had any sense.
@@Roadent1241 As Ashley just said, it's a good thing they found the footage last year! My guess is that they're going to add it in 2022 because it'll be the 30th anniversary of the movie, so when they showcase the 4k remaster, the scene will be included there and for streaming. I was SO hoping they would've added it this year! Since I already have a copy on DVD with the scene included, I ripped that to my computer, but it'll be nice to have the fully remastered version eventually!
@@DP-nl4uq Yeah. Katzenberg apparently would get freaked out about emotionally sincere moments in children’s films (he and the creative team of Little Mermaid nearly came to blows over ‘Part of Your World’ because there was too much “wiggling” from kids during that part of a test screening), so I hope we’ll get the fully remastered version soon. ‘The Love We Found’ is so much more emotionally resonant with the song still in the film tbh.
Really excellent, touching review. I think the commitment by all parties into making it a genuine gothic horror in places works fantastically. Seeing the Muppets in a serious, dangerous setting is actually deeply unnerving. I've always personally loved that Scrooge was a flesh and blood man as it made the Muppets seem like 2nd class citizens or an underclass - which is something you'd never normally consider (if anything the Muppets are usually the vibrant stars in contrast to their human co-stars). Again, I assume this was entirely intentional and is kinda dark and unexpected.
Actually, one of the things that I really appreciate about this movie, is how seamlessly and naturalistically they integrate the muppet and human cast. Like literally the only time they even draw attention to the fact that some of the actors are strange felt creatures is when Rizzo calls Gonzo out after he insists on being Charles Dickens. (a blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat? Absolutely!) I’m pretty sure the sets were even scaled down slightly from real life, so they could realistically accomodate both humans and muppets.
My family and I watch this film every year during the Holiday Season - it's our favorite Christmas Movie! So happy to see you giving this film the attention it deserves. Excellent work, and looking forward to seeing more from you!
This is ironic at 10:46 "Henson and company are trusting children's emotional intelligence rather than codling them." Then they remove one of the most emotional songs in the whole movie. Thankfully sense prevailed and they are reinstating it.
I think Jerry Nelson's performance as Tiny Tim carries such an important piece of the film and his song in particular is always where I end up getting the most emotional. I recently learned that Jerry Nelson's daughter had cystic fibrosis and died pretty young from it (in her teens, I think) and while rewatching Muppet Christmas Carol this year I was struck by that connection. He had a real gift for conveying emotional depth through song and he really delivers in Tiny Tim's song "Bless Us All". It might be the most important scene in the film truly, and I love that bc it is the Muppets it is able to go to an emotional place that I think would be much harder to pull off with a cast of actors. Jerry Nelson also voiced the Ghost of Christmas Present so he really carried a lot of the middle part of the film, he is stellar in both roles. (His greatest performance however is in my opinion is Marjorie the Trash Heap on Fraggle Rock, as well as Gobo of course :D)
Jerry Nelson's Robin (the little frog Muppet used for the character of Tiny Tim) was always a gem. So gentle and sweet. In my opinion Nelson was the most versatile performer of the original Muppet crew. Even in this film you see him portraying Tiny Tim and the Ghost of Christmas Past in the same scenes (through the magic of editing, of course).
@@weebunny I totally agree that he was the most versatile and I think possibly the most underrated, in some ways I think bc of his versatility (many of the other performers are easier to recognize from character to character, Jerry's characters are more varied). Jim always said that he could really rely on Jerry to give a great vocal performance while singing in particular and his impressive range is seen clearly in A Muppet Christmas Carol. For him to go from the booming jolly Ghost of Christmas Present to the childlike wonder and innocence of Tiny Tim is incredible. I think he also really shines on Fraggle Rock, a lot of what Jim and the writers created for that show was built around what they knew Jerry could deliver as the lead. Many of Gobo's songs remind me a lot of Robin/Tiny TIm in their innocence and vulnerability that is rooted in a very real place. His other two characters, Marjorie the Trash Heap and Papa Gorg again show what an impressive range he had. He was such a special part of the Muppet team.
My mother isn’t a fan of Muppet movies, but she agreed to watch it when I told her how sweet it was, and she admitted it was the best Muppet Movie she had watched.
I have a theory for why this movie goes so far into building a completely believable Victorian London that happens to have Muppets living in it, and that's that it's directed by a man who wasn't really sure if he wanted to be making Muppet movies. Brian Henson had had a... Complicated relationship with his father; Jim was so invested in his various projects that he didn't set aside a lot of time to raise his children. His passing in 1990 meant Brian could never really have that cathartic reconciliation you see in movies about absentee fathers and their sons. Forced to grapple with that and being handed the keys to the kingdom, well, he tried to fit the Muppets into the things he was really passionate about. And this was the result. I don't expect to get much engagement on this; I don't think most people like looking at Jim Henson through a "warts and all" frame.
"It Feels Like Christmas" is, to this day, one of my favorite Christmas songs. More than so many saccharine, empty "christmas" songs that we hear over and over every year, it truly encapsulates why EVERYONE should feel free to approach Christmas. Forget "last Christmas". Give me It Feels Like Christmas every year!
What you say about it being accessible but not overly simplified resonated a lot! I had this film on vhs as a kid and I loved the mix of earnestness, humor with actual message and some bits of horror! I always hated children's media that underestimated kids abilities to engage with difficult or dark topics, so this in contrast felt like a dream come true to me!
I love THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL and watch it faithfully every year. Michael Caine's take on the role is so effective as he keeps things anchored to the reality of Victorian London. The actual quotes from the Dicken's book are spot on and the entire feeling is mostly dark and frightening with only a few bright spots. The audience is brought along on a voyage of self-discovery with Scrooge and come out to a joyous ending changed people themselves. I learned very good lessons from this movie as a child. Thank you for your work in bringing this classic tale back to us.
Michael Caine: *treats muppets like shakespherean actors* Tim Curry: *becomes muppet* These two completely opposite methodologies are why Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island are two of my favorite flicks.
There's a moment that I remember from this film that outshines all else for me. Part of Scrooge looking in on 'Christmas yet to come' for Cratchit includes Bob C coming home and saying to his wife, 'I found a good place, up above, facing the river. Remember how he loved to watch the ducks?' He's found something good to recall even in the placement of Tiny Tim's grave.
Michael Caine absolutely rocked as Scrooge. He plays both a cold-hearted tyrant at the start, but melts as the story unfolds into a warm, loving person.
I watched this movie this christmas for the first time in a while and I never fully realised before that there's a new Ghost of Christmas Present for EVERY christmas, which is just such a great way of showing how every single christmas is an individual experience (which is very comforting when you have a bad one 😅)
What a beautiful, eloquent critique of my second favorite Christmas movie, as I watch this video wearing my "Light the lamp, not the rat!" tshirt. I wouldn't be surprised if this where Rowling got the idea for the Dementors.
Something I noticed on my yearly watch this year is why the Ghost of Christmas Present is so happy is because at one point he says, "My head is filled with the now," meaning that he doesn't worry about the future, he doesn't dwell on the past, he only thinks about the present.
It is our family tradition to watch this every Christmas Eve (since there’s only one more sleep till Christmas) and each year we find another bit of wonder to note. This year: “life is made of greetings and partings. That is the way of it.” This line is not from the text but should have been. It is so Dickensian anyway, but it elegantly lifts Father Cratchet to a position of authority in his own home that the next line offers the comfort of a loving parent. It is a step up from the resignation of a beleaguered clerk that might be seen in the original. Thanks for giving validation to what we’ve been seeing for the past 15 years.
I can't argue that. They created magic with this one. I saw it at a small town movie theatre with my son when he was 4 years old. It was the day after Christmas 1992 and there were just a few others in the audience. I have never forgotten it and now I watch it every Christmas on TV. Treasure island was the other great one.
One of the best parts about Michael Caine's performance is that he (almost) never blinks during the whole film. It really sends home the contrast that they were going for, and these kinds of details make me love this movie to death.
I grew up with reruns of the original series and the 80s movies. I was 13 when this one came out, just at the age where I didn't want to hang around my little brother anymore, but when my mom asked me to take him to this movie that was ok. Still one of my favorites. The tops for me has to be Muppets Take Manhattan, since it came out when I was younger and I attach it to a bunch of nostalgic crap. It's all pretty silly and funny and for some reason the Kermit with amnesia finally getting his memory back resolution gets to me big time. Beaker is by far the best muppet as he never has to say anything to be hilarious.
I saw something once that said ‘Michael Caine works well because he treats the muppets like actors, and Tim curry works because he treats himself like a muppet’ and gosh that’s so true
I agree that this is the best adaptation of the source material. Love Michael Caine's acting in this, he is performing alongside the Muppets with total sincerity, I think that's great!
My favourite Christmas film. I had it on video when it came out and it was one of my “watch repeatedly and somehow never get bored” films as a kid. I love that it doesn’t shy away from the horror of the story and as you say, try to coddle or patronise kids which many films today do. Such a beautiful, joyful film. Love this review. Btw my favourite characters will always be Beaker and Bean the bunny
Agreed. Why are they patronizing kids today? I just don't get it! Like Robin Williams once said they are little people you don't have to play down to them you just play to them!
one of my favorite Christmas movies as well. Had the VHS tape with the song that shows Belle and Scrooge breaking up. It was a tradition for my family to watch it every Christmas Eve, especially so we could all sing, "There's only One more sleep til Christmas"
I have never seen a Christmas movie with so much emotion, humor, wittiness, fun music, and most of all, heart. This isn’t just a good Christmas movie, this is a masterpiece of film.
I remember going to see this in the theatre as a kid and loving it. I can’t go through the holidays without watching it at least once. I love all things Muppet, but I think this is my favorite!
It is wild how fundamental of a story A Christmas Carol is. It basically invented the modern Christmas fantasy, horror fantasy, and is simultaneously a political and religious statement. Truly monumental.
This is my favorite version of Christmas Carol, saw it in the theater, and I remember being blinded by the light when he opened the bed curtains to meet the Ghost of Christmas Past. And I have cried every time I have watched it
For me the most critical lyric of all is 'Old Scrooge, he likes his money, cause he thinks it gives him power'. THINKS it does. And it gives him a kind of power, but the story is about the deeper, truer power that comes from love.
Another example of why the 1980s thorugh the 1990s into the early 2000s was such a glorious time, was the wide availability of home media for the general populace. As well as preservation and syndiciton of older media, thus making it easier to see reruns of the 1970s Muppet Show by the late 80s and early 90s, as well as vhs of things as far back as the 1910s onwards. The Muppet Christmas Carol is easily in the al ltime Top 10 best versions of the classic holiday story, along with the Mickey Christmas Carol, The 2009 Jim Carrey CGI full film, and a number of others like the one with Patrick Stewart, the love action 80s version, as well as two or three others from the 60s and 70s on stage and television. Great video and way to tell it like it is! Happy new year and be well ^
I'm a 2000 baby with 90s siblings and an 80s dad, so I grew up with this and it's one of those films you don't understand thefull weight of until you're older
As a kid I never even realized the Marley brothers were being dragged down to hell. I was terrified enough by the idea of being bound by the chains of your own sins.
I’ve argued with people for years about this and no one ever agrees with me. I’d essentially decided that it whichever version you see first is your favorite. It’s encouraging to see so many people here in the comments and the video itself explain why it’s the best.
This is by far my most favorite adaption of A Christmas Carol; the story is wonderfully told and appeals to all audiences. Scrooge's journey is so well told, and the life change at the end is always inspirational every time I watch it. This movie is a staple in our home for each Christmas season.
I've thought this for a while now. Nice to see a talented YouTubist articulate why! I've been hunting for a non-muppet version that's half as good, but so far they all come up short. After watching this video, I think I can just give up on that search and fully embrace the Muppets. After all, Dickens wrote the story with a childlike playfulness that you can detect on the first page if you just read it like a storyteller talking to a group of kids.
As far as I'm aware, the only home video release of the film to both be in widescreen AND include the extra song "When Love Is Gone" was the original laserdisc. A few years ago, someone was kind enough to share a rip of that disc online and that's the version I watch every year now.
I don't recall if my VHS tape as a kid was widescreen (my guess would be no, as I can't think of a single VHS that was) but it had the song! I was so confused by it being cut in other versions. I get that it's sad and brings the pacing down a bit, but its absence makes it hard to understand just how deeply devastating that moment was to Scrooge, and why he and Rizzo are both damn-near sobbing as Belle walks away.
Yes! Best adaptation, best muppet film, best Michael Caine performance... love this commentary! I've been saying these things for 30 years...thank you 😊
This is the best interpretation of Marley’s ghost as a concept. Not only does the puppetry and use of aggressively pulling chains enhance the idea of miserable imprisonment, but the fact they shudder after one of their statements, showing they can’t even escape their guilt through dark or mean humor is just a whole different level of morbid, especially if you know that’s all Statler and Waldorf(The Marley stand-ins) have. It gives the sense that the next life spurns their very existence
We just finished our annual viewing, and it never loses it's holiday glow. My wife was a high school English teacher for years, and she showed THIS version when she taught Dickens' story. Loved this video and commentary.
Michael Caine is an actor that broke many molds. It is fitting he took on this role and gave it the weight it needed with the whimsical aura of the Muppets
Let us know what your favourite Muppet movie is and - more importantly - who is the best Muppet?
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The best Muppet is Kermit, because he's the glue that keeps everyone together. My *favorite* Muppet (currently anyway) is Sweetums
Muppet Treasure Island
Muppet Treasure Island and Muppet Christmas carrol ar the best movies. Rizzo is my favorite muppet. But yeah.. dead now :(
This one takes the cake as numero uno. I love Animal
I've always been a huge Gonzo fan, and this movie is a big part of the reason why. Not only is it my favorite Muppet movie, but I think it really gives Gonzo a chance to shine as "Charles Dickens"--he's still the same theatrical, cheerfully ridiculous daredevil he's always been, but there's a real heart and soul to him as well in just how invested he is in telling the story and getting Rizzo and the audience to experience it with him. There was a video I watched recently that said Gonzo has the potential to become just as important and moving as Kermit, and... not gonna lie, I could see it. :)
Michael Caine played the role so convincingly that when he says ‘this is Fozziwig’s old rubber chicken factory’ I actually forget that the original story didn’t involve a rubber chicken factory.
That is my favorite line in the whole movie. It cracks me up.
So did I 😊
Sir Michael Caine yelling at Kermit is wonderful.
I considered that exact fact about an hour ago while watching.
It didn't?
I heard somebody online once say that A Muppet Christmas Carol works great, because Michael Caine is acting like a committed actor, while Treasure Island is great because Tim Curry acts like a muppet. It's two incredible performances from two incredible stars.
Michael Caine treats the Muppets like fellow actors, while Tim Curry treats himself like a fellow muppet.
I saw someone once said that "the Muppets could do a Tarantino film, but Tarantino couldn't do a Muppet movie", and I absolutely agree.
The funniest part is that Tarantino actually appears in a Muppet movie and probably one of the weaker ones - Muppets' Wizard of Oz.
@@stilljamming I’d say his cameo in that is the best part of that movie
Happytime Murders is basically a Tarantino-ish Muppet movie, and it's terrible.
Happytime Murders is legitimately one of the worst films I've ever seen
@@inframeout and sadly directed by the same guy who directed Muppet Christmas Carol
Also, fun fact, the costumes of the film are more historically accurate than many period dramas. Abby Cox has an excellent video essay on this
I recently saw that after publishing this and couldn't believe the level of detail and faithful recreation that went into the costumes
@@inframeout Amazing how well this movie turned out despite Henson's death. Hard to imagine how much better it would have been with Henson alive
Loved Abby's vídeo sience I AM a fan of Henson's works and the costumes for the puppets are allways súper elaborate
Yes, Abby is so excited over the smocking on a tiny outfits, that it makes you realise that they all took this seriously and didn't skip any detail. I love that about this.
Yesssss I really liked the costumes. Even as someone who isn’t very familiar with all of that, it felt so authentic
The portrayal of Scrooge comes closest to the book in that he changes with each Spirit he sees. In the other film versions, he mostly denies everything until he sees his own grave. Michael Caine captured the book version perfectly.
Agreed, it's very clear Past breaks him down, Present changes him and Future ensures he stays that way.
Agreed. And that helps gloss over the inevitability of the gravestone reveal. Is anyone ever surprised by that part of the story? And everyone dies, so what's the big deal? But the first two spirits humanized him so the third could expose his deepest fear: dying alone.
My favorite part of the whole film is one tiny detail: Scrooge tries to get out of it by going to the wrong gravestone. Such a human touch.
@@sm5574 Ideally, the gravestone isn’t really meant to be surprising. It’s not death that Scrooge is afraid of, it’s dying alone and unloved especially when he’s shown the alternative of Bob Cratchit’s loving family mourning Tiny Tim.
The gravestone is simply the final symbol that can’t be dismissed that Scrooge is left with.
@@jacobb5484, I agree, but it doesn't come across that way in many adaptations.
@@sm5574 I caught that gravestone detail too watching it today. Michael Caine makes such great choices as an actor. Brilliant
One of my favorite movie moments is when Scrooge cracks the joke: "Imagine the grocery bills." You can tell it is the first time he has tried to connect with anybody in years.
There are so many moments like that which show just how much care went into every little detail. Near the start where Scrooge gets scared and accidentally attacks his dressing gown - then starts to tenderly apologize to it. It just goes to show how desperately isolated from humanity he has become
I also think it’s funny the first joke he makes in however long is still about money and how expensive it is. It does a good job of showing that money is always on his mind.
The line that always gets me is when he sees the future with Tiny Tim missing, and he says “How can we endure it?” Not “how can he endure it” (which alone would have shown that he finally found empathy) or “how can they endure it”, but “how can WE endure it”, because it includes him, and he connects himself to the Cratchit family.
That same line gets me too. He's never actually met Tiny Tim in person at this point, but now he can't dare imagine a future without him. A subtle use of words that creates a really poignant moment.
In the book, he said, "Tremendous family to provide for!"
I didn’t know about Caine’s attitude towards the film but that makes me admire him 100% more. Nowadays the actors in Muppet movies ham it up (which has its own appeal, don’t get me wrong), but I feel like Caine treated this role with the gravitas it deserved and the Muppets likewise. Good for him.
Still to this day he considers it one of his finest works - and one he watches every year with his grandchildren :)
@@inframeout That is adorable to know. I love him even more, now.
@@OhWellBananas Same.
@@inframeout Groovy, thanks for the info
He apparently didn’t know it was Brian Henson’s first Muppet film but went in with the intent of being as Shakespearean/serious as he could.
Legit one of the best Scrooge performances out there
With Muppet Christmas Carol, you can tell the writers actually read the book. There's enough adaptations out there, I wouldn't be surprised if a number of them were based on other adaptations.
Read the book? Hell, they quote it in about half of the lines. all of Gonzo's narrations when he's not riffing with Rizzo are direct from the novel.
not to mention Scrooge's quip to his old partners the Marleys come right out of the book.
@@jaymetzner Yeah, several times they say lines from the original book word-for-word.
I genuinely believe Charles Dickens would've loved this version. The soundtrack also deserves all applause. It's both lyrically and melodically perfect.
@@jenni5104 Dickens was such a family man, so I agree he'd mosr likely dig this kid-friendly adaptation. ❤
@@jenni5104 The only issue would be you’d have to show him some other Muppet media first so he’d understand more of the humor. After that, I’d love to see his reaction to the adaptation.
Something this movie does that I really appreciate is really hit the serious tone hard during the third ghost. They remove the comic relief that's kept our spirits up this whole time and force us to face the grim cold future that awaited Scrooge. It makes the whole end really hit hard.
My youngest son, now 21, is still creeped out by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come...
But all that can easily be improved by the ghost chasing Scrooge with a horse carriage through the streets while Scrooge slides around on an icicle, all in 3D. No? Oh well maybe, just maybe Bob Zemeckis lost his touch. The Muppet version is and stays the best adaptation, period.
@@clogs4956 I’m 21 as well and am still scared of him. He would make me cry when I was little lol.
@@clogs4956 I had one specific nightmare as a kid where that thing was after me in an abandoned church
@@jgriffin9084 scary squared...
Michael Caine CARRIES this film. The past scene with his first love still makes me well up. It's a crime against humanity that they decided to cut the breakup scene in later releases because "durr, kids shouldn't feel sad."
I assumed they cut it because that song is unendurable. The DVD version has the option to view that scene.
@@zorakj I'm a film buff and generally prefer uncut/director's cut versions, and my sister and I 100% disagree, but in this case I really feel the "love is gone" number grinds the film to a screeching halt and is better left implied. All the things this video points out are generally stronger, and the shorter it is for kids, the better. But adults can watch it if they feel the need.
@@benvoliothefirst the song ain't great. But I think the link to the reprise at the end is almost worth it, and I quite like how it's shot. Festive AF. And the song's not THAT bad in my opinion.
I think the whole break-up really loses it's impact when the song is cut. Without it, it feels like Belle shows up and is gone before the audience has any time to get invested in their relationship. That's why it always seems weird to me to see Rizzo crying in the cut version.
@@snowangelnc I agree that the break up suffers from losing the scene, so I’m glad it’s still on the dvd if people want to see it.
Loved the scene where Gonzo falls from the carriage , onto his back yet sits up and continues to narrate . Rizo comments , "nothing breaks this guy's concentration " .
"He ain't hurt. Didn't even break his concentration."
@@byMidnyt Couldn't locate the clip for an exact quote "at the time" .
@@byMidnyt
"Hmm?" "Nutin' "
It makes me laugh everytime.
@@thehelmethead4883 It really is perfection, is it not?
@@thehelmethead4883how does he do dat?
Every time I think of this movie, I'm reminded of my favorite little tidbit of trivia: Michael Caine was so enraptured by 'It Feels Like Christmas' that for even the tiny little errors in filming the sequence? He would offer/'request' to start over from the very beginning of the sequence that he might be able to go through the whole scene again.
This trivia has melted every icicle from my heart
This delights me to no end.
I am 75 years old, and The Muppet Christmas Carol is still my favorite version of the tale. I watch it at least 2 or 3 times during the month of December every year.
And I watch the lighting of the rat (not the lamp!) multiple times each December.
The focus the movie brings to the relationship between Cratchit and Tiny Tim is especially beautiful when you remember that Kermit was seen by everyone at Muppet Studios as Jim Henson’s stand-in for himself, and was by all accounts very similar to him in personality and worldview (just a little more elevated, according to Henson himself). There’s an almost literal sense in which Muppet Christmas Carol was a way for Brian Henson to spend one last Christmas with his father, and that tenderness really shines through.
I think what I love best about this adaptation is that they really went for a full-on historical adaptation, more than most human-only versions. And for a movie that constantly breaks the 4th wall, it's amazing how much it draws in the audience.
Calling Gonzo and Rizzo a Greek Chorus lands why. Because they are the only source of thefourth wall break, it doesn't feel jarring but expected
@@TheXasti Light the lamp, not the rat!
I feel like this is the version that really sells Scrooge's redemption, more than any others. The "Thankful Heart" sequence just conveys such a feeling of "This is what it feels like to be good? Yes, more of it!", and the moment that always gets me is when he just drops by Fred's house. I do like the 1951 version too, but The Muppets version will always be my best.
His awkward little dance is so perfect because these creaky old bones haven't done a single happy thing in decades, and they're BAD at it. This is no "I've Got a Golden Ticket" where the bedridden old man can suddenly do a whole musical number all around the room, this is more.. "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank" where the decrepit old coot is being genuine but wobbling all over the place.
Well... it isn't about him redeeming himself, it is changing his perspective. The moral is you can be the sourly grump no one will bother to remember. Or the happy kind one people will speak of and remember fully... with heavy tones of it is never too late to change yourself (for the better).
Actually, i'd say it's a bit of both him changing his respective and redeeming himself. After all, the Marley and Marley song scene is a warning to him what will happen in the afterlife if he doesn't change his way! ''So have your fun, when life is done, a nightmare wait for you!''. So he's both saving his soul from damnation while also finaly finding happiness and joy in spending time with his loved ones and helping the ones who are in need.
So much better than the Jim Carrey version, that's for sure!
the portrayal of the Ghost of Christmas Present really shines here, with his song and boisterous energy, really showing Scrooge the joy that can be shared with others. It really shows how those bright moments are to be cherished, and it's much appreciated after seeing Scrooge's looming regrets of his past and his fear of the future. Most others show this ghost as somewhat callous, trying to make scrooge feel guilty over how he treated the cratchits but I felt it wasn't as effective without first showing scrooge the happiness and joy first
You definitely understand why Scrooge gets so much out of the voyage Christmas Present takes him on. After Belle leaves him, and assuming other incarnations' showing Jacob dying and him being Scrooge's only "friend", him having only bitter feelings about Christmas is understandable. Everyone he ever let himself care about has left him, and usually it happened around X-mas. Christmas Present showing him what he could still connect with people and have that bring more to his life than what he'd lost was probably a revelation he never expected.
Just watched the film again last night, and it really struck me how this Ghost presented the Cratchits and their plight. He highlighted how they clearly loved each other and relished the season as much as their meager living allowed, but let Scrooge draw his own conclusions about that. He didn’t browbeat Scrooge, never implied, “This could be better if you weren’t such a jerk…” until the end of the scene with the Cratchits when he delivers Scrooge’s own words back to him (“if he’s going to die, he better do it” etc.) when Scrooge can finally understand the harshness of that statement. But the Ghost doesn’t turn cruel. He remains characteristically jovial and hopeful, and fades away reassuring Scrooge that he is prepared to face his final test. Far and away the best version of this ghost ever put to film.
@@deborahingle2301 This difference in the delivery of Scrooge's own words is best seen contrasting with the George C. Scott version. While Muppet looses something by forgoing the children (and Scott looses something in not pointing out that of the two Ignorance is to be feared more). Muppet shines by having the heretofore compassionate and jovial spirit use an affected dismissive huff to throw Scrooge's words in his face when Scrooge is feeling true compassionate pity. While Scott simply has the spirit have a palpable dislike for the man from the start and sneer Scrooge's words back to him at a simple moment of passing concern.
@@DragonmanX90 Yes, the order is important to the journey as he must first remember what he had and once felt for the loss to mean anything.
I've shared my thoughts on Present here and fully agree with your assessment, though all the spirits are on point in my opinion.
Past is caring and somewhat pitying fully knowing what made him what he is. It is interesting to note that when Scrooge threatened to dismiss her before delivering her message she had a note of deep concern and in the end when he commanded her to leave she did. Hinting at refusing salvation was an option. Throughout their time together she was taking the role of guide and comforter only rebuking him (gently) when he tried to insinuate she had some kind of blame for the visions.
Future is somewhat less than the powerful figure in the George C. Scott version yet the relentless, emotionless, responseless twisted, half formed humanoid visage is a force of its own and gives more of an emphasis on his death being a little noted thing contrasted with the deep emotion of Tiny Tim's passing rather than the "You're dead, your stuff is gone and that kid is dead too." of Scott.
This was ALWAYS a favorite of mine.
Also, the lines from Scrouge's nephew "that certainly is true" and "that most certainly is NOT true" should be a meme.
As should his niece's "is this an _unwanted_ creature?"
YAS, that definitely needs to be a meme!
Not only the best adaptation, but I would say, the most memorable sound track of the Christmas season. The french horns alone send you to a place of holiday serenity. At least they do for me.
I’d seriously just listen to an isolated sound track if they ever did one.
@@tomboz777 Great news!
@@hydeandseek8428 pray tell sir!
"Accessibility isn't the same thing as dumbing down." THANK YOU. Also, I'm totally stealing that.
I can’t agree more. THIS, in my opinion, is easily the best Christmas Carol media ever made
This is culture.
Scrooged is mine, but when I want sentimentality vs cynicism, it sure hits the spot.
@@angrytheclown801 Was about to say Scrooged is my fave version of A Christmas Carol too. Its cynicism is hilarious but it gives way to warm sentimentality. I well up every time Murray does the optimistic speech and the little boy speaks for the first time.
@@richardrichard688 I think it's because they show here and there he is a good person under the act. Like trying to save the waiter on "fire."
It's the best Christmas film, period.
Also there’s some genuinely impressive puppetry; that final tracking shot with almost every muppet in the movie singing together?! I still wonder how many takes that took.
It's some of the best ensemble work the company has ever done
The Muppet Christmas Carol always was and will forever be my favorite adaptation. There are other good Christmas Carol movies, and they're probably more faithful to the exact text of the book, but nothing will ever match the charm of this version.
The framing of Scrooge's introduction is something I didn't catch. It very much makes him this looming twisted darkness for the rest of the cast. The shots are all stunning, but they serve an incredible purpose subconsciously!
Why didn't you catch it?
@@nicolenewsome4863 People are allowed to learn things, Nicole. Kermit the frog says, "Don't be a twatwaffle!"
Everything you put in your movie, even the smallest bit, can make or break the movie. Anybody who says a movie is just a movie clearly does not think about the effort that went into it!
Breaks me when he joins in singing with Bella “The Love Is Gone”. Here is a man devastated by regret.
So I actually went to the Muppet Christmas Carol Anniversary Panel at D23 this year. It was one of the best things I’ve ever got the privilege of sitting in on. Brian Henson, Dave Goelz, Paul Williams, and the lead costumer (I forget her name!) for that movie all spoke. There was so much respect and warmth when they regarded working on the film. Brian said that the crew felt so much like a family. I think the conditions in which this movie was made had a phenomenal impact on the end result. There’s so much love. Dave (Gonzo) said he never gets through the movie with dry eyes. They also had a laugh about how it has been voted the most accurate depiction. I’ve always loved this movie, but that experience made it so much more special somehow :) and let me tell you, seeing the muppet characters puppeteered live is mind-blowing. I love the damn muppets man.
This is the wholesome, lovely stuff I live for
I think the fact Michael Caine wanted to address the puppets like real people made this film so much more special. He is truly a great actor
I’ve heard that just about anybody who has interacted in some way with the muppets say that you can’t help but do that
The joy in Tiny Tim's gruff little voice when he sees the Goose roasting over the fire is one of the few moments in film which always makes me well up with tears. Great film.
Jerry Nelson had a knack for providing the sincere emotional grounding in Muppet stuff, be it as Gobo Fraggle, or here as Robin the Frog as Tiny Tim
I also adore how the sad violin music plays at times very quietly when Scrooge does something mean. Like when he shouts down the homeless rabbit. The music and score in general shows that on some level, Scrooge was not only mean, he was lonely and sad (I know they joke about this in the opening song but the music makes it more than a joke).
Also for me, the ghost of the future being a void is not just a symptom of death, it’s an incarnation of fear of the unknown. Scrooge is realising two things: that the future is both inescapable but totally unknowable. In the books there’s more of a hint that this is about what happens after we die (go to hell?) although the film only lightly touches on this in the Marley Brothers ghost scene. For me as an atheist, no meaning is really lost, the future is still scary and unknowable: what will people think of me, did I make the world better or worse, would I be proud of ashamed of myself when I look at my life as a whole after I die? Also the idea of a faceless person maps close to the fear that when I die, there is nothing left, no person, no memories, no feelings. The faceless shroud who doesn’t speak is a terrifyingly accurate metaphors for the fear of death, and sets up nicely the realisation that what is left behind is your influence on the wider world. I will die but my good deeds and love for others can live on, and also make my current life more meaningful to boot.
I've always been haunted by how, in the book, when Marley leaves, Scrooge sees the crowd of ghosts in the street, and they're miserable because now, after selfish lives, all they want to do is help people, but they can't. There was something so powerfully lonely about that fate. Something pleading for Scrooge to take perspective before he dies. I'm amazed the movie could ignore that scene and still have us reach that perfect conclusion.
Scrooge yelling about how the poor might as well die has such a note of nihilistic anger. He hates that they're in such a terrible condition and wants it to end, he just isn't willing to do anything about it (and quite rightly knows he can't do that much about it in a broad sense, he basically already is by paying his taxes as he points out). It's something you say when life just isn't fair and you're mad about it, but selfishly mad that it's suddenly your problem when you feel like you didn't make any mistakes.
Also - there’s a faint leitmotif that’s a minor key version of “Good King Wenceslas”. Y’know, the story of a king who sees a poor man struggling on a cold night, and orders his servants to send the man some of the food from the Christmas feast?
When I first read the description of the dementers in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this version of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is what came to mind.
I find that very funny as I watched this the other night with my brother and sister-in-law who had never seen it before and she said they looked just like a dementer
Me too!! I first read the Harry Potter books (four at the time) before the were movies released. A Muppet Christmas Carol was also instrumental in adding another Harry Potter character's image for me. Not only did the Dementors in my imagination look like the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, but I also imagined Hagrid as looking like the Ghost of Christmas Present!
@@LadyDecember he kinda does in the movie, RIP Robbie Coltrane
I always feel like there's a German Expressionist feel to the shots and sets too - the way Scrooge is framed and also, the wonkiness and skewed perspective of the Crachitt's street in particular. It's just such a beautifully made film in so so many ways
The canted angles and angular set design is totally influenced by German Expressionism
@Melody Phelan-Clark - I hadn't considered that German Expressionist link before, but you are absolutely correct. The layers of this film just keep developing!
@@inframeout Just what I thought I'd never ask for but suddenly want as a present: _A Christmas Carol_ but with Dr. Caligari in place of Scrooge.
*IT!.....COULD!......WORK!*
@@nicholastosoni707 especially since we can take Caligari as a stand in for an authoritarian fascist. What trauma has led him to force a young man to bend his will while sleeping?? Only the ghost of Christmas past knows...
I never thought about the implications of almost everyone in Scrooge's life being a Muppet as symbolic of Scrooge's mindset, but that is a keen observation and a new reason to love this movie!
The Marley brothers song is a lot darker than I remembered as a kid. I remember it being funny and sort of scary, but my appreciation for the lyrics has only grown as I've gotten older.
Nice review! I agree, The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of the best adaptions of Dickens' famous work. Take note of the ending: "Nice story Mister Dickens," says Rizzo. "Thanks," replies Gonzo. "If you liked that you should read the book."
I never thought a video about muppets would bring me to tears, but here I am.
You and me both. This was one of my favourite videos to make. Just a product of utter adoration
@@inframeout I cry every time I watch the movie, but yeah, I got teary-eyed at this essay ABOUT the movie, so yeah... real feels!
I gotta admit, I never thought of the whole Muppets casting as an allegory to how Scrooge sees the people around him. That's an interesting angle to consider.
By the way, did you know that the dog throwing snowballs in the beginning of the movie was Sprocket, from Fraggle Rock? And the old guy who starts the song "Scrooge" is in fact, George the janitor from the first season of the Muppet Show?
Historical fashion TH-camrs say it has the most accurate costumes of any version. Just looking at the sets, as much as they're scaled down, they're some of the most accurate I've seen in _any_ period piece (most have too much space and aren't cramped enough). Even the snow and ice are notably well-done. Everyone involved just did an amazingly good job.
4:35 It's such a little thing, but I love the way Gonzo says "He was a Tightfisted hand to the Grindstone Scrooge..." He just just so much relish and expression into it, and it's seriously my favorite thing.
I watch this film nearly every Christmas. I'm not even a Christian, but there is a "Christmas spirit" and nothing encapsulates it better from what I've seen than this film. Great music and beautiful emotion. The Henson company maybe doesn't have the biggest budget but they've been creating masterpieces with so much depth to them and respect for the source material they're adapting for so long.
i love the way they portray the spirits in the muppets version. the ghost of christmas present is happy enough to affect even scrooge, and he's so focused on what's happening in the moment that he has no memory of the past and no sight into the future. the ghost of christmas yet to come shows off how the style of the muppets can actually be used in more ways than just comedy. its design is so strange, with an empty hood and extremely long arms, it presents itself in a calm way but still comes off as imposing
So for probably longer than I’d like to admit, I didn’t realize there were sections of A Christmas Carol that Muppet Christmas Carol didn’t use (Belle having a large and happy family, Ignorance and Want, etc). And the more I thought about it after watching other adaptations, the more it made me appreciate Muppet Christmas Carol for adapting the way it did. Sometimes, yes, matching the book works better, but sometimes the writer was paid by the word and it’s more economical to have Belle sing a devastating song (that Jeffrey Katzenberg apparently hated and that’s why it wasn’t in the theatrical cut) and for Scrooge to watch his new friend fade into nothingness.
Is that why it's not been in the on-TV/DVD version but my tape still happily has it?? I need to preserve that because I cannot do a Caddicarus and rip it to blu-ray....
@@Roadent1241 Yeah, the compromise was that the scene could be restored for home video releases. The problem was though that after the VHS release, Disney lost the film the scene was on and weren’t able to add it back in for future upscales for like 20 years. So if you had the DVD version, the “complete” version was only available if you selected full screen. Brian Henson confirmed last year that Disney found it while working on a bluray upscale of the film, but there’s been no confirmed release date.
And to think this could have been avoided if Jeffrey Katzenberg had any sense.
@@Roadent1241 As Ashley just said, it's a good thing they found the footage last year! My guess is that they're going to add it in 2022 because it'll be the 30th anniversary of the movie, so when they showcase the 4k remaster, the scene will be included there and for streaming. I was SO hoping they would've added it this year! Since I already have a copy on DVD with the scene included, I ripped that to my computer, but it'll be nice to have the fully remastered version eventually!
Is this with the song “love is gone” that they cut? I understand why they cut it but it should be returned to the film. It’s beautiful
@@DP-nl4uq Yeah. Katzenberg apparently would get freaked out about emotionally sincere moments in children’s films (he and the creative team of Little Mermaid nearly came to blows over ‘Part of Your World’ because there was too much “wiggling” from kids during that part of a test screening), so I hope we’ll get the fully remastered version soon. ‘The Love We Found’ is so much more emotionally resonant with the song still in the film tbh.
Really excellent, touching review. I think the commitment by all parties into making it a genuine gothic horror in places works fantastically. Seeing the Muppets in a serious, dangerous setting is actually deeply unnerving.
I've always personally loved that Scrooge was a flesh and blood man as it made the Muppets seem like 2nd class citizens or an underclass - which is something you'd never normally consider (if anything the Muppets are usually the vibrant stars in contrast to their human co-stars). Again, I assume this was entirely intentional and is kinda dark and unexpected.
Actually, one of the things that I really appreciate about this movie, is how seamlessly and naturalistically they integrate the muppet and human cast. Like literally the only time they even draw attention to the fact that some of the actors are strange felt creatures is when Rizzo calls Gonzo out after he insists on being Charles Dickens. (a blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat? Absolutely!) I’m pretty sure the sets were even scaled down slightly from real life, so they could realistically accomodate both humans and muppets.
My family and I watch this film every year during the Holiday Season - it's our favorite Christmas Movie! So happy to see you giving this film the attention it deserves. Excellent work, and looking forward to seeing more from you!
Same for my family!
We watch this every Christmas Eve. I've seen more than a dozen or so versions, and TMCC is truly the best.
So I'm not the only one, huh? I love this movie to death, as it continues to be my favorite muppet movie.
This is ironic at 10:46 "Henson and company are trusting children's emotional intelligence rather than codling them." Then they remove one of the most emotional songs in the whole movie. Thankfully sense prevailed and they are reinstating it.
Ever since I was a kid I always felt like the Muppet Christmas Carol was the best version of this story.
I think Jerry Nelson's performance as Tiny Tim carries such an important piece of the film and his song in particular is always where I end up getting the most emotional. I recently learned that Jerry Nelson's daughter had cystic fibrosis and died pretty young from it (in her teens, I think) and while rewatching Muppet Christmas Carol this year I was struck by that connection. He had a real gift for conveying emotional depth through song and he really delivers in Tiny Tim's song "Bless Us All". It might be the most important scene in the film truly, and I love that bc it is the Muppets it is able to go to an emotional place that I think would be much harder to pull off with a cast of actors. Jerry Nelson also voiced the Ghost of Christmas Present so he really carried a lot of the middle part of the film, he is stellar in both roles. (His greatest performance however is in my opinion is Marjorie the Trash Heap on Fraggle Rock, as well as Gobo of course :D)
Jerry Nelson's Robin (the little frog Muppet used for the character of Tiny Tim) was always a gem. So gentle and sweet. In my opinion Nelson was the most versatile performer of the original Muppet crew. Even in this film you see him portraying Tiny Tim and the Ghost of Christmas Past in the same scenes (through the magic of editing, of course).
@@weebunny I totally agree that he was the most versatile and I think possibly the most underrated, in some ways I think bc of his versatility (many of the other performers are easier to recognize from character to character, Jerry's characters are more varied). Jim always said that he could really rely on Jerry to give a great vocal performance while singing in particular and his impressive range is seen clearly in A Muppet Christmas Carol. For him to go from the booming jolly Ghost of Christmas Present to the childlike wonder and innocence of Tiny Tim is incredible. I think he also really shines on Fraggle Rock, a lot of what Jim and the writers created for that show was built around what they knew Jerry could deliver as the lead. Many of Gobo's songs remind me a lot of Robin/Tiny TIm in their innocence and vulnerability that is rooted in a very real place. His other two characters, Marjorie the Trash Heap and Papa Gorg again show what an impressive range he had. He was such a special part of the Muppet team.
My mother isn’t a fan of Muppet movies, but she agreed to watch it when I told her how sweet it was, and she admitted it was the best Muppet Movie she had watched.
I have a theory for why this movie goes so far into building a completely believable Victorian London that happens to have Muppets living in it, and that's that it's directed by a man who wasn't really sure if he wanted to be making Muppet movies.
Brian Henson had had a... Complicated relationship with his father; Jim was so invested in his various projects that he didn't set aside a lot of time to raise his children. His passing in 1990 meant Brian could never really have that cathartic reconciliation you see in movies about absentee fathers and their sons. Forced to grapple with that and being handed the keys to the kingdom, well, he tried to fit the Muppets into the things he was really passionate about. And this was the result.
I don't expect to get much engagement on this; I don't think most people like looking at Jim Henson through a "warts and all" frame.
"It Feels Like Christmas" is, to this day, one of my favorite Christmas songs. More than so many saccharine, empty "christmas" songs that we hear over and over every year, it truly encapsulates why EVERYONE should feel free to approach Christmas. Forget "last Christmas". Give me It Feels Like Christmas every year!
Emotional beats of story are amplified when contrasted with chaos of muppets. That is why Sir Michael Caine was so great in this.
What you say about it being accessible but not overly simplified resonated a lot! I had this film on vhs as a kid and I loved the mix of earnestness, humor with actual message and some bits of horror! I always hated children's media that underestimated kids abilities to engage with difficult or dark topics, so this in contrast felt like a dream come true to me!
It also allows the audience to grow with the film, rather than grow out of it
I love THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL and watch it faithfully every year. Michael Caine's take on the role is so effective as he keeps things anchored to the reality of Victorian London. The actual quotes from the Dicken's book are spot on and the entire feeling is mostly dark and frightening with only a few bright spots. The audience is brought along on a voyage of self-discovery with Scrooge and come out to a joyous ending changed people themselves. I learned very good lessons from this movie as a child. Thank you for your work in bringing this classic tale back to us.
My strongest childhood memory of this film is being terrified when the Marley Ghosts appeared. Their song still haunts me to this day
Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island were awesome adaptations! I wish the Muppets did more of these!
What other adaptations would you like to see from the Muppets? I would LOVE "Muppet Lord Of The Rings" or "The Muppet Great Gatsby"
@@inframeout Dracula!
That would be perfect!
@@inframeout I keep hoping for a Muppet Fiddler on the Roof. Or Muppet Pride and Prejudice.
Muppetet robin hood or 4 musketeers, king arthur and the sword in the stone all would be awsome if they did it the right way (haunted mansion was bad)
Michael Caine: *treats muppets like shakespherean actors*
Tim Curry: *becomes muppet*
These two completely opposite methodologies are why Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island are two of my favorite flicks.
There's a moment that I remember from this film that outshines all else for me.
Part of Scrooge looking in on 'Christmas yet to come' for Cratchit includes Bob C coming home and saying to his wife, 'I found a good place, up above, facing the river. Remember how he loved to watch the ducks?'
He's found something good to recall even in the placement of Tiny Tim's grave.
Michael Caine absolutely rocked as Scrooge. He plays both a cold-hearted tyrant at the start, but melts as the story unfolds into a warm, loving person.
This essay was so well written. That line about the Muppets being "marionettes" of an oppressive system 🔥
I watched this movie this christmas for the first time in a while and I never fully realised before that there's a new Ghost of Christmas Present for EVERY christmas, which is just such a great way of showing how every single christmas is an individual experience (which is very comforting when you have a bad one 😅)
-Dad, what's a Muppet?
-Well, it's not quite a mop and it's not quite a puppet... but man (laughs) ... So to answer your question, I don't know.
What a beautiful, eloquent critique of my second favorite Christmas movie, as I watch this video wearing my "Light the lamp, not the rat!" tshirt. I wouldn't be surprised if this where Rowling got the idea for the Dementors.
Something I noticed on my yearly watch this year is why the Ghost of Christmas Present is so happy is because at one point he says, "My head is filled with the now," meaning that he doesn't worry about the future, he doesn't dwell on the past, he only thinks about the present.
It is our family tradition to watch this every Christmas Eve (since there’s only one more sleep till Christmas) and each year we find another bit of wonder to note. This year: “life is made of greetings and partings. That is the way of it.”
This line is not from the text but should have been. It is so Dickensian anyway, but it elegantly lifts Father Cratchet to a position of authority in his own home that the next line offers the comfort of a loving parent. It is a step up from the resignation of a beleaguered clerk that might be seen in the original.
Thanks for giving validation to what we’ve been seeing for the past 15 years.
I couldn’t agree more with you and thank you for this video. Much love
Thanks so much for watching (and for teaching me how to make an awesome Chicken Soup a few years back)
The best part is Michael Caine's duet with Belle. Beautiful, heart melting, and heart breaking. Takes some work to find, but well worth it.
I can't argue that. They created magic with this one. I saw it at a small town movie theatre with my son when he was 4 years old. It was the day after Christmas 1992 and there were just a few others in the audience. I have never forgotten it and now I watch it every Christmas on TV. Treasure island was the other great one.
every time i watch a production of a christmas carol im like, "eh it's okay but it's no a muppet christmas carol."
One of the best parts about Michael Caine's performance is that he (almost) never blinks during the whole film. It really sends home the contrast that they were going for, and these kinds of details make me love this movie to death.
fine work. no one ever even remembers the Mister Magoo Christmas Carol which has been my go-to favorite as it includes musical numbers.
I grew up with reruns of the original series and the 80s movies. I was 13 when this one came out, just at the age where I didn't want to hang around my little brother anymore, but when my mom asked me to take him to this movie that was ok. Still one of my favorites.
The tops for me has to be Muppets Take Manhattan, since it came out when I was younger and I attach it to a bunch of nostalgic crap. It's all pretty silly and funny and for some reason the Kermit with amnesia finally getting his memory back resolution gets to me big time.
Beaker is by far the best muppet as he never has to say anything to be hilarious.
This movie, plus the version with George C. Scott, are my two favorite adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Thank you for reminding me to watch it again.
I cry even thinking about this film. It's the one movie that can always bring a tear. My favorite Christmas film.
I saw something once that said ‘Michael Caine works well because he treats the muppets like actors, and Tim curry works because he treats himself like a muppet’ and gosh that’s so true
I agree that this is the best adaptation of the source material. Love Michael Caine's acting in this, he is performing alongside the Muppets with total sincerity, I think that's great!
This is my favorite Christmas movie. It's just so good. It's a family tradition that we watch it every year.
Michael Caines performance as scrooge is one of the best ever done, everything about this film was done so well , one i watch every year.
My favourite Christmas film. I had it on video when it came out and it was one of my “watch repeatedly and somehow never get bored” films as a kid. I love that it doesn’t shy away from the horror of the story and as you say, try to coddle or patronise kids which many films today do. Such a beautiful, joyful film. Love this review.
Btw my favourite characters will always be Beaker and Bean the bunny
Bean The Bunny is so underrated and adorable!
Agreed. Why are they patronizing kids today? I just don't get it! Like Robin Williams once said they are little people you don't have to play down to them you just play to them!
one of my favorite Christmas movies as well. Had the VHS tape with the song that shows Belle and Scrooge breaking up. It was a tradition for my family to watch it every Christmas Eve, especially so we could all sing, "There's only One more sleep til Christmas"
I’ve seen the movie 100 times, but Bean the Bunny shaking in the cold while all wrapped up in newspapers still makes me weepy 😢
I have never seen a Christmas movie with so much emotion, humor, wittiness, fun music, and most of all, heart. This isn’t just a good Christmas movie, this is a masterpiece of film.
I remember going to see this in the theatre as a kid and loving it. I can’t go through the holidays without watching it at least once. I love all things Muppet, but I think this is my favorite!
It is wild how fundamental of a story A Christmas Carol is. It basically invented the modern Christmas fantasy, horror fantasy, and is simultaneously a political and religious statement. Truly monumental.
This is my favorite version of Christmas Carol, saw it in the theater, and I remember being blinded by the light when he opened the bed curtains to meet the Ghost of Christmas Past.
And I have cried every time I have watched it
You just caught me watching this for a 3rd time this Christmas season. I love growing up and watching this
Me and my wife always watch this every Christmas day without fail. It's not Christmas without the Muppets Christmas Carol
I never contemplated the relation between Caine's size in comparison to the muppets. It's genius when you think of it like that!
Thank you so much for this video! This is my favourite Christmas Carol adaptation, and Michael Caine is pitch perfect casting as Scrooge! 😍♥️
You're very welcome! As you'll find from the video - I truly adore everything about this film
@@inframeout It's my annual tradition too. And I love torturing Kermit at the title screen if you don't press "Play" right away on the DVD.
For me the most critical lyric of all is 'Old Scrooge, he likes his money, cause he thinks it gives him power'. THINKS it does. And it gives him a kind of power, but the story is about the deeper, truer power that comes from love.
I always loved just how much of a faithful adaptation this was of a Christmas Carol. Michael Caine did such a wonderful job.
Another example of why the 1980s thorugh the 1990s into the early 2000s was such a glorious time, was the wide availability of home media for the general populace. As well as preservation and syndiciton of older media, thus making it easier to see reruns of the 1970s Muppet Show by the late 80s and early 90s, as well as vhs of things as far back as the 1910s onwards. The Muppet Christmas Carol is easily in the al ltime Top 10 best versions of the classic holiday story, along with the Mickey Christmas Carol, The 2009 Jim Carrey CGI full film, and a number of others like the one with Patrick Stewart, the love action 80s version, as well as two or three others from the 60s and 70s on stage and television. Great video and way to tell it like it is! Happy new year and be well ^
Brilliant video! I absolutely love the contrast between the Muppets' whimsy and Michael Caine's dead serious delivery.
Caine sells every single moment. Without his generous sincerity - everything would fall apart
I'm a 2000 baby with 90s siblings and an 80s dad, so I grew up with this and it's one of those films you don't understand thefull weight of until you're older
As a kid I never even realized the Marley brothers were being dragged down to hell. I was terrified enough by the idea of being bound by the chains of your own sins.
I’ve argued with people for years about this and no one ever agrees with me. I’d essentially decided that it whichever version you see first is your favorite. It’s encouraging to see so many people here in the comments and the video itself explain why it’s the best.
This is by far my most favorite adaption of A Christmas Carol; the story is wonderfully told and appeals to all audiences. Scrooge's journey is so well told, and the life change at the end is always inspirational every time I watch it. This movie is a staple in our home for each Christmas season.
I've thought this for a while now. Nice to see a talented YouTubist articulate why! I've been hunting for a non-muppet version that's half as good, but so far they all come up short. After watching this video, I think I can just give up on that search and fully embrace the Muppets. After all, Dickens wrote the story with a childlike playfulness that you can detect on the first page if you just read it like a storyteller talking to a group of kids.
As far as I'm aware, the only home video release of the film to both be in widescreen AND include the extra song "When Love Is Gone" was the original laserdisc. A few years ago, someone was kind enough to share a rip of that disc online and that's the version I watch every year now.
I don't recall if my VHS tape as a kid was widescreen (my guess would be no, as I can't think of a single VHS that was) but it had the song! I was so confused by it being cut in other versions. I get that it's sad and brings the pacing down a bit, but its absence makes it hard to understand just how deeply devastating that moment was to Scrooge, and why he and Rizzo are both damn-near sobbing as Belle walks away.
Yes! Best adaptation, best muppet film, best Michael Caine performance... love this commentary! I've been saying these things for 30 years...thank you 😊
You're more than welcome 🤗
This excites me so much. I always tell people how good of an adaptation this is. They don't believe me or haven't read the book.
This is the best interpretation of Marley’s ghost as a concept. Not only does the puppetry and use of aggressively pulling chains enhance the idea of miserable imprisonment, but the fact they shudder after one of their statements, showing they can’t even escape their guilt through dark or mean humor is just a whole different level of morbid, especially if you know that’s all Statler and Waldorf(The Marley stand-ins) have. It gives the sense that the next life spurns their very existence
Absolutely! A genuine mix of fear and regret
We just finished our annual viewing, and it never loses it's holiday glow. My wife was a high school English teacher for years, and she showed THIS version when she taught Dickens' story. Loved this video and commentary.
Michael Caine is an actor that broke many molds. It is fitting he took on this role and gave it the weight it needed with the whimsical aura of the Muppets