I've also been mocked as a "Mandela freak" and a "tinfoil hat" when I've said that there are different releases of The Muppets' Christmas Carol and a few other Disney movies as well. For example, the Nordic release of The Little Mermaid II includes Morgana's song that is not included in the American release and the Nordic release of Beauty and the Beast included an extra song that is not in the Disney+ version.
I was 6 when this film came out on VHS and I was absolutely able to understand the significance of when love is gone. When I was 18 I bought the DVD to show my girlfriend one of my favourite films and when this scene was skipped, I couldn't believe it. Such a bad move because you can't see how Rizzo and Scrooge could suddenly become so upset they're in tears without the song.
I remember hating When Love Is Gone with a passion, considering it the thorned hurdle I needed to get past every Christmas Eve when we would watch it as a family. Then I took a Film History class, and started to get a much deeper appreciation not just for film, but for storytelling in general, and I realized that this song was more than just a slow, sad moment, but the emotional core of the film, on which Scrooge's entire character shift is founded. Since then, I've realized just how immature and shallow my younger self used to be. Thankfully, like Scrooge, we can all grow past our faults and become better people.
I went to see The Muppet Christmas Carol with a live orchestra in London and they played When Love is Gone. Meredith Braun who plays Belle was in the audience and it was amazing to hear how big of a cheer her and the song got. It should never have been cut and I hope she feels vindicated knowing how many people love the song and her performance!
This does highlight that Disney didn’t (and still doesn’t really) understand that as much as Muppets speaks to kids, Jim always had moments in there for adults who were watching. Between jokes and emotional moments there was something for adults to feel and enjoy in there as well…
Disney animations often - if not always - had something heart-wrenching in them that helped kids process difficult emotions. Mustafa and Bambi's mum dying being the first that spring to mind - they made movies for kids, but didn't treat us as though we were fragile pieces of pure innocence who couldn't experience complex themes in the right context and with an adult by our sides to watch with us.
Not only that, but also, the fact that kids grow up! And as they grow, they grow along side their favorite media, and maybe, just maybe, as they mature they start to appreciate different elements of said media that didn't have as much impact for them as once before.
The fact that Katzenberg wanted to cut the two best songs from The Little Mermaid shows he didn’t have a clue. And the decades long outrage from fans about cutting When Love Is Gone proves it.
My wife just bought the Blu-ray when she found out how much I loved this movie. "When Love Is Gone" always made me tear up as a kid...even now a little, but "The Love We Found" is the pay off at the end of the film. Disney clearly didn't learn from Don Bluth films in that kids can withstand tragedy when there's a happy ending.
I still have the VHS tape of this movie. And I still have a functioning VHS Player (that also doubles as a DVD Player) to watch some of the vhs movies I own like My Neighbor Totoro…
I was always of the opinion that the song "When Love is Gone" needs to be in the movie. I understand why they cut it originally, it slows down the film. But the song needs to be there, for without it Scrooge's redemption is incomplete. The sadness of the song underscores Scrooge's sadness of losing the love of his life. In the end, "When Love is Found" doesn't have the same impact if you don't have the other bookend "When Love is Gone".
I was surprised when in 2020 I bought a DVD of this and the song was gone. I grew up with the VHS and this song was the fulcrum of the plot a contrast to the end song and something very personal. My wife was suprised that I felt incomplete at the end of the movie then I remembered the song and she didn't. They didn't even cut the song out well the edit is an abrupt cut and you still hear the fading last notes of the song. Took me a couple years to find a DVD with the song in it.
Not only that, but Rizzo bawling his eyes out so hard at Belle just saying, "You did once," is excessive, imo, for what transpired without the song. But have an emotional break up song with scrooge giving a little duet while having a bit of a cry... Makes ME cry sometimes. It just has way more of an impact.
It's a very moving implication (intended or otherwise) that Scrooge is retrospectively so affected by Belle's song that he actually remembers the words after all that time, though he can barely sing them. I've never seen the movie without the song, but I can't imagine it could possibly work without it. It would be like cutting out Tiny Tim or Scrooge's grave.
I just watched this again the other day and it is missing that cathartic moment for him. He sort of just comes around, sort of off screen and has a sad look of regret. Mike caine is a fantastic scrooge. One of the best.
I rant about this every year because this film is a Christmas watch tradition. The best adaptation of A Christmas Carol in my opinion. It makes no sense to cut this song. It’s necessary to the story, character development and musical progression. The reprise at the end when they sing, “When Love is Found,” loses most of its meaning. The incredible sadness that Scrooge is experiencing bears less weight. The moment where he and Belle are singing the song side by side is so moving. He remembers that moment so well, that he’s able to recite her words. It’s literally the moment that sent him into his extreme darkness that set the entire plot in motion. Experiencing that memory is the thing that finally breaks him down to be vulnerable, which opens him up to truly see the world as it is in the present and how his behavior affects it. Without the song, the viewer is left without that understanding.
Ah this is a story I know extremely well. My family had that VHS with the original song on it, and when the DVDs and Blu-rays came out years later and were missing it my dad was extremely disappointed. I'm glad they found a way to put it back on Disney+, but it should really be the default option.
I was lucky enough to be in one of the test screenings for MCC before WLIG was cut. I was only 13 years old, but even then was profoundly affected by the song and felt it was the strongest of the entire movie. Then I went back to see the official release with friends and it was gone! I was so confused and mildly devastated. I recall wondering if I'd just imagined the whole thing. But I kept hearing the melody in the score and then 'When Love is Found' happened at the end and I was convinced I wasn't misremembering, but had no idea why on earth WLIG would have been cut. Then my mom bought the VHS when it came out and the song was back! I was so happy it was there. But then subsequent DVD releases had it cut again. It was so frustrating and boggling. All that to say, so glad that Disney finally returned the footage on Plus... just wish that it was the version that plays from the main show screen, rather than having to navigate to the 'Extras' tab.
I've seen both versions, and I think the movie is better with the song, because then it transitions into the final number, "When Love is Found." Mostly, I'd seen it air on T.V. and that was a long time ago. I hadn't seen it theatrically, or on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, or Disney Plus. I'm happy that they found some way to incorporate it into the movie. It wouldn't be the same without it, just like The Little Mermaid wouldn't be the same without "Part of That World."
This video has completely recontexualized the songs for this movie. Learning how the composers songwriting was informed by his sobriety is so cool and makes a movie I watch every year even better. Thanks for the great video!
@@thetribalist6923 absolutely the wrong move. But they were afraid kids at the time wouldn’t sit through it or felt it too adult. I personally loved that scene as kid.
This song was rewound SO MUCH on my VHS back when I was a child... it's my favourite song in the movie and always made me cry. It's so beautifully sombre and absolutely shouldn't have been cut... as you said, it was totally the motif of the film! The Love We Found doesn’t hit as strongly without it! 😢😢
When Love is Gone is the heart and soul of the Muppet Christmas Carol. Cutting that scene was like if someone had cut Mary's wish at the old house in It's a Wonderful Life.
Shoutout for the Prince Charles Cinema inclusion here. It was a huge thing and one year I even got to meet Meredith as they brought her onstage to sing around the time of her album release. Absolutely lovely for the fans and for Brian. Thank you to him for campaigning.
Of all the songs in that movie when I was a kid, “When Love Is Gone” is one that I’d hum off and on through the years. When I discovered that it had been cut I was devastated!
I’m a bit of a movie collector, got a couple hundred. This movie, on vhs, was the first movie I ever owned for myself. It was a gift for my birthday the year it came out on VHS. I wish I knew for sure who gave it to me. At one point I gave the tape to goodwill. But I’ve found a copy at half priced books with the case intact to keep in my collection for nostalgia. It’s such a special place in my heart. I’ve been on top of this subject since the dvd came out with two versions. Thank you for making a video I can share to give people the full story.
I just watched this earlier, and the DVD had the option of a full-screen experience, which was the extended one. Knowing the story of why this song was cut makes its return so much more powerful.
It's now on disney+ fully restored, but there is yet to be a bluray or 4k release with the non-vhs version of the song restored! This has been my inly Christmas wish for about 10 years, come on Disney!
This movie came out 10 days before I was born. It holds an *EXTREMELY* nostalgic part of my childhood during Christmas time. I grew up with the VHS release of this movie, so I never had any idea that Disney had cut "When Love is Gone".
I went to Muppet Vision 3D as a child in 1996/97. It was my first experience with 3D and I distinctly remember the direction signs having Fozzie on them saying "Wocka wocka this way!"
I was just talking about this again with my mom yesterday. I grew up with the VHS version and only knew that, I'd never watched any other version. I joked about how they thought kids wouldn't like that scene, but kept the Marley & Marley number and THAT one I used to make my mom fast forward through lmao. No amount of dancing inanimate objects made it less nightmare fuel for my young self. But I never minded the When Love is Gone scene; it makes the ending more emotional when they sing When Love Is Found, the actors are so pretty and you get to see Rizzo sniffling over it. There's lots of slower, sadder, haunting scenes in the movie, especially from a child's perspective, but it's all worth it. The actual too sad scene of this movie for me is Bean Bunny wrapped in newspaper shivering, like, as an adult it still depresses me lol.
When the VHS came out I was nine and my brother was 5. Neither one of us had any problem sitting through the song, and we enjoyed it just as much as any other part of the movie. It does a real disservice to children the way some producers treat them as if they constantly need to have something bright, loud, funny, or bouncy in front of them at all times, so much so that they can't handle even three minutes of content that shifts the mood to something calmer and quieter. (Yes, that's about how much they cut.) People like Katzenberg that talk down to children like this are part of the reason so many of them have been conditioned to have the attention span of a gnat.
I was a kid when this movie came out and I loved that song. It made Scrooge seem more human. Still one of my favorite movies, I watch it every Christmas. So glad someone fought for Gonzo, him and Rizzo are my favorite characters!
Musically it doesn't make sense to the story. When they removed the minor key song "When Love is Gone" it doesn't make his redemption as impactful when Scrooge sings "When Love is Found" at the end.
As someone who watched both this and little mermaid upon their release to vhs as a kid, cutting out those key parts from both entirely would have entirely changed how i viewed them, and subsequently how I now view them, so so glad they all stayed.
As a tiny little kid in the very early 90s, arguably too young to comprehend complex emotions (at least according to Katzenberg) i had two songs from movies profoundly effect me… this one and the Mother Earth and Father Time song from Charlotte’s Web. I’ll always remember sitting there watching my VHS tapes while my little heart was breaking. I’m so thankful to have had them in my life.
I had the VHS from new, so '93/'94? I can't remember when it came out tbh. I used to watch it every Xmas, it's far and away my favourite Xmas film. The Muppets and I were brought into this world in the same year and I've always thought that we grew up together! They were always in the telly, even on BFBS when my Dad was stationed in Germany. In the late 2000's I ended up taking all of my VHS cassettes down the charity shop, something I still regret to this day (as well as my audio cassettes!). I'd bought the DVD of MCC and was staggered that "When Love is Gone" had gone! As far as I knew that song had always been there! I'd no idea it had been removed for the DVD release. Giving up my copy of the VHS has been plaguing me since. I had it, it was right there! Then, no more. I adored that song! It broke my heart every time I heard it, it was so moving, why you wouldn't want in there I'll never know. Do it's back now? It's too late for this year, bit I'll grab a BRD for next year for sure if it's on there now! Thanks for letting us know! Merry Christmas, one and all!
I fast-forwarded this as a kid; not because it was boring or I didn’t connect with it. It was because of how horribly sad it is and made me bawl😭😅I’m glad it got put back in on Disney+ 😁🥰
This song was the emotional pivot point of Scrooge's reclamation. I facepalmed so hard when Disney cut it. Did a happy dance when they restored it. Beautifully conceived and performed, Caine and Braun brought me to tears with their duet.
Just went and watched muppet Christmas carol performed with a live orchestra at the Hammersmith theatre, the song was in the movie and the performance from the orchestra was amazing
I remember being so confused when I watched the movie on streaming the first time, because I grew up with the VHS copy. I still, to this day, pause Disney+ at that part of the movie, and watch the song on TH-cam, then go back. Haha
I got to see this with the live orchestra playing a few weeks ago. You could hear the buzz and the collective sigh of relief as the scene was coming up and then the orchestra started to play it. The audience was so happy!
Muppet Christmas Carol is my favourite movie of all time. My family bought me the video (I still have it) and I was shocked when watching on tv and the song was missing. I wrote an email to Disney to complain (years ago) and their reply just said ‘ it wasn’t in the cinematic release of the film’. Thankfully, you can select the extended version on Disney+ 😂
I saw this movie when it was released in theaters. Still one of my top favorite Muppet movies. I owned the VHS version that did have the song. The song should have stayed in every version. It's a great song, it slowly illustrates how much Belle meant to Scrooge, it's a real tearjerker, it balances the reprise The Love We Found at the end of the movie showing how Scrooge had changed, and it followed the tradition of Disney movies with songs of having a different version of a song from the movie play on the end credits. And the end credits version of When Love Is Gone is absolutely incredible. Plus, if the song is cut, then why was Rizzo crying so much? For the 2 minutes of screentime that Scrooge had with Belle?
Unfortunately, the widescreen version still has not been released on Blu-ray, and both the fullscreen uncut version and the one on Disney+ with the restored song are only available by going into the extras menus, so Disney are still trying to hide it away by making the restored cut hard to find. The extended movie should be the default option, as that is how the director intended it to be seen. Plus, Disney has also digitally altered the film to remove a cigarette from the hand of a Muppet. I am still waiting for the definitive uncut movie.
I grew up with the VHS version, and it was so jarring the first time I watched Muppet Christmas Carol with that cut. It's such an important moment in Scrooge's story, and it feels so abrupt to lose that song. I always pick the option to watch it with the song; I don't like the jarring feeling of watching without it. And Muppet Christmas Carol is one of my all-time favorite movies--not just Christmas movies, but movies overall. It was my fave all throughout childhood and I still adore it.
(Also, hearing that the guy who wanted it cut was also trying to cut songs from Little Mermaid, which pretty much launched the disney renaissance... Like damn, dude, what musical hurt you??)
@@octoberspirit yeah that guy had such bad takes lol, part of your world is one of the most famous songs in that film, how these people get hired and listened to for so long baffles me
You do not know how happy it makes me to see my name on the credits. I have been a supported of Wrestletalk and from there I started watching Cutscene. Now I am a proud supporter of both...Unless Luke loses to Oli in the Monday Night Mustache Wars. Hear me, Luke? My continued support of not one, but two channels is 100% on your shoulders. Do not let us down.
As a kid, I used to rewind to watch When Love is Gone. Ballads we're always my favorite part of all the movies I liked. But my mom and siblings thought the song was boring so they would always fast forward through it. They were so happy when it was cut, but I'm glad that it's back.
I believe it was for Christmas 2022 when I finally bought the CD soundtrack. Two years prior I had finally let go of someone I had been in love with since I was fifteen. Being able to listen to this on disc was the perfect tune for that sort of thing. As far as the song being put back into the movie, I had been watching the full version with When Love Is Gone for years, and only ended up seeing the cut version once, however when I did, the filmmaker in me was more hung up on the pacing of the scene. The song allows for a better paced scene before the soundtrack kicks in.
My daughter doesn't care for the song but I love it. We have it on DVD. I think they did a great job with this, keeping the serious nature of A Christmas Carol but added a bit of humor to lighten it for children. We watchbit every year along with the George C Scott version.
I go and see this film at the cinema every Christmas. The first year I went I was extremely happy when she started to sing because I knew they’d cut the song for the Blu Ray(I saw it on VHS when I was 11 and many times since as I owned it).
I once wrote a Battlestar Galactica version of A Christmas Carol. Commander Scrooge was visited by Adama who took him to his past, Apollo who took him to the present and Starbuck who took him to the future.
Honestly as a kid this song was the 'slow' part of the movie and my least favorite part, the song was pretty but it just didn't resonate. However as I got older and experienced life, the song took on new meaning and has become one of my, if not most, favorite song of the movie. And I think that is awesome when your appreciation and understanding of a movie or part of a movie can grow with you. It makes it 'new' and entertaining all over again.
I'd only ever known the home video version of the movie. When I updated my collection to have a DVD version, it had the VHS "Standard Definition" And wide screen "Theatrical Cut" of the movie. I was perplexed that the Widescreen edition didn't have the song. So, when I shared the movie with my boyfriend, I wanted to watch the widescreen version - and then paused when it made the cut, went to TH-cam and watched the scene XD It's so vital to the movie, to Scrooge!
Oh thank you for this video. I never saw the theater version, only the home video version. This song, while I don't like it personally, is rather critical to this part of the movie.
Easily in my top five favorite Christmas movies! I saw it in the theater when I was twelve. When we got the vhs I never even realized that the song wasn’t in the theatrical version. I love the song and I’m glad it’s there even though it makes me cry. I just got the Gonzo as Charles Dickens with Russo Funko Pops!
The movie has been a family tradition in my house for well over 25 years, and whenever id end up watching it at a friend's house during the holidays id try to explain how their version was cut and missing a song, but was always adamant i was trying to pull one over on him. One year after the debate I literally dragged him to my house popped in my VHS and fast forwarded. He then tried to posture that the song was lame and stupid, which only made the pay off the next year so much better when his parents revealed to me that he'd annoyed them into buying their first VHS post upgrading to DVD.
I still have the VHS, but no actual VCR, so I always pause the movie, pull up TH-cam, and play it in the gap. It’s one of the most beautifully haunting songs in a franchise known for songs that shouldn’t go as hard as they do (“I’m Going to go Back there Someday” anybody?) I spent ages tracking down why it was missing from every digital version I came across, and got the answer sometime last year. Still stings, tho, so thank the Father for TH-cam.
His argument about the song being too sad for a children’s movie must have vanished when he did. Have you ever heard “When Somebody Loved Me” from Toy Story 2? When I took my children and that song came on, I began to hear sniffling from the audience, but it wasn’t from the kids. I looked around me and saw that it was from the PARENTS! We ALL could remember a special toy that we loved as children, only to discard it when we reached that certain age. I still can’t hear that song without getting teary-eyed. Same with this song. It’s necessary. It belongs. It’s not the same movie without it. This is probably my favorite Christmas movie and that song is part of the reason why.
I much prefer the version with the song. I was aware of a lot of the information presented in this video, but this is the first time all the rumors I had only heard tidbits of could be brought together so comprehensively! What a wonderful video. Thank you for putting this together.
I hadn't seen it in the theater, so I only saw it on VHS with the song included and I didn't know it had been cut. 😮 For years, I had no idea there was a controversy about a movie edit that I didn't realize had happened until more recently 🤔 I love that the the song's included again, it just wouldn't be such a fantastic film!
It’s a deleted scene on dvds. It’s a long dragging song, it doesn’t move the story at all and there’s no muppets in the whole scene. Cutting was the right choice even if it’s a moving song. It could’ve been fixed if it were shorter and had onlooker puppets reacting to keep the kids’ focus. Having said that, putting it back in now is also a good move. Kids like me are now grown and can sit for it. I still wish there were some muppets in the scene.
Williams is brilliant and the song is gorgeous. I never saw the theatrical version, only the VHS, so I have only ever seen the movie with the song included until recently. I was like HEY…
Got to be honest, when I was a child and we had the movie on tape, we would always fast forward the song. But when i became an adult, I wanted the song back in the streaming version 😢
Maybe I was a weird child because this song was always my favourite part of the film. I was so disappointed when our VHS died and we bought it on DVD, only to find the song missing!
I grew up only with the VHS so I didn’t even know they cut it till Disney plus. Man was a upset when I was showing it for the first time to my kids. Glad that there is now a version of it in on Disney plus (it’s in the extras)
My entire childhood involved the muppets in some form or another. I have watched all sorts of things that Jim Henson Company did or were involved in. I brought my children up in the magical world of anything to do with the his creative magical imagination. I instantly am transformed in to looking through the eyes of a child in wonder. They move, the can hear, they can see, they can taste, they can touch, and they can talk or make soumds, therefore they are...real. ❤❤❤ they captivate my attention and breath personality and colour across the screen. Btw I loved the Storyteller. I have both seasons. My childrens favorite memories growing up is watching them and John Hert. And the tradition will live on.
I remember having some family call me crazy when I constantly insisted that there was a song cut from the movie
He's a Christmas Looney!! Get him!!!!😆
Technically there are at least two, "When Love is Gone" and "Chairman of the Board", Sam the Eagle's "inspirational" song to young Scrooge
I've also been mocked as a "Mandela freak" and a "tinfoil hat" when I've said that there are different releases of The Muppets' Christmas Carol and a few other Disney movies as well. For example, the Nordic release of The Little Mermaid II includes Morgana's song that is not included in the American release and the Nordic release of Beauty and the Beast included an extra song that is not in the Disney+ version.
How odd. I thought it was well known that there was a song there. There is even a bit of a glitch in the narrative.
It's still on the soundtrack.
I was 6 when this film came out on VHS and I was absolutely able to understand the significance of when love is gone. When I was 18 I bought the DVD to show my girlfriend one of my favourite films and when this scene was skipped, I couldn't believe it. Such a bad move because you can't see how Rizzo and Scrooge could suddenly become so upset they're in tears without the song.
I remember hating When Love Is Gone with a passion, considering it the thorned hurdle I needed to get past every Christmas Eve when we would watch it as a family. Then I took a Film History class, and started to get a much deeper appreciation not just for film, but for storytelling in general, and I realized that this song was more than just a slow, sad moment, but the emotional core of the film, on which Scrooge's entire character shift is founded. Since then, I've realized just how immature and shallow my younger self used to be. Thankfully, like Scrooge, we can all grow past our faults and become better people.
Nice comment! 👌
I hit fast-forward on this song until I was 15 and had a girlfriend to watch it with.
When Love is Gone explains where Scrooge is in his life, he’s reminded of the loss he caused. It’s beautiful.
I went to see The Muppet Christmas Carol with a live orchestra in London and they played When Love is Gone. Meredith Braun who plays Belle was in the audience and it was amazing to hear how big of a cheer her and the song got. It should never have been cut and I hope she feels vindicated knowing how many people love the song and her performance!
I saw it in Aberdeen, I cried when the song played 😢
That’s awesome
Saw it in Edinburgh, cheered when they included my mums favourite song in the live showing.
This does highlight that Disney didn’t (and still doesn’t really) understand that as much as Muppets speaks to kids, Jim always had moments in there for adults who were watching. Between jokes and emotional moments there was something for adults to feel and enjoy in there as well…
Disney animations often - if not always - had something heart-wrenching in them that helped kids process difficult emotions. Mustafa and Bambi's mum dying being the first that spring to mind - they made movies for kids, but didn't treat us as though we were fragile pieces of pure innocence who couldn't experience complex themes in the right context and with an adult by our sides to watch with us.
Not only that, but also, the fact that kids grow up! And as they grow, they grow along side their favorite media, and maybe, just maybe, as they mature they start to appreciate different elements of said media that didn't have as much impact for them as once before.
And it wasn't even Jim's film.
The fact that Katzenberg wanted to cut the two best songs from The Little Mermaid shows he didn’t have a clue. And the decades long outrage from fans about cutting When Love Is Gone proves it.
What I learned from this is Katzenberg is one of the worst things to happen to the industry
100% agree, guy should have been fired, clearly had no grasp on what the public would love.
My wife just bought the Blu-ray when she found out how much I loved this movie. "When Love Is Gone" always made me tear up as a kid...even now a little, but "The Love We Found" is the pay off at the end of the film. Disney clearly didn't learn from Don Bluth films in that kids can withstand tragedy when there's a happy ending.
So glad I grew up with the VHS that contained Belle's song. It's beautiful and sad.
I still have the VHS tape of this movie. And I still have a functioning VHS Player (that also doubles as a DVD Player) to watch some of the vhs movies I own like My Neighbor Totoro…
that's why cut out that worthless, piece of crap song...
@@Spottedfeather The song isn't bad. It's her flared nostrils that were always offputting.
When I saw the cut version I was like, "why are all the characters crying?" It makes no sense without it.
I was always of the opinion that the song "When Love is Gone" needs to be in the movie. I understand why they cut it originally, it slows down the film. But the song needs to be there, for without it Scrooge's redemption is incomplete. The sadness of the song underscores Scrooge's sadness of losing the love of his life. In the end, "When Love is Found" doesn't have the same impact if you don't have the other bookend "When Love is Gone".
I was surprised when in 2020 I bought a DVD of this and the song was gone. I grew up with the VHS and this song was the fulcrum of the plot a contrast to the end song and something very personal. My wife was suprised that I felt incomplete at the end of the movie then I remembered the song and she didn't. They didn't even cut the song out well the edit is an abrupt cut and you still hear the fading last notes of the song. Took me a couple years to find a DVD with the song in it.
Not only that, but Rizzo bawling his eyes out so hard at Belle just saying, "You did once," is excessive, imo, for what transpired without the song. But have an emotional break up song with scrooge giving a little duet while having a bit of a cry... Makes ME cry sometimes. It just has way more of an impact.
It's a very moving implication (intended or otherwise) that Scrooge is retrospectively so affected by Belle's song that he actually remembers the words after all that time, though he can barely sing them. I've never seen the movie without the song, but I can't imagine it could possibly work without it. It would be like cutting out Tiny Tim or Scrooge's grave.
I just watched this again the other day and it is missing that cathartic moment for him. He sort of just comes around, sort of off screen and has a sad look of regret. Mike caine is a fantastic scrooge. One of the best.
As a kid, When Love Is Gone bored me to tears, as an adult it moves me to tears.
I rant about this every year because this film is a Christmas watch tradition. The best adaptation of A Christmas Carol in my opinion.
It makes no sense to cut this song. It’s necessary to the story, character development and musical progression. The reprise at the end when they sing, “When Love is Found,” loses most of its meaning. The incredible sadness that Scrooge is experiencing bears less weight. The moment where he and Belle are singing the song side by side is so moving. He remembers that moment so well, that he’s able to recite her words. It’s literally the moment that sent him into his extreme darkness that set the entire plot in motion. Experiencing that memory is the thing that finally breaks him down to be vulnerable, which opens him up to truly see the world as it is in the present and how his behavior affects it. Without the song, the viewer is left without that understanding.
Ah this is a story I know extremely well. My family had that VHS with the original song on it, and when the DVDs and Blu-rays came out years later and were missing it my dad was extremely disappointed. I'm glad they found a way to put it back on Disney+, but it should really be the default option.
There is an exception for Disney+. You have to go to extra and specifically play the version with the song, or else it plays the movie without it
Thank you, I didn't see this before I put my 2 cents in. Much better now.
Thanks didn’t know that. Just watched yesterday without song now I’ll rewatch
I love this song. Best scene from the movie. Probably the best piece of art Disney ever created. Every year, I watch the movie with the song restored.
The song is the heart and soul of the movie. It takes the picture from good to a masterpiece.
I was lucky enough to be in one of the test screenings for MCC before WLIG was cut. I was only 13 years old, but even then was profoundly affected by the song and felt it was the strongest of the entire movie. Then I went back to see the official release with friends and it was gone! I was so confused and mildly devastated. I recall wondering if I'd just imagined the whole thing. But I kept hearing the melody in the score and then 'When Love is Found' happened at the end and I was convinced I wasn't misremembering, but had no idea why on earth WLIG would have been cut. Then my mom bought the VHS when it came out and the song was back! I was so happy it was there. But then subsequent DVD releases had it cut again. It was so frustrating and boggling. All that to say, so glad that Disney finally returned the footage on Plus... just wish that it was the version that plays from the main show screen, rather than having to navigate to the 'Extras' tab.
I've seen both versions, and I think the movie is better with the song, because then it transitions into the final number, "When Love is Found." Mostly, I'd seen it air on T.V. and that was a long time ago. I hadn't seen it theatrically, or on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, or Disney Plus. I'm happy that they found some way to incorporate it into the movie. It wouldn't be the same without it, just like The Little Mermaid wouldn't be the same without "Part of That World."
I'm so glad to have this mystery solved. It was driving me crazy.
I think it is a sweet and perfect retelling, and why it's my #1 Christmas movie. The soundtrack is wonderful and Michael Caine completes it.
This video has completely recontexualized the songs for this movie. Learning how the composers songwriting was informed by his sobriety is so cool and makes a movie I watch every year even better. Thanks for the great video!
Agreed
I have the original VHS with this song. I understand why it was cut but so glad it’s alive and well.
Agreed
I don’t understand at all why it was cut. Absolutely the wrong move.
@@thetribalist6923 absolutely the wrong move. But they were afraid kids at the time wouldn’t sit through it or felt it too adult. I personally loved that scene as kid.
@@lancecarter5722 agree. Loved it as a kid.
This song was rewound SO MUCH on my VHS back when I was a child... it's my favourite song in the movie and always made me cry. It's so beautifully sombre and absolutely shouldn't have been cut... as you said, it was totally the motif of the film! The Love We Found doesn’t hit as strongly without it! 😢😢
When Love is Gone is the heart and soul of the Muppet Christmas Carol. Cutting that scene was like if someone had cut Mary's wish at the old house in It's a Wonderful Life.
Shoutout for the Prince Charles Cinema inclusion here. It was a huge thing and one year I even got to meet Meredith as they brought her onstage to sing around the time of her album release. Absolutely lovely for the fans and for Brian. Thank you to him for campaigning.
The Storyteller is one of the very best telebision productions ever. It is only 9 episodes and I cherrish every single one of them.
Agree, John hurt is masterful. I whistle the soldier's ruby whistle often to myself.
Of all the songs in that movie when I was a kid, “When Love Is Gone” is one that I’d hum off and on through the years. When I discovered that it had been cut I was devastated!
I’m a bit of a movie collector, got a couple hundred. This movie, on vhs, was the first movie I ever owned for myself. It was a gift for my birthday the year it came out on VHS. I wish I knew for sure who gave it to me. At one point I gave the tape to goodwill. But I’ve found a copy at half priced books with the case intact to keep in my collection for nostalgia.
It’s such a special place in my heart.
I’ve been on top of this subject since the dvd came out with two versions.
Thank you for making a video I can share to give people the full story.
The cutscene we needed
At first, I didn’t love the song. It felt out of place to me. Then, when it was gone, I missed it. I’m glad they put it back in.
I just watched this earlier, and the DVD had the option of a full-screen experience, which was the extended one. Knowing the story of why this song was cut makes its return so much more powerful.
It's now on disney+ fully restored, but there is yet to be a bluray or 4k release with the non-vhs version of the song restored! This has been my inly Christmas wish for about 10 years, come on Disney!
I am watching it now on Disney+ and the song wasn't there.
@deboraharmstrong, etc: the song is probably included in the Perks or Extras
@@deboraharmstrong6867you have to go to the extras tab, and select the full length version of the movie. It should really be the default.
The DVD copy I have has an option to seen the version with the song.
@@deboraharmstrong6867 on the extras tab they’ve D+ has the entire movie with the song reinserted. In fully restored 4K
This movie came out 10 days before I was born. It holds an *EXTREMELY* nostalgic part of my childhood during Christmas time. I grew up with the VHS release of this movie, so I never had any idea that Disney had cut "When Love is Gone".
I went to Muppet Vision 3D as a child in 1996/97. It was my first experience with 3D and I distinctly remember the direction signs having Fozzie on them saying "Wocka wocka this way!"
I was just talking about this again with my mom yesterday. I grew up with the VHS version and only knew that, I'd never watched any other version. I joked about how they thought kids wouldn't like that scene, but kept the Marley & Marley number and THAT one I used to make my mom fast forward through lmao. No amount of dancing inanimate objects made it less nightmare fuel for my young self.
But I never minded the When Love is Gone scene; it makes the ending more emotional when they sing When Love Is Found, the actors are so pretty and you get to see Rizzo sniffling over it. There's lots of slower, sadder, haunting scenes in the movie, especially from a child's perspective, but it's all worth it. The actual too sad scene of this movie for me is Bean Bunny wrapped in newspaper shivering, like, as an adult it still depresses me lol.
Jeffrey Katzenberg was practically a poison to almost every production that he touched in some shape or form when he was at Disney.
When the VHS came out I was nine and my brother was 5. Neither one of us had any problem sitting through the song, and we enjoyed it just as much as any other part of the movie. It does a real disservice to children the way some producers treat them as if they constantly need to have something bright, loud, funny, or bouncy in front of them at all times, so much so that they can't handle even three minutes of content that shifts the mood to something calmer and quieter. (Yes, that's about how much they cut.) People like Katzenberg that talk down to children like this are part of the reason so many of them have been conditioned to have the attention span of a gnat.
My favourite channel talking about my favourite christmas movie.
Could not click quick enough! 😂😂
Also my favorite Christmas movie
I was a kid when this movie came out and I loved that song. It made Scrooge seem more human. Still one of my favorite movies, I watch it every Christmas. So glad someone fought for Gonzo, him and Rizzo are my favorite characters!
It needs to be in the film so that in the end, everyone gathered around the Christmas Dinner singing “the love we found” holds more emotion. Gahhhd!
God bless us, everyone. A merry Christmas to you and your family Luke!
Musically it doesn't make sense to the story. When they removed the minor key song "When Love is Gone" it doesn't make his redemption as impactful when Scrooge sings "When Love is Found" at the end.
The best song and scene in the movie! It really set the tone of how dad he was looking back at that memory.
As someone who watched both this and little mermaid upon their release to vhs as a kid, cutting out those key parts from both entirely would have entirely changed how i viewed them, and subsequently how I now view them, so so glad they all stayed.
As a tiny little kid in the very early 90s, arguably too young to comprehend complex emotions (at least according to Katzenberg) i had two songs from movies profoundly effect me… this one and the Mother Earth and Father Time song from Charlotte’s Web. I’ll always remember sitting there watching my VHS tapes while my little heart was breaking. I’m so thankful to have had them in my life.
Paul Williams, the elfin super genius.
I had the VHS from new, so '93/'94? I can't remember when it came out tbh. I used to watch it every Xmas, it's far and away my favourite Xmas film. The Muppets and I were brought into this world in the same year and I've always thought that we grew up together! They were always in the telly, even on BFBS when my Dad was stationed in Germany. In the late 2000's I ended up taking all of my VHS cassettes down the charity shop, something I still regret to this day (as well as my audio cassettes!). I'd bought the DVD of MCC and was staggered that "When Love is Gone" had gone! As far as I knew that song had always been there! I'd no idea it had been removed for the DVD release. Giving up my copy of the VHS has been plaguing me since. I had it, it was right there! Then, no more. I adored that song! It broke my heart every time I heard it, it was so moving, why you wouldn't want in there I'll never know.
Do it's back now? It's too late for this year, bit I'll grab a BRD for next year for sure if it's on there now! Thanks for letting us know!
Merry Christmas, one and all!
I fast-forwarded this as a kid; not because it was boring or I didn’t connect with it. It was because of how horribly sad it is and made me bawl😭😅I’m glad it got put back in on Disney+ 😁🥰
I did the same, and it was mostly because I was bored, but now it brings me to tears and is my song in the film.
This song was the emotional pivot point of Scrooge's reclamation. I facepalmed so hard when Disney cut it. Did a happy dance when they restored it. Beautifully conceived and performed, Caine and Braun brought me to tears with their duet.
Just went and watched muppet Christmas carol performed with a live orchestra at the Hammersmith theatre, the song was in the movie and the performance from the orchestra was amazing
I remember being so confused when I watched the movie on streaming the first time, because I grew up with the VHS copy. I still, to this day, pause Disney+ at that part of the movie, and watch the song on TH-cam, then go back. Haha
Actually they have it on disney+, go into the movie on extras......and you have it
they have the full version on disney+, so no pausing necessary anymore! it’s just in the extras
I did that sooooooo many times too, will NOT watch the movie without it :)
I got to see this with the live orchestra playing a few weeks ago. You could hear the buzz and the collective sigh of relief as the scene was coming up and then the orchestra started to play it. The audience was so happy!
So grateful that we have the original DVD WITH the cut scene. This song makes me cry every time I hear it. A beautiful Paul Williams song ❤
Thanks for that title... I jumped on my Disney app to make sure nothing stood between me and watching this movie today.
Muppet Christmas Carol is my favourite movie of all time. My family bought me the video (I still have it) and I was shocked when watching on tv and the song was missing. I wrote an email to Disney to complain (years ago) and their reply just said ‘ it wasn’t in the cinematic release of the film’. Thankfully, you can select the extended version on Disney+ 😂
I never knew it was cut. As a kid I used to have a VHS with the song on. A genuine VHS release.
I saw this movie when it was released in theaters. Still one of my top favorite Muppet movies. I owned the VHS version that did have the song. The song should have stayed in every version. It's a great song, it slowly illustrates how much Belle meant to Scrooge, it's a real tearjerker, it balances the reprise The Love We Found at the end of the movie showing how Scrooge had changed, and it followed the tradition of Disney movies with songs of having a different version of a song from the movie play on the end credits. And the end credits version of When Love Is Gone is absolutely incredible.
Plus, if the song is cut, then why was Rizzo crying so much? For the 2 minutes of screentime that Scrooge had with Belle?
Unfortunately, the widescreen version still has not been released on Blu-ray, and both the fullscreen uncut version and the one on Disney+ with the restored song are only available by going into the extras menus, so Disney are still trying to hide it away by making the restored cut hard to find.
The extended movie should be the default option, as that is how the director intended it to be seen. Plus, Disney has also digitally altered the film to remove a cigarette from the hand of a Muppet. I am still waiting for the definitive uncut movie.
I grew up with the VHS version, and it was so jarring the first time I watched Muppet Christmas Carol with that cut. It's such an important moment in Scrooge's story, and it feels so abrupt to lose that song. I always pick the option to watch it with the song; I don't like the jarring feeling of watching without it. And Muppet Christmas Carol is one of my all-time favorite movies--not just Christmas movies, but movies overall. It was my fave all throughout childhood and I still adore it.
(Also, hearing that the guy who wanted it cut was also trying to cut songs from Little Mermaid, which pretty much launched the disney renaissance... Like damn, dude, what musical hurt you??)
@@octoberspirit yeah that guy had such bad takes lol, part of your world is one of the most famous songs in that film, how these people get hired and listened to for so long baffles me
You do not know how happy it makes me to see my name on the credits. I have been a supported of Wrestletalk and from there I started watching Cutscene. Now I am a proud supporter of both...Unless Luke loses to Oli in the Monday Night Mustache Wars. Hear me, Luke? My continued support of not one, but two channels is 100% on your shoulders. Do not let us down.
OLI: I WILL DEFEAT HIM!
As a kid, I used to rewind to watch When Love is Gone. Ballads we're always my favorite part of all the movies I liked. But my mom and siblings thought the song was boring so they would always fast forward through it. They were so happy when it was cut, but I'm glad that it's back.
Im so glad someone looked into this because this made me irrationally angry when it disappeared from my favorite christmas movie of all time.
I want Disney cut full stop.
Light the lamp, not the rat!
I believe it was for Christmas 2022 when I finally bought the CD soundtrack. Two years prior I had finally let go of someone I had been in love with since I was fifteen. Being able to listen to this on disc was the perfect tune for that sort of thing. As far as the song being put back into the movie, I had been watching the full version with When Love Is Gone for years, and only ended up seeing the cut version once, however when I did, the filmmaker in me was more hung up on the pacing of the scene. The song allows for a better paced scene before the soundtrack kicks in.
I always watched it with, then came across a version without, and felt crazy. It is such an important piece of the movie
My daughter doesn't care for the song but I love it. We have it on DVD. I think they did a great job with this, keeping the serious nature of A Christmas Carol but added a bit of humor to lighten it for children. We watchbit every year along with the George C Scott version.
I go and see this film at the cinema every Christmas. The first year I went I was extremely happy when she started to sing because I knew they’d cut the song for the Blu Ray(I saw it on VHS when I was 11 and many times since as I owned it).
That song makes me cry, instantly. I love it.
I once wrote a Battlestar Galactica version of A Christmas Carol.
Commander Scrooge was visited by Adama who took him to his past, Apollo who took him to the present and Starbuck who took him to the future.
Where can I find it?
@RogbodgeVideo It was fanfiction.
Honestly as a kid this song was the 'slow' part of the movie and my least favorite part, the song was pretty but it just didn't resonate.
However as I got older and experienced life, the song took on new meaning and has become one of my, if not most, favorite song of the movie. And I think that is awesome when your appreciation and understanding of a movie or part of a movie can grow with you. It makes it 'new' and entertaining all over again.
Yeeaaa I got this on VHS SOMEWHERE and that FULL song is definitely there. Lotta great info in this Video!
My kids have always loved that song. My oldest daughter Danielle as a kid always said that she liked the song best.
I'd only ever known the home video version of the movie. When I updated my collection to have a DVD version, it had the VHS "Standard Definition" And wide screen "Theatrical Cut" of the movie. I was perplexed that the Widescreen edition didn't have the song. So, when I shared the movie with my boyfriend, I wanted to watch the widescreen version - and then paused when it made the cut, went to TH-cam and watched the scene XD It's so vital to the movie, to Scrooge!
i remember seeing the full version air on tv recently and lost my mind lol
Oh thank you for this video. I never saw the theater version, only the home video version.
This song, while I don't like it personally, is rather critical to this part of the movie.
Easily in my top five favorite Christmas movies! I saw it in the theater when I was twelve. When we got the vhs I never even realized that the song wasn’t in the theatrical version. I love the song and I’m glad it’s there even though it makes me cry. I just got the Gonzo as Charles Dickens with Russo Funko Pops!
With a thankful heart ❤️ I wish you a merry Christmas
I love this song!
The movie has been a family tradition in my house for well over 25 years, and whenever id end up watching it at a friend's house during the holidays id try to explain how their version was cut and missing a song, but was always adamant i was trying to pull one over on him. One year after the debate I literally dragged him to my house popped in my VHS and fast forwarded. He then tried to posture that the song was lame and stupid, which only made the pay off the next year so much better when his parents revealed to me that he'd annoyed them into buying their first VHS post upgrading to DVD.
I still have the VHS, but no actual VCR, so I always pause the movie, pull up TH-cam, and play it in the gap. It’s one of the most beautifully haunting songs in a franchise known for songs that shouldn’t go as hard as they do (“I’m Going to go Back there Someday” anybody?) I spent ages tracking down why it was missing from every digital version I came across, and got the answer sometime last year. Still stings, tho, so thank the Father for TH-cam.
I still regularly watch the vhs (have two copies just in case) and it’s been a joy to enjoy it all these years
His argument about the song being too sad for a children’s movie must have vanished when he did. Have you ever heard “When Somebody Loved Me” from Toy Story 2? When I took my children and that song came on, I began to hear sniffling from the audience, but it wasn’t from the kids. I looked around me and saw that it was from the PARENTS! We ALL could remember a special toy that we loved as children, only to discard it when we reached that certain age. I still can’t hear that song without getting teary-eyed. Same with this song. It’s necessary. It belongs. It’s not the same movie without it. This is probably my favorite Christmas movie and that song is part of the reason why.
thank you for doing this video! I did not know any of the history of this song. And now I just wanna watch the whole movie!
I much prefer the version with the song. I was aware of a lot of the information presented in this video, but this is the first time all the rumors I had only heard tidbits of could be brought together so comprehensively! What a wonderful video. Thank you for putting this together.
It’s kind of amazing that with all the technology that they still needed the original negative.
I hadn't seen it in the theater, so I only saw it on VHS with the song included and I didn't know it had been cut. 😮 For years, I had no idea there was a controversy about a movie edit that I didn't realize had happened until more recently 🤔 I love that the the song's included again, it just wouldn't be such a fantastic film!
When footage is gone, when footage is gone. I wish you all the best but I must say...no, oh wait, we're found it. "This is my island in the sun!"
It’s a deleted scene on dvds. It’s a long dragging song, it doesn’t move the story at all and there’s no muppets in the whole scene. Cutting was the right choice even if it’s a moving song. It could’ve been fixed if it were shorter and had onlooker puppets reacting to keep the kids’ focus. Having said that, putting it back in now is also a good move. Kids like me are now grown and can sit for it. I still wish there were some muppets in the scene.
How does it not move he story, its the tipping point at which he goes from a to b, its the lesson he learns from the ghost of xmas past.
Great job! Such a great deep dive. I didn't know I needed to know the back story.❤
Williams is brilliant and the song is gorgeous. I never saw the theatrical version, only the VHS, so I have only ever seen the movie with the song included until recently. I was like HEY…
Got to be honest, when I was a child and we had the movie on tape, we would always fast forward the song. But when i became an adult, I wanted the song back in the streaming version 😢
Great video! Thank you!
Ah, Disney -- fouling up decent stories since 1937!
Maybe I was a weird child because this song was always my favourite part of the film. I was so disappointed when our VHS died and we bought it on DVD, only to find the song missing!
So I can finally watch the movie without having to pause it? Awesome
This is bizarre, i was literally thinking about this short like a week and a half ago, stellar coverage
I grew up only with the VHS so I didn’t even know they cut it till Disney plus. Man was a upset when I was showing it for the first time to my kids. Glad that there is now a version of it in on Disney plus (it’s in the extras)
Mickey “welcome to the family” sounds like a sinister mafia line
My entire childhood involved the muppets in some form or another.
I have watched all sorts of things that Jim Henson Company did or were involved in. I brought my children up in the magical world of anything to do with the his creative magical imagination. I instantly am transformed in to looking through the eyes of a child in wonder. They move, the can hear, they can see, they can taste, they can touch, and they can talk or make soumds, therefore they are...real. ❤❤❤ they captivate my attention and breath personality and colour across the screen.
Btw I loved the Storyteller. I have both seasons. My childrens favorite memories growing up is watching them and John Hert. And the tradition will live on.