"The Muppet Christmas Carol" *** (out of ****)It sometimes seems Hollywood has an insatiable desire to "revitalize" classic movies or novels by providing us with countless, unnecessary remakes or "re-tellings" or "re-imaginings" or whatever it is they like to call it. Charles Dickens novella "A Christmas Carol" is a story that has endured the test of time despite Hollywood's best intentions.
Over the years there have been various film adaptions of Dickens' story. One of the earliest known existing one dates back to 1901, a British film entitled "Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost". A slightly better known film version may be the one released in 1935 called "Scrooge" starring Seymour Hicks in the title role. It too was a British production.
For American audiences, many know the 1938 version starring Reginald Owen as Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol". This was my personal favorite adaptation of the story as well as a family favorite. Every Christmas I watched it with my grandmother. There are movie buffs however that would argue the best version of the story was the 1951 production starring Alastair Sim as Scrooge.
While these may be the best known adaptations, it hasn't stopped there. There have been musical adaptations, one starred Albert Finney, a TV movie starring Patrick Stewart, several animated versions, one even starring Mickey Mouse, and a very good one directed by Robert Zemeckis in 2009 with Jim Carrey. And to this ever expanding list we can add "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992), the first Muppet movie released after the death of Jim Henson.
"The Muppet Christmas Carol", surprisingly, is a rather straight forward telling of Dickens' tale. That is part of the problem. Why am I choosing to watch this particular version? Because it is kid friendly? So was "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983). Because it has Muppets? I suppose. Is that such an appealing attraction? Do you children even know who the Muppets are?
In its attempt to appeal to a younger audience "The Muppets Christmas Carol" adds humor to the story, supplied by The Great Gonzo (as Charles Dickens) and his sidekick, Rizzo the Rat (as himself). However, because of this the sentimentality and rich emotions the story provides aren't as prominent.
Our story begins on Christmas Eve with Dickens (Gonzo) and Rizzo serving as narrators of the story. They follow Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine), a wealthy money lender with a particular dislike of Christmas. On this day Scrooge will reject a Christmas dinner invitation from his nephew, Fred (Steven Mackintosh), whom Scrooge feels is poor and hapless. Scrooge will insult charity collectors (Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker) refusing to donate to the poor and throwing them out of his office, and will eventually relent in giving his employees, consisting of Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), the day off for Christmas.
But something more spectacular will happen on this day. Scrooge is visited by the spirits of his deceased business partners, Jacob and Robert Marley (Statler and Waldorf), who warn Scrooge his must change his ways or he will suffer the same fate as them, burdened to wear heavy chains as symbols for their sins. Scrooge will be greeted by three other spirits throughout the night, the Ghost of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come. Each will show Scrooge the error of his ways and lack of generosity towards his fellow man.
"A Christmas Carol" can be a dark story, a tale of a fallen man, in desperate need of redemption. A story of class struggle and death. To lighten the mood for children, Dickens and Rizzo fill the void. Dickens has already written his story and as such appears precognitive to Rizzo, who is mystified by this, allowing for moments of humor between the two.
To also lighten the mood songs have been written for the movie by Paul Williams, who wrote the song "Rainbow Connection" for the first Muppet movie, "The Muppet Movie" (1979). None of the songs here are memorable or catchy except perhaps for a duet song by the Marley brothers.
Academy award winning actor Michael Caine is the human we see most on-screen and does a moderate job playing the character. Caine is a great actor. One of my personal favorites. He is a better actor than Reginald Owen or Alastair Sim but their interpretations of Scrooge are far more memorable and delightful bringing more personality to the character. It also helps those actors were able to feed off of other humans whereas Caine is acting opposite Kermit the Frog. It presents a completely different dynamic for an actor, creating a new mindset.
Because Caine is a great actor he fares better than most playing against the Muppets. His approach is different than others because he plays serious and allows the Muppets to be humorous. He doesn't try to much them in their silliness. Caine's interpretation of Scrooge is as serious as other actors and I suppose he takes it as far as the material will allow him. We must keep in mind the target audience is children. How interesting it would be to see Caine play the character in a dramatic all human version.
I find the crux of the film adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" involves the relationship between Scrooge and Tiny Tim (Robin the Frog). Tiny Tim serves as the turning point for Scrooge to mend his ways. It is always a dramatic moment in any of the human adaptations. Here though it misses something and doesn't tug at your heartstrings the same way. It is like that for many of the dramatic moments in the story.
While the dramatic moments aren't as powerful there is also a lot of good holiday cheer missing. "The Muppet Christmas Carol" can't find that ever so delicate balance providing entertainment adults and children can enjoy blending heartfelt moments and humor. It comes close but doesn't hit the bullseye.
"The Muppet Christmas Carol" was directed by Jim Henson's son, Brian. Following this movie, Brian would direct one more theatrically released Muppet movie, "Muppet Treasure Island" (1996) and the huge mishap, "The Happytime Murders" (2018), featuring muppets with an adult edge to them. The puppeteers on the movie are those that have long been associated with the Muppets including Frank Oz, Dave Goelz and Steve Whitmire among others. They each deserve credit for their work.
Children may find some enjoyment in "The Muppet Christmas Carol" but I think may enjoy "Home Alone" (1990), "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (1966) and "Elf" (2003) just a bit more.
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