The Muppet Christmas Carol

Dir: Brian Henson

1992

*****

Although the Muppets had been sold to Disney in late 1989, the company, the characters and the magic could so easily have died on that tragic day, 16th May 1990. Thankfully, Jim Henson surrounded himself in like-minded souls who knew what he would have wanted and knew how to continue his legacy. Brian Henson and the Muppet team worked their fingers to the bone and produced one of the best Muppet films made and one of Christmas' best love movies. It's the Muppets' first unoriginal film outing, a trend they over did somewhat, but it's easily the best, not just of their own but also of Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. Muppet films are full of human cameos but never had they had a human lead before. I wasn't sure if it would work and what it would mean for the Muppets at the time but it worked well, no Muppet would have suited the part and let’s face it, Michael Caine is awesome, no matter what he does (he's even good in Jaws: The Revenge). The Muppet Christmas Carol will of course appeal to Muppet fans but each Muppet chosen to represent each character is so well chosen and every scene in the novel is brilliantly and tastefully brought to life. Some of the most memorable parts of the book are actually more memorable now, thanks to the Muppets. The set pieces are stunning and the songs are brilliant. My only gripe is that there isn't enough Fozzie but apart from that, I love it. Doesn't everyone? God bless the Muppets, every single one of them.