It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Dir: Kirk R. Thatcher

2002

***

Fifteen years after the classic A Muppet Family Christmas, the people at Muppet labs concocted It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, a very loose adaptation of Frank Capra's Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life. They'd adapted A Christmas Carol already, so what else was left? It's a bit odd, given the subject matter but Kermit doesn't go as far as attempt suicide I'm glad to say, he is merely careless in his language when stating that it would have been easier if he had never been born. Shame on Kermy but you have to sympathize with him somewhat, as for the hundredth time in Muppet history, the Muppet Theatre faces closure once more. Say what you will about the Muppets but they certainly know how to recycle, although disproving their message that it's not that easy being green. I digress. David Arquette (attaboy boy....David) plays the angel given the task of showing Kermit what life would be if he'd never been born, ultimately showing him his worth. It's all a bit convoluted, strange and a little bit too serious but basically had it not been for Kermit, the Muppet Theatre would be a club with many of the Muppets being cage dancers, Gonzo would be homeless, Fozzie would be a thief and Miss Piggy would be a cat lady and part-time Jamaican phone psychic. I love Kermit to bits but I think they give him way more credit than he deserves, although things really could be worse. The real truth is that if Kermit or indeed any of the Muppets hadn't ever existed the effects would be far, far worse. This isn't a terrible Christmas special but it's not their best. I'll take them anyway I can get them to be honest as they can do no wrong in my mind (apart from Lady Gaga and the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular that is).

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

Dir: Kirk R. Thatcher

2008

****

I've said it before and I'll say it again; It wouldn't be Christmas without the Muppets, not for me anyway. However, you can't just watch The Muppet's Christmas Carol every year, they've made so many Christmas specials over the years, there really is plenty to choose from and most of it is of genuine quality. They are now even more popular thanks to their 2011 movie and 2015 TV series, quite rightly too, but I never gave up on them and even though this is not their greatest outing (or their greatest Christmas special) it's still very good. Sure, I'd happily watch them stand still for an hour but there is enough of their character and their humour to see beyond the typical Disney Christmas schmaltz that is also on display. To be even more honest, the 10 minute + out take reel is better than the film itself and worth watching alone for but it's all good and very, very funny.

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
Dir: Kirk R. Thatcher
2005
**
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz represents a dark chapter in the history of the Muppets. It was watched on TV by a record breaking audience, the popularity of the Muppets themselves never waning but almost everyone agreed that it just wasn't as good as they could be. It does have some funny bits, the Muppet magic is there if you look hard enough ("Lunchkins for munchkins", "Are you related to Frank Oz") but the constant references to the most fleeting elements of popular culture became tiresome pretty quickly, as did the constant cameo appearances, as if the Muppets couldn't stand on their own feet (you know what I mean). That said, I liked the Quentin Tarantino scene a lot but I thought Ashanti was a poor lead choice and that her overall dream of entering a talent show was far too shallow for Muppet theology. There wasn't enough Muppets either, always a mistake in a Muppet film. The hired writers were too young and inexperienced, I have no idea why the Muppet performers themselves never wrote the scripts. I'm surprised at director Kirk R. Thatcher and producer Bill Barretta though. Thatcher (Punk seen on the Bus going to Sea World in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) and Barretta (Pepe the Kind Prawn) are both very talented and funny people, I think they should have produced something greater that they were both very capable of. It's the Muppets though, so I cherish it.