It may not be the finest version of Charles Dickens' tale to grace the screen, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is funny and heartwarming, and serves as a good introduction to the story for young viewers.
It may not be the finest version of Charles Dickens' tale to grace the screen, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is funny and heartwarming, and serves as a good introduction to the story for young viewers.
Brian Henson, the son of Muppet founder Jim Henson, took over directing duties after the untimely death of his father for The Muppet Christmas Carol, a sluggish re-telling of the Charles Dickens tale. Michael Caine, surrounded by legions of fuzzy, felt puppets, plays it straight as the crotchety Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser who could care less about Christmas and the joy the season brings. Working for the skinflint is his faithful employee Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), who begs Scrooge for a
day off for Christmas. Scrooge reluctantly agrees and goes home on Christmas Eve filled with bile at the holiday merrymakers. But then he is visited by the sprits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, and Scrooge, after revisiting his sorrowful past, hate-filled present, and doomed future, turns over a new leaf and becomes the most generous and celebratory person in town. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
The fit between sentiment and satire is not always a comfortable one and the more dedicated fans of either the story or the Muppets may leave theaters dissatisfied.
There's no great show of wit or tunefulness here, and the ingenious cross-generational touches are fairly rare. But there is a lively kiddie version of the Dickens tale, one that very young viewers ought to understand.
Like all the Muppet movies, this one is a musical, with original songs by Paul Williams (my favorite is the early chain-rattling duet by the Marley brothers). It could have done with a few more songs than it has.
The Muppet Christmas Carol isn't terrible, by any means. But it's resoundingly moderate, with merely passable songs by Paul Williams, and only occasional real laughter.
Not, maybe, the most rigorous of Christmas Carol adaptations, although it is a lot more faithful than one would perhaps have expected... at any rate a great Muppet film.
Strikes just the right balance of irony and sincerity...genuinely heartwarming, from its opening dedication to Henson and Hunt to its joy-to-the-world finale. [new DVD review]
I love the Muppets, this movie is their adaptation of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. Stars Michael Caine as Scrooge.
November 10, 2007
Candy Rose
Super Reviewer
The Christmas Carol is the only story that I think that no one has ever screwed up in telling a new and improve version of the classic Dickens Tale. This is a basic music rendition with the muppets, but they got probably one of the best Scrooge's ever, They got Michael Caine (Dark Knight, Alfie) who does one of his
best performances in this film, he pulls off the jerk so well, and his look and voice truly matched what I thought of hearing every time I read the story. Also the music for the film is extremely well done, and it has some of the best songs that were done in the Muppet films, and that says a lot for the first Muppet film done after Jim Henson and Richard Hunt had died. My favorite song for the film is the song that describes Scrooge and gives his introduction.
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