The Muppets were introduced to me as an adult last year when my fiance insisted I act like Beaker and we must watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. Whether or not I am in fact Beaker in human form is debatable but The Muppet Christmas Carol is a very sweet little film that takes no chances with its source material but manages to be charming and adorable. The story is narrated by Charles Dickens (Gonzo) and Rizzo the Rat (that has got to be a reference to Midnight Cowboy) who spend the duration breaking the fourth wall and falling in the snow. Scrooge (Michael Caine) is decidedly heartless and Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) a devoted family man.
There’s not much to say about The Muppet Christmas Carol – we all know the story so well. As an adaptation it is up there as one of the best. It is short and to the point. It contains just enough understanding they are presenting a story that has been done to death to make that fact cute rather than idiotic.
Further to my understanding of The Muppets – I do have a few practical concerns:
- How can a frog & a pig have children?
- If Scrooge is some sort of property manager & landlord why does he only employ bookkeepers?
- Why do humans not find it weird that they are surrounded by muppets?
- How do I compromise the idea of humanoid muppets with the actual humans in the movie. What is up with that?
My fiance tells me that this is about the continuity of The Muppets and I’m missing the point. All I can think is that I’d like to go back to that period in time when a major musician appearing on television with a muppet was both culturally relevant and an honour.
Final thought: Definitely prefer this version of the Dickens classic to the really scary classic one they used to run on CTV every year.
Lex Corbett (@trazism) is a freelance writer & editor of Eye Myth Film. She lives in Toronto, Canada.
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