Rating: 
Summary: Sweet, tender and nostalgic story about the spirit of giving
Review: This is a fairly faithful version of a very tender Russell and Lillian Hoban story (they wrote and illustrated, respectively, the delicious stories about Frances, the little badger who invents her own snappy rhymes). It is directed by Jim Henson,and the actors are muppets who capture the special look of Lillian Hoban's charming animal characters. The story is about a "hillbilly" otter family down on their financial luck after the father of the family passes away. The plot is a variation on themes well known to those familiar with O'Henry's "the Gift of the Magi", but offers a version more meaningful to even very young children who can follow a story. The production features a few mellow musical numbers, and has one tolerable, but loud (and dramatically appropriate) rock number near the end of the story. It's a fairly old-fashioned piece of storytelling suited best to those who may not be tempted to let their children watch TV very often. We first got this video when Disney released a group of old Christmas videos several years ago. My 9 year old still can watch it several times in one sitting, but even a four year old could love it. (I have to admit I look forward to it as much as my daughter). We were lucky enough to find by chance a used copy of the original out-of-print book, and it is one of our favorite holiday readings as well. I highly recommend this video to parents in search of a little "jewel". It will be a favorite for the holiday season as long as there are kids around your house. If you are touched by the simplicity of the Christmas spirit -- no matter what your religious beliefs -- you will enjoy this production.
Rating: 
Summary: Emmet Otters JugBand Christmas
Review: This is a great classic that I watch with my children every Christmas eve. It shows the true meaning of love. I also would like to say that I bought mine 2 years ago in a mall at one of the movies stores and only paid 19.99 for a brand new one on DVD. So please do not try to rip people off it is a horrible thing to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: This version is changed from what was shown on HBO many years ago. It is changed to be more politically correct and not so 'mean spirited' - case in point, deleting the scene of Emmet's mom telling Gretchen Fox to fall off the dock.
And Kermit has been 99% eliminated from this version. What was the deal with that? Removing any Jim Henson original work is just not forgiveable.
If they re-release it, fine. Until then, forget it. Hunt Ebay and buy an original version.
Rating:
Summary: A charming Hinson hit!
Review: Only Jim Hinson could use such charming hand puppets to tell his story so that children (and adults) can understand the meaning of love for our fellow man. All the little otter freinds in Frog Hollow tell us a charming story of love and devotion. The original music and songs are easy for "our little otter pals" to sing. The magic in Hinson's story is one we can all remember for many years to come. It doesn't matter if the version is the original which was produced in the 1970's or this new version, the meaning that Hinson wanted to tell comes through in every frame of the film.
Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC
Review: I AMM 33 YRS. OLD AND I REMEMBER THIS MOVIE WHEN I WAS A KID. I LOVED THE MOVIE THEN AND STILL LOVE IT NOW. OUR THREE CHILDREN (AGES 10, 6, 2) ALSO LOVE THE MOVIE WHICH TO OUR FAMILY MAKES THIS A TIMELESS CLASSIC.
Rating:
Summary: nostalgia please!
Review: Some good nostalgic stuff here, considering they showed this over and over and over on HBO back in the early days. Saw this more times than I can count, and then a gap of about twenty years happened since I've seen it again recently. I forgot how good it looked, how fun it was. But I also forgot about how visible those strings are! Haha...not that it mattered, it's all in fun and fantasy. I must admit, there was a lot more singing in this than I remembered. My brother and I always thought the Riverbottom Nightmare Band DID win the competition - I mean, that song they performed was COOL. Still, this was a trip down memory lane for me. If you have seen it already, you know how fun this little show is. There's a ton of singing though. I found it more fun when I was younger, but being older, I found it more annoying this time around. Maybe I've lost my taste for musicals. Anyway, I've heard of the cuts - and yeah, they don't make sense. The DVD itself is bare bones, but the video image is sharp and clean and impressive. Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: get over it
Review: This is the only christmas movie I can bring myself to watch. I grew up poor, with a single mom and a brother and sister. To this day I absolutely despise christmas (I cannot even bring myself to capitalize the word). I grew up watching how horrible it made my mom feel to not provide a 'proper' christmas for her kids, with lots of presents and a huge dinner. Luckily, I know how much she loved all of us despite how many times the JC Penney christmas catalogue and commercials on tv tried to make us feel otherwise. If you want to let your kids, or better yet---yourself, feel a true spirit about family love and closeness during the holiday season, get this. Whether muppet fans disagree or not, the story and it's heart is still there. Jim Hensen would be amazed how this story touches me, since I am a cold hearted bah humbug man. He would not care about the editing, he would care that you get what the story was meant to say. For all of you complaining that this is not what you remember---get over it. The best and only story that should be shared during such an emotional (and not always "happy" emotional season) is Emmett Otter. Buy this if you want to feel what the holiday season should be about, leave it alone if all you care about is editing. You shouldn't be allowed to remember it as dearly as I do anyway, if that is your only PETTY complaint. Bah humbug to you.
Rating:
Summary: BEST Christmas special ever. Period.
Review: Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas is simply an amazingly visual, humorous, and heartwarming treat. Unforgettable music, classic lines ("yu got mash'd pO-TA-toes?", "look at the buurrrds, up in the tree) and so realistic (minus a couple of guide wires in difficult lightening frames) puppetry/backrounds help make this our family's #1 MUST-HAVE Christmas time DVD.
It looks VERY good on DVD and the Henson group deserves great praise for getting it released on this format.
If there were more than 5 stars to hand out, this is one of only a handful of DVD's I would give more to.
Buy it. You'll watch it at least EVERY Christmas-Guaranteed.
Rating: 
Summary: They should be required to indicate that it has been edited
Review: This was one of my favorite Muppets features ever since the first time I saw it on HBO. Unfortunately, as other reviewers have indicated, this version has been clumsily edited and I was very disappointed in the changes. Kermit's narration has been removed, the ending is changed, and some of the lyrics of the songs are redone. The Muppets features always showed the whole range of emotions, from sentimentality to honest anger and a little cartoonish violence. These things have all been removed from the film. I am not sure if the changes were made to "sanitize" this for kids, or if it was just cut for time reasons, but the changes make no sense and really cut the heart out of the film. Save your money until they release the original HBO special.
Rating:
Summary: Great version, but I miss Kermie in the middle
Review: I was one of the people who saw this in its original form and, unlike it's cousin The Muppet Family Christmas, it survived the editing process with only minor resections. However, it boggles my mind why they removed Kermit's narration towards the end of the show. It is quite obvious where they did it because Emmet freeze frames for a few seconds and then it abruptly segways into them singing together. Oh well. I have loved this one since I first saw it on HBO in the late 80's. This is a good example of how a good story survives, no matter how low-tech its presentation is. It is nice to have it on DVD, even with the alterations. Merry Christmas!
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