The Muppet Christmas Carol

Rating:
Summary: Another Muppet Classic
Review: The Muppet Christmas Carol has been a classic in my household as long as I can remember. Every year at Christmas my family would pull this movie out and watch it.

The Muppet Christmas Carol combines Muppets with humans in a style only a Henson could do. It has humor, a story, moral, and loveable characters that last a lifetime.

Michael Cain is the gruff old miser Ebenezer Scrooge. He plays this character masterfully, sending chills into any room. Gonzo the Great (David Goelz) plays Charles Dickens. He and Rizzo (Steve Whitmire) follow Ebenezer Scrooge as he encounters the three spirits.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, but for the Muppet lover this is a must watch.

Rating:
Summary: Dickens: Like Only A Muppet Can
Review: When Jim Henson passed away, Brian Henson (his son) decided to pick a new type of project for the Muppet films in the arena of literature adaptation. Well, he pulled it off, and he could not have made a better choice than to tackle Dickens' Christmas Classic: A Christmas Carol.

The Muppets are the characters, but people are along for the ride too, such as Michael Caine who stars as Scrooge himself. With their quirky Muppet styles, and Caine's good acting this movie goes far in presenting this story to a new generation over and over again. The story, with many of the original lines, has all of the joy and sadness of the story, but with so much more liveliness.

I highly recommend this film, as it will probably become a Christmas classic in your household. Adults and kids will like this, and maybe not just in December either.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was a wonderful version of A Christmas Carol. The muppet characters lighten up the story enough that even small kids can enjoy this, as well as adults. Almost anyone can enjoy this movie, so you should go and buy it.

Rating:
Summary:  A Very Merry Muppet Classic!!
Review: The story is an all too familiar one -- a miserly businessman named Ebenezer Scrooge (played exceptionally well by Michael Caine) is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a group of three ghostly visitors as they help me take stock of his past, present and possibly doomed future. Yes, this classic tale has been adapted more times than we may care to mention, but this particular version is sure to be loved by adults as well as children, making it a perfect family movie. It is warm, funny and very well-acted (by Muppets and humans alike).

What makes this adaptation so wonderful are the humorous antics the Muppets bring to the screen, the brilliant performance of Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, and the deeply moving original musical scores by Paul Williams. Several bold departures that also work brilliantly -- Marley is actually two characters -- brothers Robert and Jacob Marley. Kermit's Bob Crachit is actually one of several bookkeepers in Scrooge's employ, and the film is narrated by non other than Charles Dickens himself (played by Gonzo) and his admirable companion Rizzo the rat.

Of course, Dickens purists will not agree, but this is truly one of the best adaptations of the classic yet. Michael Caine is BRILLIANT as Scrooge - one of the best performances in this role I have ever seen.

A definite 5 stars!

Cris Cunningham


Rating:
Summary: Always Aeaves A Warm Happy Feeling
Review: I'll never forget the first time I saw The Muppet Christmas Carol. The very first caption read "I'm loving memory of Jim Henson" and I got a little teary-eyed. This movie is one big homage to Jim Henson while at the same time passing long the torch to his son Brian who directed the film.

It was like getting to know old friends all over again. This is also where Gonzo gets more of the spotlight as the narrator Charles Dickens with his sidekick Rizzo the Rat (also getting a little more attention) It's a heartwarming take on an old classic.

My favorite scene is with the ghost of Christmas Present, with his warm friendly demeanor he gave you a nice warm happy feelings, even though you know the dreary future was yet to come. If you can listen to It Feels Like Christmas and not be moved you must be a Scrooge yourself. That song tells us exactly what Christmas is and what it should be all year long.

If you listen to every song you can see the love and memory of Jim Henson's work shining through with a message loud and clear. The ending is a grand scene with all of the Muppets singing and you've just gotta sigh. This movie is truly a Christmas classic.

Rating:
Summary: Best Christmas Movie ever!
Review: This is the best Christmas movie I have ever seen. It's great because the comedy can be appreciated by both children and adults. I can't emphasize enough how good the narration is, it's done by Rizzo the rat and Gonzo who plays Charles Dickens. Despite being acted by puppets it very closely follows the original Christmas Carol. Michael Caine is amazing in this movie, Oscar worthy performance (come on it's hard to act against puppets!). The music is just beautiful. The singing and musical elements in the movie make it the best musical version of a Christmas Carol. All of this comes together to create one of the most memorable Christmas movies of all time.

Rating:
Summary: THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL IS THE GREATEST HOLIDAY MOVIE
Review: I can remember, when I was a young child, I would watch this movie several times during each holiday season. This exciting, entertaining, heart-warming, endearing, and educational movie is quite amazing. Yet, these words really do not give justice to this great great movie. No words can describe the emotions and love that come with this masterpiece. Focusing on the key elements of the original "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, this movie goes beyond what many "A Christmas Carol" movies can do. It is SO faithful to the original story it is a astonishing. This version is better than any before it. Many of the other versions of the novel by Dickens are morbid and sad, while the Muppet version keeps kids entertainment levels extremely high... it even includes some of the best Muppet songs ever created. So while many holiday movies are "same old - same old," A Muppet Christmas Carol brings the best of the season, teaching life-long values, and giving the GREATEST HOLIDAY MOVIE PERFORMANCE EVER.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully unique take on an old classic!
Review: If you've seen one version of A Christmas Carol, you've seen them all! At least that's how I felt when I saw a recent made-for-TV musical version of the Charles Dickens' classic. After all, who doesn't know the story by now? I've written reviews for other filmed versions of A Christmas Carol here on Amazon.com, and you can see that by time I critiqued the one with Patrick Stewart, I wasn't impressed. My personal favorite is the 1984 TV-movie with George C. Scott and unlike many; I didn't really like the one with Alistair Sim (though his performance is without equal). I guess when you pick a favorite, all others seem unoriginal, offering nothing new.

Then there's The Muppet Christmas Carol...now THAT'S original!

Ok, so the story remains the same: in one night, Ebenezer Scrooge learns the meaning of Christmas from several ghostly visitors, transforming his character from bitterness to joyous repent. That hasn't changed, nor should it. It is a musical, but that also is not new, as there's a well known and incredibly long-winded musical called Scrooge starring Albert Finney. And another excellent actor portrays Scrooge in the muppet film, carrying on the tradition of Sim, Scott and Finney.

Nonetheless, the differences are pretty obvious. Most of the (normally human) characters are played by muppets. Kermit the Frog plays Bob Cratchet, Fozzie Bear plays Fezziwig - er - I mean Fozziwig, and, in an odd yet brilliant departure, Gonzo the Great plays Charles Dickens narrating his own tale. The advantage of showcasing muppets instead of human actors is that it allows the characters to be silly and funny in ways their human counterparts cannot. Thus the film becomes more fun in the process. Yet, it never loses its heart, and The Muppet Christmas Carol may well be the most touching of all versions.

The musical numbers in the muppet version are actually very well done. Musicals can become problematic when the songs start to eclipse the action and dialogue. That recent made-for-TV musical I previously mentioned is one such example. This film features about 7 or 8 songs, but feels like only 4 or 5...and that's a good thing. Such songs as "It Feels Like Christmas" and "When Love is Gone" are enjoyable and poignant...and don't be surprised if you find yourself whistling a couple of the tunes.

A lesser actor might have delivered an over-the-top performance as Ebenezer Scrooge for fear having the show stolen away by his muppet co-stars. But film legend Michael Caine decided to play Scrooge straight. While he does have some fun in the process, Sir Michael gives a real, honest-to-goodness performance here. It shouldn't have come as a surprise, especially to a huge Caine fan like myself. Yet he's an actor who still surprises on occasion. He strikes the perfect balance between humor and sentiment. It's fun to watch Caine sing as well, which is one of those surprises. While he doesn't have the best singing voice, he makes it work because he knows that Scrooge is so happy (at that point in the story) that Scrooge would break out into song, whether he sounded good or not! Michael Caine delivers a wonderful performance and has done the seemingly impossible, stolen much of the film away from muppets!

I, like many others, believe that Disney should produce a special edition DVD of The Muppet Christmas Carol in anamorphic widescreen. I'd also like to see the image cleaned up as the video I have now isn't the highest quality it could be. The film makes such good use of the beautifully elaborate sets and colorful costumes, it's a shame these images are so constricted in the 4:3 pan-and-scan format!

The Muppet Christmas Carol is more than a fun family film. It takes its place among the many fine adaptations of Dickens' classic story. With its warmth, humor and originality, I consider it one of the best!