A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and future.Written by
Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
Look very closely in one of the crowd sequences. One of the background Muppets is a lobster hanging out of a basement window. This is a reference to the line, "like bad lobster in a dark cellar", one of Charles Dickens' weirder turns of phrase. See more »
Goofs
The Marleys make a reference to "teddy bears," a named derived from President Theodore Roosevelt, who was born about fifteen years after "A Christmas Carol" takes place. Since the film is presented as a theatre-play, however, where the Muppets use whatever props are available, this can be seen as deliberate. See more »
Quotes
Ebenezer Scrooge:
Spirit, tell me if Tiny Tim will live.
Ghost of Christmas Present:
That is the future. My realm is the present. However, I see a vacant seat by the chimney corner and a crutch without an owner. If these shadows remain unaltered, I believe the child will die. But, what then? If he's going to die, he'd better do it and decrease the surplus population.
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Crazy Credits
The opening credits feature the names of the Muppet characters as the Christmas Carol characters they portray. (Kermit The Frog as Bob Cratchet, etc). The ending credits list the voice actors and puppeteers themselves. See more »
Alternate Versions
When originally showed in theaters, Belle's song "When Love Is Gone" was cut. Director Brian Henson protested this decision, but then head of Disney Jeffrey Katzenberg felt the song was too sad for a children's movie. The removal leaves the scene quite short and abrupt and damages the pacing. It was reinstated on all full screen home video copies of the film, including the laserdisc (wide-screen too), VHS home, and first DVD release, at the insistence of Brian Henson. For the Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition DVD, the full screen version includes "When Love Is Gone" and the wide-screen version cuts the song. The UK re-release from Park Circus in 2012 includes the song. See more »
I recently rented this movie for my young son. I never imagined that I'd end up liking it more than he does. If you can get past the fact that most of the cast are muppets, this is actually a terrific version of A Christmas Carol. Michael Caine makes a fine Scrooge, one of the best I've ever seen in fact. I usually hate musicals, but all of the songs in this film are great (and the girl who plays Belle - this girl can SING!) The comedy is mostly provided by Gonzo, narrating as Charles Dickens, and his sidekick Rizzo the Rat. The humor is truly funny and appropriately placed (notice how a very good reason is created for Gonzo and Rizzo to exit during the serious Christmas Yet to Come portion .) This is truly one of those movies "for young and old alike", though it will probably go over the heads of very young children. But anyone who generally likes A Christmas Carol should like this version of it.
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I recently rented this movie for my young son. I never imagined that I'd end up liking it more than he does. If you can get past the fact that most of the cast are muppets, this is actually a terrific version of A Christmas Carol. Michael Caine makes a fine Scrooge, one of the best I've ever seen in fact. I usually hate musicals, but all of the songs in this film are great (and the girl who plays Belle - this girl can SING!) The comedy is mostly provided by Gonzo, narrating as Charles Dickens, and his sidekick Rizzo the Rat. The humor is truly funny and appropriately placed (notice how a very good reason is created for Gonzo and Rizzo to exit during the serious Christmas Yet to Come portion .) This is truly one of those movies "for young and old alike", though it will probably go over the heads of very young children. But anyone who generally likes A Christmas Carol should like this version of it.