Time for our obligatory Christmas-themed review—slightly belated, but then with people tending to keep up seasonal decorations until the middle of January, nuts to it. And anyway, it has been one I’ve been meaning to get to, with what seems to be now considered a modern Christmas classic turning thirty, combining a timeless story that resonates across the ages with…the Muppets.
Well, first of all, what explains the appeal of the Muppets? This all boils down to the sensibility of the sadly departed Jim Henson, which was a unique one at that—combining the sardonic and the wise-ass with simultaneously being wholesome and universal. Very few have pulled it off like he did, and you can see his trademark going all the way back to these surprisingly fun coffee ads he did in his early days. A lot of the original shows are still enjoyable now, and it’s not like the best kind of goofy nonsense has ever gone out of style since.
As for Christmas Carol? That’s easier still—it’s a story with a universal personal theme of it never being too late or unimportant to change your ways for the better. And though Charles Dickens was writing about the Victorian era, he still touches on perhaps every so slightly ever-pertinent issues of the poor and underclass being ignored or cast aside, nor those worrying for those close while being overworked by the penny-pinching…I mean, after 170 years, maybe someone’s come up with an idea to resolve all that, right?
So, combine the two, how do you make it work? Well, the first reason is the most crucial one—that of our main character, Ebeneezer Scrooge, who is the one spirited away by three ghosts to review his past, present, and future. And here we get us some Carter with the legendary Michael ‘You’re only supposed to blow the blaaady dawrs off!’ Caine—who, despite most of his co-stars being diminutive felt critters, gave the performance his all. When he’s looking nostalgic at his childhood past, or snarling in rage, it’s all spot on—and that’s why for many, this is the definitive Scrooge right here. Caine took this as professional as he would any thespian task, and by all his accounts greatly enjoyed it—as opposed to say, his work on Jaws 4.
Everything else is also surprisingly faithful to the book, talking rats and whatever-Gonzo’s-meant-to-be aside—much more so than even other adaptations, with all the rather grim moments that entails. The soundtrack by Paul Williams is excellent, and is almost guaranteed make you feel sad for a sock-shaped frog. Things get surprisingly intense at the end, where Caine gives it his all alongside the creepiest Muppet ever made, namely the Nazgul-like Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come—and it’s that the movie is able to pull that off alongside hijinks with Miss Piggy makes it endearing to so many.
It all boils down to the most crucial ingredient in making any movie work—sincerity, and be it man or fuzzy thing, there’s that abounding in performance and production here. It was the first major Muppet production made after Henson’s death, so it had quite something to live up to, but given how often you see it referenced and praised even now, it looks like it did just that. There was another Muppets adaptation later in the nineties with Treasure Island—not as well-loved, but between Tim Curry hamming it as always and some catchy songs, still enjoyable. Folks I know sometimes clamor for a Muppets Great Gatsby—I say, why not try Muppets Nineteen Eighty-Four?
Anyhoo, to sum things up here, never let it be said that a Dickensian classic can be harmed in either quality nor Christmas spirit by creatures with people’s arms up them. Humbug it ain’t…
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