The Muppet Christmas Carol (1993)

Whilst there are many Christmas movies to choose from, in my opinion “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is not only the best Muppet film, but also far and away the greatest Christmas movie ever made! It’s charming, funny, heart-warming and perfect!

One of the most amazing aspects of “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is that it manages to be both a faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, and a hilarious Muppet story! The combination of grimy Victorian London and colourful all-singing, all-dancing puppets is such a strange and bizarre concept but it absolutely works! Although the film is stuffed fit to burst with witticisms, the film never shy’s away from depicting the darker and more emotional moments of the story, which means that “The Muppet Christmas Carol” can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. On a quick side note, the scene where Scrooge’s door knocker transforms into Marley’s face seriously freaked me out when I was a wee lad!

You can’t really critique the cast of “The Muppet Christmas Carol” in the same way that you can with most films for the obvious reason that most of them are muppets. But I must say what has been said hundreds of times already, the puppetry is absolutely fantastic! Even though none of the characters look realistic, the crew breathed so much life and personality into every single muppet that you believe that these characters are real.

All of your favourite characters get a moment to shine, from Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit to Gonzo as Charles Dickens, Miss Piggy in the role of Emily Cratchit and Fozzie Bear as Fozziewig (who was named Fezziwig in the novel.) So if you’re looking for some simple Muppet fun, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is definitely for you!

I’m a big fan of Sir Michael Caine; his portrayal of Alfred Pennyworth in “The Dark Knight” Trilogy was one of the highlights of that series, he was immensely entertaining in “The Italian Job” and I really enjoyed his performance as Finn McMissile in “Cars 2”, but without a doubt, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” features some of the best and most iconic moments in his entire career! Ebenezer Scrooge may not be his most nuanced or rich role (“Even the vegetables don’t like him!”), but Caine masterfully balances the vindictive cruelty and the deep sadness of Scrooge, delivering moments of warmth and anger with an enigmatic and compelling presence. Caine’s performance is even more impressive within the more dramatic scenes where he is the only human actor present. Imagine trying to employ your Oscar-winning acting skills to convey the complex redemption of your character, in a scene in which your co-stars are frogs and pigs!

Technically, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is a musical. Usually I can’t stand musicals, but I make an exception when it comes to the Muppet movies. The songs in this film never fail to put a smile on my face; although I love all of them, my favourite is definitely “It Feels Like Christmas” because of how quintessentially festive it is!

Overall, I love this movie! Christmas doesn’t officially start in our home until we all sit down and watch “The Muppet Christmas Carol”, so whilst I love other Christmas films like “Die Hard”, “Gremlins” and “Jingle All The Way”, none of them gives me the nostalgia and feverish excitement that I feel when I watch the Muppets. So “Thank you all, and Merry Christmas.”