Wonkette Movie Night: The Muppet Christmas Carol
'Mother always taught me, never eat singing food.'
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was first published in 1843. There have been hundreds of TV and film versions starting with 1901’s Scrooge; or Marley’s Ghost, a silent film directed by Walter Robert Booth. IMDb has helpfully provided a list of 247 of these versions. In all of those retellings of the famed miser’s fall and redemption there are a few that stand out.
One of the best known is 1951’s Scrooge with Alistair Sim which was released in the United States as A Christmas Carol. You can be sure to find this playing on many screens before Christmas, with Sim as the greedy old man who is haunted by spirits; a man who must reassess his priorities when the ghosts of the past, present and future pay him a visit.
We did Scrooged with Bill Murray as a Movie Night way back in 2024. And I must quote myself:
The newest remake is coming out in 2025 and it looks to be the most terrifying A Christmas Carol to date, starring Donald Trump as Scrooge. Who will play the three spirits in this maladaptation? My suggestion for the Spirit of Christmas Past be all the women he has harmed. We can skip the Spirit of Christmas Present because it sucks and jump right to the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. In the original story that Spirit shows Scrooge what has happened in death to a much despised man: There is much rejoicing and no one weeps for his loss. Scrooge vows to change his ways after being shown his neglected grave. Although I sense in this version of Dickens’s story there will be no redemption for Scrooge.
There have been many versions done as TV episodes of familiar shows; some you think, really? Yes, these shows did A Christmas Carol: Topper, Mister Magoo, The Odd Couple, Sanford and Son, The Six Million Dollar Man, WKRP In Cincinnati, Alice, Family Ties, Highway To Heaven, Fame, Perfect Strangers, and on and on. On that IMDb list there’s also lots of why in the world would they make that versions.
Do you remember made-for-TV movies?
A Carol Christmas from 2003 starred Tori Spelling, William Shatner, and Gary Coleman. If you would like to watch it, what the hell is wrong with you but here’s a link.
A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott was also a made-for-TV movie; directed by the editor of the 1951 version, Clive Donner. It had great acting, beautiful sets and is considered one of the better films on the list. It was a different level of filmmaking, that was the thing with made-for-TV movies, they could swing from cheesy to the classic.
The remakes, reimaginings and even sequels have given us entertainment that can be dramatic and dark or fun and colorful.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is the second one.
We all know the story and that doesn’t change, the joy comes because most all the characters are our beloved Muppets. With Michael Caine taking on the title role of Scrooge, the movie is quality filmmaking beyond the perfect casting of Kermit as Bob Cratchit. It ends in classic Muppet fashion, with a great song and just about every Muppet you can imagine singing it.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is free on the Internet Archive. Available with subscription on Disney+. $3.99 in the usual places.
The Muppet Christmas Carol stars Michael Caine, Frank Oz, Steve Whitmire, David Goelz, Jerry Nelson, and David Rudman. Directed by Brian Henson.
To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.
The animated short is My Cat Lucy by Kate Vaillant.
Next week’s Movie Night selection is Shirley Valentine, available for free on YouTube. $3.99 in the usual places.
𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀:
This was the first major Muppet project after creator Jim Henson's death. The role of Kermit the Frog was handed down to Steve Whitmire. He said he was incredibly nervous about taking over such an iconic character. The night before he recorded Kermit's songs for the movie, he had a dream where he met Henson in a hotel lobby and told him how unsure he was. In the dream, Henson reassured Whitmire that the feeling would pass. After waking up, Whitmire was confident and able to do the part.
𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀:
In a 2022 interview with The Independent, Brian Henson spoke about the importance of having Paul Williams' music in the film: "To be honest, I was surprised my dad had moved off from Paul's work for the second two Muppet movies. Then I learned it was because Paul had substance abuse problems that got bad after the first Muppet movie. When I reached out to him, he was just recently sober after a really long period of being self-destructive and he really wanted to do it. The studio was concerned but when he first started sending his ideas, it became clear it was going to be great... It was fantastic for Paul. The fact that it was a movie about redemption and how you can change your life and become what you think is a good person and the self-loathing deep down can finally be expelled? That very much matched up with where Paul was at in his life, so his songs are as strong as he's ever written."