The Muppet Christmas Carol





Synopsis
The Muppet Christmas Carol was the fourth feature film to star The Muppets, and the first produced after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson. Released in 1992, it was one of many film adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

In this adaptation of the timeless story, as told here by Gonzo the Great and Rizzo the Rat, it is Christmas Eve in London. The merriment is not shared by Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine), a surly money-lender who is more interested in profit than celebration. So cold to the season of giving is he that his book-keeping staff, including loyal employee Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), has to plead with him just to have the day off work during Christmas.

Later that evening, Scrooge find himself face to face with his former business partners, Jacob and Robert Marley (Statler and Waldorf), who have been condemned to shackles in the afterlife as payment for the horrible deeds they committed under Scrooge's employment. They warn him that he will share the same fate if he doesn't change his ways, and foretell the coming of three spirits throughout the night.

Scrooge is first visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, a child-like specter who takes Scrooge on a journey back through time to his youth. He recalls his early school days, during which he focused on his studies; the meeting of a young girl named Belle (Meredith Braun), with whom he would later fall in love; and the final parting between Belle and Scrooge, despite Scrooge's protests that he would marry her as soon as there was enough money. Later, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, a somewhat forgetful entity who lives only for the here and now. He gives Scrooge a glimpse into the holiday celebration of others, including Bob Cratchit and his family. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals the most chilling revelation that young Tiny Tim (Robin the Frog) will not survive the coming year, thanks in no small part to the penniless existence of the Cratchit family. Furthermore, it is revealed that when Scrooge's own time has passed, others will certainly delight in his absence from the world. It is this final epiphany that jolts Scrooge back into humanity, and vows to celebrate with his fellow man. Scoorge plans a feast for Bob Cratchit and his kin and learns to adopt the spirit of Christmas throughout the year.

Edits
Like many films, when The Muppet Christmas Carol was going through production many concepts, ideas, and even songs were conceived yet did not make it to the final film. The song “When Love is Gone” was originally planned to be part of the film, however it was dropped when film makers found that the test audiences (mainly family viewers with younger children) become restless during the scene. They felt the song slowed the film down, and was not Muppet-focused; plus the film was already pushing the limits of many younger viewers' attention spans in the test screenings. The producers decided to cut the song from the theatrical release of the film. It was not until the film was released in the home-viewing format that the song was presented to the viewers. They felt that the in the home viewing setting, that the song worked better and audiences would be more accepting, understanding and appreciative of its inclusion. Since they regretted cutting the important song from the theatrical edit, they decided to add it back in to the film for all subsequent home video and DVD releases in the USA, along with all subsequent TV airings of the movie. The film unfortunately retains the cut in the UK and Region 2 DVD release. The issue of this cut was discussed by director Brian Henson in the film's DVD audio commentary recorded in 2002 (again, except on the UK DVD release, which omits the commentary as well).

There are common misconceptions and confusion surrounding to two other songs written for the film that didn’t make it into the final product. The song “Room in your Heart” (sung by Bunsen and Beaker) and “Chairman of the Board” (sung by Sam Eagle) were written by Paul Williams for the film. The two songs were recorded and mixed. However the two songs did not make it much further in the movie because the film makers felt the film was already going to be quite lengthy, that the songs didn’t help progress the story, and that these songs would hurt the overall pacing and feel of the film. It is common for scenes and songs to be dropped from films as the go throughout their production. However, there is no indication that these musical sequences ever made it to production and they were never filmed. It is very likely that that they were dropped early on, before they got into full production. Yet, since the film makers loved the songs and did not want to completely waste them, the two songs were included on the soundtrack album for the film. The songs were never part of the film’s final edit.

Production Notes and Trivia
The film was directed by Jim Henson's son, Brian Henson. This film marked the younger Henson's directorial debut. Ironically, in spite of the majority of the cast being puppets, this film is in one sense one of the truest adaptations of the original story. This is because the film is interspersed with scenes of a narrator (Gonzo playing Dickens), who -- along with the characters -- recites virtually all of Dickens's original lines.

This is the first of the Muppet movies in which the focus of the story revolves around characters played by human beings. Specifically, Michael Caine played Ebenezer Scrooge, Steven Mackintosh portrayed Scrooge's nephew, Fred, and Meredith Braun played Scrooge's fiancée, Belle. The rest of the cast was fleshed out with Muppet performers, including Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Cratchit's wife Emily, Robin as Tiny Tim, and (almost obviously) Fozzie Bear as Fozziwig ("Fezziwig" in the original story).

Notably, several pivotal roles -- in particular, the three Christmas Spirits -- were portrayed by specially-created Muppet characters. It was at one time considered that well-known Muppets would be cast in these roles (Piggy, Scooter, and Gonzo, specifically) before it was decided that it would detract from the ominous effect the spirits would need to convey.

Following the death of Jim Henson, other puppeteers took over the roles of some of his characters, though a few (including Rowlf the Dog and Dr. Teeth) went into semi-retirement. Steve Whitmire took over the role of Kermit for this movie, and would do so for every subsequent Muppets film.

The film is credited as the first full-length theatrical film to use a green-screen instead of the standard blue for its visual effects. The green-screen allowed for clearer visual effect against a rich blue "evening sky" lighting, and hue with out distortion or interference with the picture quality, while still keeping the effects realistic looking. Green has since become the standard for special effects films rather than the blue due to the better effect quality due to the contrast of green to other lighting, set and human elements.

Soundtrack Notes
The movie, like all previous Muppet films, was done as a musical. The songs were written by Paul Williams and the score by Miles Goodman. The soundtrack included performances by the Muppet characters as well as by Michael Caine. Songs from the film include Scrooge by the Muppet performers, One More Sleep 'Til Christmas by Kermit, Marley and Marley by Statler & Waldorf, When Love Is Gone by Meredith Braun, It Feels Like Christmas by the Ghost of Christmas Present, Bless Us All by Robin, and Thankful Heart by Caine.

Cast

 * Muppet Performers
 * Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, David Rudman, Louise Gold, Karen Prell, Mike Quinn, Robert Tygner, Donald Austen, William Todd Jones, Jessica Fox, David Shaw Parker, David Alan Barclay, Robbie Barnett, Ian Allen, James Barton, Michael Bayliss, Simon Buckley, Marcus Clarke, Craig Crane, Sue Dacre, Taylor David, John Eccleston, Geoff Felix, Kate Frost, Ronnie LeDrew, Angie Passmore, Nigel Plaskitt, Judy Preece, Sally Preisig, Peter Robbins, Tim Rose, David Showler, John Thirtle, Ian Tregonning, Simon Williamson, Victoria Willing


 * Human Cast
 * Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge
 * Steven Mackintosh as Fred
 * Meredith Braun as Belle
 * Robin Weaver as Clara
 * Edward Sanders as Young Scrooge (Child 1)
 * Theo Sanders as Young Scrooge (Child 2)
 * Kristopher Milnes as Young Scrooge (Child 3)
 * Russell Martin as Young Scrooge (Adolescent)
 * Raymond Coulthard as Young Scrooge (Adult)
 * Anthony Hamblin as Boy #1
 * Fergus Brazier as Boy #2

Muppet Cast

 * Muppet Characters
 * Gonzo the Great as Charles Dickens
 * Rizzo the Rat as Rizzo the Rat
 * Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit
 * Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit
 * Robin the Frog as Tiny Tim Cratchit
 * Statler as Jacob Marley
 * Waldorf as Robert Marley
 * Fozzie Bear as Fozziwig
 * Emily Bear as Ma Fozziwig
 * Betina Cratchit
 * Belinda Cratchit
 * Peter Cratchit
 * Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker
 * Sam the Eagle
 * Bean Bunny
 * Ghost of Christmas Past
 * Ghost of Christmas Present
 * Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come


 * Background Characters
 * The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Animal, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot, Rowlf, Lips, Sprocket, Droop, Lew Zealand, George the Janitor, Boppity, J.P. Grosse, Pops, Mr. Applegate, Old Joe, Mrs. Dilber, Undertaker, Laundress, Lyle the Dog, Dark Green Hunchback Frackle, Elderly Frackle, Chester the Rat, Masterson the Rat, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Wander McMooch, Brool the Minstrel, Murray the Minstrel, Begoony, Mudwell the Mudbunny, Aretha, Snowman, Miss Appleby, Sheep Wolf, Bobby Benson, Vegetable Seller/Prisoner, Dogs, Penguins, Inkspots, Pigs, Vegetables, Puppets, Mouse Family, Horses, Babies, Geri and the Atrics, Cashboxes and Locks, Whatnots

Additional Credits

 * Executive Producer: Frank Oz


 * Producers: Martin G. Baker and Brian Henson


 * Co-producer: Jerry Juhl