Year One. Day Eighteen: "The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992)

Day Eighteen of my Advent Christmas Carol Challenge:

"The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992)

In the interests of full disclosure, I must confess that this is the only version of the story I have seen before - however, that was many years ago and my memory of it was in need of a refresher.

For many, this adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" is regarded not just as one of the greatest Muppet movies, but one of the finest versions of the story ever made.

Michael Caine is on Scrooge duties for this film, and while he's an actor I have never been especially fond, his understated performance in the role is one of the many highlights of the film.

A handful of other humans litter the charmingly made Victorian London streets, but this film rightly knows that it's the Muppets we are here to see, with all the favourites playing the classic roles, Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Miss. Piggy as his wife and Fozzie as Mr. Fozziwig (!) among others.

There are a few songs scattered around the place, most of which are very nice, if a little forgettable and none come close to the almost operatic excesses of the near perfect "The Great Muppet Caper"

A welcome addition to the story is Gonzo playing the role of Dickens himself, which works as a means to have the great man narrating his own tale, while having to scale walls, slide down chimneys and fly over the rooftops of London in order to keep up with the action of the story.

This means that the script remains incredibly faithful to the original version, including oft forgotten details such as The Ghost of Christmas Present aging (and eventually dying) throughout the course of the evening.

It also allows for some lovely dedications to Dickens himself, my favourite being him sitting on a shelf beside the busts of the greatest authors in the history of the world.

As lovingly crafted as a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.

"The Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992) 4/5