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'The Muppet Christmas Carol' Finally Gets a Well-Deserved Recognition

Koh Mochizuki
Dec. 02, 2017

The Muppets' movie version of the celebrated A Christmas Carol has recently been revisited as possibly one of the best adaptations of the Charles Dickens classic. The 1992 family holiday film was the fourth live-action musical comedy featuring the Muppets. The Muppet Christmas Carol starred two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine as the dour Ebenezer Scrooge and was produced and directed by Brian Henson for Jim Henson Productions.

Caine agreed to play Scrooge under one condition:

I'm going to play this movie like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me.

The revered actor's approach to the role paid off as his portrayal garnered much praise.

Walt Disney Pictures distributed the film, but it wasn't the strongest performing holiday release at the box office since the movie struggled to compete against another Disney movie that year - Aladdin.

However, as the film matured and won more hearts over the years since its initial release, the Muppets' take on the Victorian Christmas morality tale found a secure place in the annals of classic yuletide required viewing.

New York Times critic Janet Maslin praised the film as a "great show of wit or tunefulness here, and the ingenious cross-generational touches are fairly rare. But there is a lively kiddie version of the Dickens tale, one that very young viewers ought to understand."

Almar Haflidason of the BBC gave the movie high marks, calling it a "liberal but fun adaptation of a classic" that "turns out to be quite touching as Muppet movies go."

Twitter praised the classic that is arguably the best adapatation for A Christmas Carol.

"Muppets Christmas Carol is still—by far—the best interpretation of Dickens' work. It's also hilarious and makes me really, really happy," praised one user.

Another user even declared this version hewed closer to Dickens' book, tweeting, "#MikeandMikeChristmasMovie according to the curator of the Charles Dickens Museum, The Muppets Christmas Carol is the closest to the book."

The Muppets' Carol is the definitive version of A Christmas Carol for this user.

This was the winning moment when the audience reached for their hankies.

And with its signature Muppet humor, we were relieved with laughter.

For new viewers, this season is your opportunity to get acquatined with the classic tale starring old friends, no strings attached.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

H/T - twitter, wikipedia, collider