The Muppet Christmas Carol- quick review

I suppose since it's Christmas, I should be reviewing a holiday classic from my childhood. And I suppose I should do one that everyone can view right now on Netflix. So, I probably should review The Muppet Christmas Carol.

The Muppet Christmas Carol:
I'm not going to really describe the plot, as it's a story I'm pretty sure the majority of people are familiar with. But what I will say is that despite all the added musical numbers and breaking-the-fourth-wall commentary and jokes thrown in, the film actually follows the original novel very closely, even included some small details that the 2009 adaptation left out, including some direct quotations from the book's narration segments (Gonzo portrays Charles Dickens/The Narrator). Michael Caine was a great choice to play Scrooge, and his is still one of the few that sticks with me.
     As I've stated before, I'm not a huge fan of musicals, but when they're done right, I respect that, and this is definitely one that's entertaining. Maybe that's because I have a certain nostalgic attachment to it, but even after years of not seeing it, I revisited it recently and got a little more enjoyment out of it than I previously did. The performances by the puppeteers and human actors alike are satisfactory, and that's saying a lot considering this was the first film under the Muppets emblem to be released after the deaths of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt, so the cast and crew probably had a lot to deal with, as two huge creative forces were gone from the team, and they were probably emotionally in turmoil. But, they managed to pull through and still churn out a nice little movie.
     It's not quite as good as either the 1984 George C. Scott version, the 1988 satirical Bill Murray version Scrooged, or the 2009 Robert Zemeckis/Jim Carrey adaptation, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is good to watch if you have kids or have to babysit some, and need something to turn on. I'd even recommend it if you want a taste of nostalgia, or are just looking for a nice take on the source material. 3.9/5 stars.

  (Image: Wikipedia)



Note: The image above is some pretty great work by famed poster artist Drew Struzan. Look him up, he's done some pretty impressive work, the highlights being major movies form the 80's and 90's.