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Thursday, December 25, 2014

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)






Merry Christmas, Folks! 


Christmas Movie #4 (Please click the links to read my Christmas reviews from 2011, 2012, and 2013)


Michael Caine Movie #1 (I realize this is a bit silly, considering MC has made about a zillion films since he started his career, and there’s no way I can possibly do a comprehensive filmography, but this is the best I’ve got) 


Synopsis: It’s essentially a dumbed-down version of A Christmas Carol, with a bunch of bad songs, cutesy puppets, and too many distractions. 


Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Charles Dickens’ classic holiday story sparkles with humour and whimsy in the hands of always hilarious Muppets!” 


What Did I Learn?: 1) Rats don’t understand lonely children. 2) Never eat singing food. 


 

Really?: I could ask why Kermit and Miss Piggy’s male children are all frogs, and their daughters are pigs, but that would be a fool’s errand. Instead, I have to wonder why major Muppet characters such as Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy are relegated to walk-on appearances, and even Kermit doesn’t have all that much screen time. 


Rating: While I’ve always loved the Muppets, they don’t really add much to this re-telling of a classic (See: “Synopis”). The story of Scrooge’s guilt and redemption works because most of it is actually pretty dark, so Scrooge's eventual moral reformation results in a big emotional payoff. Much like Scrooged, which undermined itself with too many smug one-liners, The Muppet Christmas Carol tries to lighten things up with pratfalls and musical comedy. While the film has a few funny moments, and I liked Caine's play-it-straight approach, The Muppet Christmas Carol struck me as a  confused mess that doesn't do justice to the original material, and certainly isn't in the top tier of Muppet movies. 6/10 stars. 


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104940/?ref_=nv_sr_1


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