The Muppet Christmas Carol - Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition
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Features
• Closed-captioned
• Color
• DVD-Video
• NTSC
In Theaters : 11 December, 1992
DVD Release : 29 November, 2005 |
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The Muppet Christmas Carol - Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Kermit and company do Dickens, with just enough humor and drama.
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Jim Henson's ever irresistible Muppets takes on the famous Charles Dickens "Christmas" classic, with genuinely pleasing results. The story, as everyone probably knows by now, centers on one Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy and mean-spirited moneylender who thinks only of money and can only respond to Christmas with "bah, humbug!" On Christmas Eve, he receives an unexpected visit from his deceased business partners, who warn him that three spirits will transport him to his past, present, and future. Grudgingly, Scrooge goes along with the spirits, and eventually realizes that his selfish acts will provide not only drastic consequences for himself, but for the welfare of his long-suffering clerk, Bob Cratchit, and his sickly son, Tiny Tim.
The film follows the original tale faithfully, and more importantly, keeps most of the dark, sometimes dreary tone of Dickens' tale. Since the story has its share of heartbreaking moments, it is surprising that this movie, skillfully directed by Brian Henson, manages to handle them in a very emotional way without coming across as forced or out of place. Scenes such as Scrooge witnessing the departure of his former love Belle and an even more devastating sequence where the Cratchit family mourns the loss of their beloved, frail son (keep in mind that this is only a vision) all manage to tug at the right heartstrings effectively.
Naturally, the Muppets do sneak in ways to provide a bit of humor in various places, but in an adaptation like this, it is most welcome. Actually, most of the laughs come from the Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens, who narrates the story to a skeptical Rizzo Rat as the latter questions about whether the "scary stuff" is appropriate for children. "That's all right, this is culture," explains Gonzo, er, Dickens, respectively.
It is a treat to see Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy as the Cratchits and even more amusing to see those old tycoons Statler and Waldorf as the ghosts of Scrooge's deceased business partners, but the whole weight of the movie rests on the performance of Michael Caine as Mr. "Bah Humbug" himself. He plays the role flawlessly, somehow managing to blend in with his Muppet and human co-stars. Also noteworthy are the creation of the spirits themselves: Christmas Past is a ghostly-like child, Present is a jolly, Santa Claus like giant, while Future is a dark-robed, faceless figure who is made all the more scary by the fact that he is mute. Paul Williams' musical numbers are also very sprightly and infectiously catchy, well-suited to both the spirit of Christmas and the story itself.
All in all, THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL is great family entertainment, but even adults may find a lot to enjoy too. |
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The Muppet Christmas Carol - Kermit's 50th Anniversary Edition dvd movie.