Musical Monday

As I’ve written in the past, “The Muppets and A Christmas Carol?” This was what I pondered on the release of The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992. I’ve always been a fan of the Muppets and it’s pretty established by now how I feel about the story of A Christmas Carol. However, the combination of the two was not something I could envision with a good end result; this was the first movie with the Muppets made after the death of Jim Henson so my reservations were high. The outcome was the complete opposite of my reservations.

This version is top notch. The blending of live actors and Muppets is almost seamless. It’s a musical. It takes its share of liberties with the story and some characters, but it’s done well enough to be overlooked and remain traditional. It’s genuinely funny without losing any of the intended tenderness and it doesn’t try to overcompensate with emotionalism. How’s that so far?

This uses a concept that I call “characters playing characters.”  The Muppet characters, voiced and controlled by unseen puppeteers, play most of the Dickens characters. Some of the Dickens characters take on minor traits of the Muppet “actors” portraying them.  A similar concept is used in Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, Rich Little’s Christmas Carol, and Disney’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol.  Beyond the regular cast of Muppets, some new ones were created just for this movie. Then, of course, there are the live actors.

Michael Caine is Ebenezer Scrooge. Despite always being a fan, his playing Scrooge was another reservation I had.  My imagination couldn’t picture him in the role.  I was wrong on that count, too.  He’s marvelous in the role.  Most impressive to me, since my first viewing the movie, was the seriousness he gave the role while predominantly surrounded by puppets. His performance of playing the role 100% straight instead of falling into any buffoonery is a large contributor to the movie’s quality.

Some of the regular Muppet characters in roles are:

• Kermit the Frog is Bob Cratchit.
• Statler and Waldorf are Jacob and Jacob Marley (Robert being newly added, of course)
• Miss Piggy is Mrs. Cratchit
• Robin the Frog is Tiny Tim
• Fozzie Bear is Fozziwig (Fezziwig)
• Gonzo presents and narrates as Charles Dickens
• Rizzo the Rat is pretty much himself as the companion to Charles Dickens, providing commentary and responses. The device of keeping one Muppet character completely as himself and outside the storyline was a good move and worked for comedic scenes.

There are many other familiar Muppet characters is smaller, incidental, and cameo roles. There are some new Muppets created just for the movie: all three ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come.  You won’t find Sesame Street Muppets in this one, but Fraggle Rock is represented.

Other characters performed by live actors are Fred (Scrooge’s nephew), Fred’s wife (named Clara in this version), Belle, and various versions of Young Scrooge.

The musical number songs are marvelous. They were written by the great Paul Williams (yet another of whom I’m a fan). Out of all the filmed/televised musical versions, this is my second favorite.

As the movie opens, we are introduced to a Victorian London populated with co-mingling humans and Muppets. In this alternate world, there are even anthropomorphic vegetables that barely get a second glance by the other characters. This sets the expectations for what we shall see throughout the rest of the movie. Common to many of the musical versions, this opens with a musical number in the streets of London. As the citizens of London sing about Ebenezer Scrooge, we see him walking through the streets, always from the neck down or the back. Scrooge’s face isn’t shown until the end of the song. We are also introduced to Charles Dickens!

Yes, this is a version that includes Charles Dickens in its adaptation. However, unlike others, he’s not merely a bookend contrivance that serves as an introduction and finish. Gonzo as Dickens takes it a step further and follows the characters in his story, often acting as observer as well as narrator as the tale unfolds. This provides some good comedic scenes between “Dickens” and his companion, Rizzo. And somehow, it doesn’t cheapen or burlesque the story.

 Either one of the hecklers, Statler or Waldorf, would have been a natural choice for Jacob Marley. Dividing Marley into the Marley Brothers was a good innovation to make use of both Muppets.  This is a big deviation from the source material and yet, it works!

As usual with adaptations of A Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas Past isn’t quite the spirit that Dickens describes as the creators go with their own construct. I like this concept of the small, childlike, hovering ghost.

When Love is Gone

There continues to be fan “controversy” over the inclusion/exclusion of one of the songs. The song in question is “When Love is Gone” sung by Belle (Meredith Braun) during the breakup between Belle and young Scrooge in the past.  The song is beautiful and is pivotal to the scene which shows the beginning of the present Scrooge’s change as his cold heart begins melting.  It’s the best song in the movie!  Michael Caine’s Scrooge after the song is subtly heartbreaking.

The song was edited out for the movie’s theatrical release.  This was not a directorial decision, but a studio one (and it was bad).  It was reinserted for the original VHS release of the film in 1993; this was my first copy.  Eventual DVD releases would be the theatrical edit that excludes the song.  Without the song there is a noticeable abrupt edit making the narrative choppy.  There is also a counterpoint reprise in the film’s finale that is sung as “When Love is Found.”  The exclusion of “When Love is Gone” upsets the balance. There is a more commercial version by Martina McBride played in the closing credits.

Eventually, there was a DVD that offered both the original theatrical version and the version including the song.

Other than the song, there is another big difference with screen format depending if the song is included or excluded in the home releases.  In the theatrical edit, the movie is presented in its widescreen format.  With the song reinserted, the screen format is a pan-and-scan full screen.  In other words, to see the scene as intended with the song you have to sacrifice some of the wonderful visuals and even some minor action.  To see the glorious widescreen version, you must give up the song.  Either way you sacrifice good for bad! Some, but not all, of the DVD releases allow you optionally watch either the theatrical or full-screen versions. It was only the laserdisc version that had the song uncut and in widescreen.

Tonight, I watched the full screen version; this has become my yearly habit.  I always re-watch it in the theatrical/letterbox version soon after or at least before Epiphany even though the great song is missing.  However, this song in widescreen format, from the laserdisc release, is still currently on YouTube as shown here:

NOTE: After the original theatrical release, Disney lost both the video master and negative that contained “When Love is Gone.” Early December this year, Brian Henson announced Disney has been remastering the movie for a 4K release and they have found a copy of the original 4-reel release containing “When Love is Gone!”

There are a few family-friendly and kid targeted versions of A Christmas Carol that I’ve mentioned as being good introductions to A Christmas Carol for a young audience.  This is that and more.  This is a good, kid friendly version of A Christmas Carol that goes beyond introduction and gives a complete experience.  This is one that has to be watched every year.

Unique

The Ghost of Christmas Present appears to have no short-term memory since, as the spirit of the present, he is always in the moment.

Missing

• The Phantom hearse
• Wandering spirits
• Scrooge’s sister, Fan!
• Belle as a married woman
• Torch Sprinklings
• Ignorance & Want