A Muppet Christmas Carol

Well, we just got done watching this movie. If it wasn't for the fact that I am in serious need of a nap, and every time a song would happen, I would snooze a little, I would have thoroughly enjoyed it. The songs broke up the narrative and made it choppy.

So because I just went over the plot line of A Christmas Carol in the last blog, I'm not going to do that this time. Instead I will just talk about different aspects of this movie.

One thing that was really cool was that "Charles Dickens" was in this movie. Gonzo played him and acted as the narrator, with Rizzo the Rat as his faithful sidekick. That travel along with Scrooge (Michael Caine!) as he goes on his adventure, but are visible only to us. They do a great job of breaking the 4th wall. (The fourth wall is when characters of a story address the audience, thus breaking the barriers of their world and interposing onto ours allowing us to have more direct interaction with the story) Bam. English minor.  Anywho, not only do they give some great comedic relief to the story, and allow us to have mental breaks in between all this intense stuff going on in the story, but Gonzo also quotes directly out of the text of the novel. Not just dialogue that is used over and over again in adaptations, but other narrative quotes.

Also, one thing that the Magoo version left out was the character of Fred, Scrooge's nephew. He loves Christmas and life and is constantly turned down in his efforts to reach out to his Uncle. He's the only one who is sad when Scrooge dies. When Scrooge changes, they spend Christmas together and get a chance to bond.

Andrew absolutely loves the Muppets. He was giggling and squealing a lot during this, especially anytime Beaker would say anything.

I also can't help but wonder about Michael Caine's hair. He's got a lot of hair in this movie, but looks a lot more bald then what he is now. Was it just a wig then, or was he really that bald and then got rogaine?

They did the ghosts in the  correct order, past-present-future. The first ghost was super creepy looking. 

Here's a quick rundown of your favorite muppets and what their roles were in this movie:
 Kermit-Bob Cratchet
Miss Piggy- Mrs. Cratchet
Gonzo-Charles Dickens
Rizzo the Rat- himself
Fozzy Bear- Fozziwig
Those two heckling guys- The Marley Brothers
Beaker- Man asking for donation
The American Eagle- Scrooge's headmaster
The Swedish Chef- Cameo at Fozziwig's party
Animal- Cameo at Fozziwig's party
Rolf- Same as Animal *They were in the band.

 


Andrew's Closing Thought: My favorite Christmas movie!

Up Next: The Nativity Story