The Muppet Christmas Carol: 9 things you never knew about the festive favourite
God bless the Muppets, everyone!
For many families, a viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol is as much of a festive tradition as mince pies and terrible jumpers.
Brian Henson’s 1992 musical was a remarkable piece of work for a number of reasons, beyond being the first major Muppet production made in the wake of Jim Henson’s untimely death.
It’s amazing to think now that the movie has become part of the Christmas entertainment firmament, but The Muppet Christmas Carol was quite a departure for the brand. It was the first of two attempts to adapt a piece of classic literature in the house style, for one thing – and undoubtedly the most successful.
This is the kind of film that an awful lot of people will claim to know by heart, such is the enduring affection in which it’s held. But when you look at the history of the production, there’s a lot of fascinating stuff in there.
We’re talking about lost songs, intriguing casting decisions, moving easter eggs, rumoured cameos and franchise firsts.
1. A familiar shooting star
Muppet creator Jon Henson passed away just two years before the film’s initial release. His son, Brian Henson, was commissioned to make the film, and he inserted his own tribute to his father at the end of Kermit’s One More Sleep ‘Till Christmas number, where our hero observes a shooting star. It’s a direct nod to a scene in The Muppet Movie where we find Kermit the Frog lost in the desert at night. In the background, a shooting star flies across from left to right. The tribute would become a recurring motif in subsequent Muppet movies.
2. A nod to the real Michael Caine
We all know the lead actor who played Scrooge in the film as Michael Caine (or maybe as Alfred the butler, depending on your vintage). To his mother, however, he was known as Maurice Micklewhite. There’s a nod to the Cockney legend’s pleasingly alliterative real name at the end of The Muppet Christmas Carol, with one of the old shops in the background advertising its name as Micklewhite’s.
3. Miss Piggy was destined for bigger things
Everyone’s favourite diva-pig ended up playing the role of Emily Cratchit, mother to Tiny Tim and wife to Kermit’s Bob Cratchit. Which is all as it should be, you might think. However, she was initially earmarked for the Ghost of Christmas Present. She wasn’t the only one to take on a completely different role, with both Animal and Gonzo initially sized up for the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Ultimately, the movie’s makers opted to create all-new characters for each of these parts, and in the case of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, creating a whole lot of childhood trauma into the bargain. The Ghost of Christmas Present, though? He's an all-time Christmas king.
4. The Ghost of Christmas Past became a UK soap star
It won’t mean much to in international audience, but the young actress who voiced The Ghost of Christmas Past went on to play a significant part in British popular culture – to a certain type of TV viewer, at least. Jessica Fox was only eight years old when she voiced her part in The Muppet Christmas Carol, but as an adult she would appear in English soaps Crossroads, where she played Belle Wise, before moving on to her current role as Nancy Hayton in Hollyoaks.
5. Disney cut, lost, and restored a whole song
The Muppet Christmas Carol is famous for its brilliant roster of songs, written by franchise veteran Paul Williams, but one of his songs didn’t make the theatrical cut. Disney executive and all-round ballad-hater Jeffrey Katzenberg effectively vetoed ‘When Love is Gone’, sung by Scrooge’s lost love Belle, because he saw it as being too earnest and emotionally awkward for a kid’s film. While it was in place for the VHS release, Disney then lost the negative for the original recording. A high quality version was eventually discovered, and the song has been restored in modern versions of the film.
6. Not-so-Gonzo casting
The film might be narrated by a tiny blue fuzzy American creature, but of all the Muppet cast, Gonzo’s role is arguably the most faithful to the source material. Director Brian Henson pointed out in an interview that “95 percent of what Gonzo says in the movie is directly taken from the book”. Essentially, Gonzo is the voice of Dickens himself – no Muppetification needed. He was picked as the least-likely representative of the great writer, but boy did the little feller nail his brief.
7. A froggy franchise first
The film represents a Muppet first for a number of reasons, but one of the most mind-blowing for any die-hard Muppets fan is this: it contains the first full-body depiction of Kermit the Frog running. During the scene in which he and Tiny Tim sing 'Tis the Season, we get a full look at the famous frog scurrying along the street. There’s a very good reason for why we hadn’t seen such an ostensibly normal thing rendered on screen before this point – it was extremely challenging to shoot, involving as many as 10 puppeteers.
8. Michael Caine’s role was also a franchise first
Michael Caine’s role as Ebenezer Scrooge might now be viewed as intrinsic to the film – who else could play the miserly old curmudgeon? – but the very existence of such a part was somewhat of a first for the franchise. In previous features, the Muppets themselves had always been the centre of the story, with human characters merely flitting in and out in supporting roles. Not unreasonably so, it must be said. We’re all here for Kermit and co., even if this is ostensibly Scrooge’s journey.
9. A truly smashing cameo
Former Canadian-British tennis player Greg Rusedski apparently makes an uncredited appearance as an extra in the background of the party scene during Scrooge's flashback. We say “apparently” because, while IMDb lists this as as a bone fide cameo in the film’s trivia section, we can’t seem to find pictorial evidence for the future US Open finalist’s appearance – or any other corroborating evidence, for that matter. An ace factoid, then, or a load of balls?
Skip the search — follow Shortlist on Google News to get our best lists, news, features and reviews at the top of your feeds!
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.