The Muppet Christmas Carol Reviews

The two best Muppet movies after Jim Henson's death are this and Muppets Treasure Island. The worst, I think is Muppets Wizard of Oz. Muppets Christmas Carol is wonderful, and deserves the high rating. I also think the rating for Treasure Island is too low, as I loved that film too.

The Muppets are truly funny here, especially Gonzo and Rizzo, who have the funniest lines. Kermit and Miss Piggy were at their most touching here. Scrooge's encounter with the Marley Brothers was the highlight of the film for me. The high point of the movie is the performance of Michael Caine,(like Tim Curry in Treasure Island) who was the best he was in recent years, and his singing was passable. Very convincing! I personally think this is the funniest post Jim Henson Muppet movie, and was my favourite Christmas memory as a kid, and managed to stay true to the spirit of Christmas, and was heartwarming with the character of Tiny Tim. The songs, also, weren't that bad at all, but in comparison to the ones in Treasure Isaland, one or two of them are a little hit-and-miss, but that's just me, and that is my only negative! The incidental music was beautiful though.

All in all, a wonderfully entertaining film, that has enough to satisfy Muppet fans. 9/10. Bethany Cox

Continuing with my quest to watch all the Muppet movies this year, it was time to watch this 4th installment. Honestly, even though it has some decent ratings, I wasn’t expecting much. Indeed, by now, I have seen so many adaptations of Charles Dickens’ timeless tale, a story I never really loved, and therefore, I didn’t think this one would be much better. Eventually, I was actually positively surprised and I would go as far as saying that it is so far my favorite movie starring the Muppets. Indeed, this time, they really went all the way concerning the production value and the whole thing looked pretty amazing. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the mix of this rather gloomy tale with their typical cheerful jokes (above all, Gonzo and Rizzo were some great narrators). Also, this time, instead of putting as many Muppets as possible on every single screen, those characterds were very well used and there was a very good balance. Finally, the masterstroke was to have Michael Caine to play Ebezener Scrooge and, as usual, he delivered a very solid performance. The only issue I might have is that I have seen this story too many times by now to really care about it but it was still one of the best adaptations I have seen. To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I really enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Like 'The Muppets', I found 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' disappointing. It follows the original story of 'A Christmas Carol', with the insertions of Muppets, though it doesn't really stand out from the other Christmas Carol or Muppets movies much, and the songs are not particularly memorable, although Michael Caine is a good Scrooge, and the puppetry is still really impressive.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is not nearly as good as I was expecting and hoping, but it's still a lot of fun.

One thing I should clarify, is that if you came to see the muppets, you will probably be disappointed. This film is all about Scrooge, who is played by a very human Michael Caine. This is truly, the biggest flaw in The Muppet Christmas Carol, because with the muppets getting so little screen time then they deserve, this adaption of the Dicken's story doesn't have much to separate itself from other adaptions.

Gonzo narrates, and Rizzo the Rat is there to make jokes. This potentially amusing duo isn't very funny, and is only there to move the story along. In fact, they feel a lot like filler.

And speaking of filler, did I mention all the songs in this movie? I believe there were 6 or 7 songs total. Though the one at the beginning is somewhat entertaining, and a genius number by the Marley brothers is highly enjoyable, most of the songs are tedious and dull. They exist only to extend the running time.

You will be seeing a lot of Michael Caine, which should be obvious because he plays that star, Ebeneezer Scrooge. I expected to see more muppets than humans, but this proved incorrect. Michael Caine performs adequately as Scrooge, but in the end, his performance is a little underwhelming. Also, during the musical numbers, it always seems like he has nothing to do.

When the muppets get into the act, the film is more enjoyable, but this certainly isn't first class muppet material. It feels like B-movie muppet material, and that was certainly a disappointment.

The movie adapts the classic faithfully, and there are lots of fun scenes. And even among a lot of dull songs, there are a couple gems. I just expected so much more from the ever-dependable muppets, and I can't help but feel a little let down.

Above average Christmas tale, under average muppet film.

The idea of mixing the wacky pack of the Muppets created by Jim Henson with perhaps the classic Christmas tale by Charles Dickens is quite possibly the most unorthodox idea that has ever been put to screen. It became the first time that the Muppets would feature in their own film adaptation of a classic novel as there would be the releases of The Muppet Treasure Island in 1996 and The Muppet’s Wizard Of Oz. Nevertheless, considering the unusual idea behind it all, The Muppets Christmas Carol turned out an entertaining attempt of re-living the classic story that expresses not only aspects of raw emotion but also adds more comedy within it.


Although the original A Christmas Carol is not classed as part of the comedy genre, the Muppets unravel another side to the story. It consists of numerous running gags (specifically the narration and occasional slapstick storytelling from Gonzo the Great as Charles Dickens and Rizzo the Rat as himself) and with delightful musical songs that makes not only the Muppets pleasurable to watch, but makes Christmas as a whole even more enchanting and magical. There are so many ways where The Muppet Christmas Carol could have flopped and turned out an utter disaster, but it stuck to its target audience and gives a warm hug to both Dickens’ classic tale and the Muppets as a television series as well as puppets.


Michael Caine has been involved in all kinds of films over his career and now he goes on to star in perhaps his most famous family-themed performance of his career as Ebenezer Scrooge. Caine is, of course, one of the most accomplished actors in film history and although he finds his role as Scrooge to be one of his most memorable performances, he could be right about that. However, this role wasn’t entirely as impressive as expected, because Caine doesn’t quite manage to bring forth the cold-hearted and greedy nature of Scrooge’s character as we have previously seen in other adaptations of the book and from the original novel itself. On the other hand, just as Scrooge has changed his ways with the aid of the three Christmas Ghosts, Caine expresses the warmth and delight of an old man on Christmas Day. To be honest, most actors who have portrayed Scrooge are great at portraying either cold-hearted Scrooge or kind and friendly Scrooge, but in the case of Michael Caine, he is perhaps better the latter.


Steven Mackintosh, like Michael Caine, is another actor who is in the film but not voicing one of the Muppets as he portrays Ebenezer Scrooge’s young nephew Fred. As we have always seen throughout every film based on A Christmas Carol and in the book, it is the unusual opposing but personally linked relationship between a kind, ordinary man and a bitter old man during the happiest and most magical event of the year. Despite we don’t see very much of Mackintosh as Fred within the film, he still delivers a satisfactory performance and does well alongside Michael Caine. Finally on to the Muppets who star as their respective roles from the likes of Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim etc. The most extraordinarily but rather ingenious quality about this is that we know it is the Muppets by looking at them despite creator and voice actor Jim Henson died a few years before the release of the film, but deep-down they feel like the real characters from Dicken’s original novel but with perhaps a slightly different approach to them that we hadn’t seen before.


Director Brian Henson is selected charge of behind the camera in his feature film directorial debut as he honours his late father’s work of the Muppets and makes it into a rather underrated but a magical and enchanting Christmas treat. His film is aimed at both audiences – for adults at the current time who saw and liked the Muppets during their childhood and young lives, but also for kids to enjoy and feel the warmth of Christmas. He deserved more credit for his work in this film because of the extraordinary yet delightful concept, which is the film itself. Henson praises his father once more afterwards as he directs The Muppet Treasure Island four years later.


Overall, The Muppet Christmas Carol is an eccentrically beautiful motion picture that is an absolute delight to watch during Christmas season and any other time over the year. It is quite possibly the most underrated Christmas film of all time, but despite that it really is worthy of calling a recommendation for kids and for adults all around the world. If you either love the Muppets in the original TV series and/or the original A Christmas Carol book or other film/TV adaptations of the story, you’ll love this one and will see a whole new side to them that you couldn’t have possibly imagined.

"Hello! Welcome to the Muppet Christmas Carol! I am here to tell the story."

In the time since it was originally published in 1843, Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been done to death in countless films and television specials, to the extent that another rote movie adaptation would be entirely superfluous without a unique spin. Thus, it was only customary for Jim Henson's Muppets to take a crack at it in their own quirky style. But instead of just mocking the story, The Muppet Christmas Carol is a straight-faced version of the source material that's peppered with witty one-liners and full of Muppet characters, faithfully retelling a timeless tale armed with classic Muppet charm.

Everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carol by now (and if you don't, shame on you), so here's a brief summary: miserable old curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge (Caine) lives his life without a thought towards kindness, and hates the jolly generosity that Christmas represents. Scrooge's selfishness and lack of compassion literally haunts him on the evening of Christmas Eve, when he's visited by the ghosts of his late business partners (portrayed by the inimitable balcony hecklers Statler and Waldorf) who warn Scrooge about the errors of his ways and advise him what's in store. Not long afterwards, Scrooge is taken on a journey by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future who aim to change Scrooge's cantankerous character.

The likes of Kermit the Frog (Whitmire), Miss Piggy (Oz), Fozzie Bear (also Oz), the Swedish Chef (Rudman) and many other Muppets show up throughout The Muppet Christmas Carol, portraying characters from Dickens' story in their own unique way. Indeed, allowing Jim Henson's glorious creations to roam free here is what makes this version stand out from trillions of other Christmas Carol adaptations.

Constantly on the sidelines during the proceedings is the narrator, Charles Dickens, who's played here by Gonzo (Goelz) and is assisted by Rizzo the Rat (Whitmire). The two beloved characters act as a guide through the story, injecting commentary, discussions and even comic relief. The device isn't overused, though, as the characters step aside at key points in the narrative (most notably for the grim scenes involving the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come). Consequently, the film does get dark at times, but that's because this is a sincere retelling of the story rather than a brain-dead parody of it. The inclusion of Muppets, therefore, renders the tale and its messages digestible to children who'll likely be introduced to A Christmas Carol via this film. The Muppets provide fun humour and serve to lighten up the proceedings which would otherwise be dismally boring and hard to comprehend for children.

The Muppet Christmas Carol was the first theatrical appearance of the Muppets since their creator, Jim Henson, died in 1990. It was also the first silver screen appearance of these lovable creatures in eight years (they were last seen in 1984's Muppets Take Manhattan), and the film marked the directorial debut for Jim's son, Brian. These factors admittedly worked against The Muppet Christmas Carol, but the resulting picture is tremendously assured and agreeably-paced, not to mention well-made. And on top of being a comedy, The Muppet Christmas Carol is a musical containing several predictably delightful song & dance numbers (and the extended edition of the film contains even more). Written by Muppets veteran Paul Williams, at least two or three songs here are true keepers. It Feels Like Christmas is especially good, as it encapsulates the spirit of the festive season and effortlessly makes you smile. Also worth noting is Miles Goodman's accompanying score, which is joyously Yuletide-soaked when it needs to be and suitably intense in other scenes.

As the iconic Ebenezer Scrooge, Michael Caine took the role as seriously as he would have if he was surrounded by Shakespearean performers. Due to this, Caine brings a sense of emotion and earnestness to the piece that's not often seen in Muppet films (or Christmas comedies in general). It's refreshing to witness a dramatic actor of such calibre in what would otherwise be a throwaway comedy. Commendably, the film doesn't depict Scrooge as a shallow caricature of senseless greed and evil; he's just an embittered man who has endured a hard life. Meanwhile, the voice cast is just as good as Caine (in their own way, that is). Interestingly, this was the first Muppet movie not to feature Kermit the Frog as voiced by Jim Henson. Steve Whitmire took over the role of Kermit after Jim's death, and the transition is commendably seamless.

For lovers of Christmas movies or Muppet movies, or admirers of Dickens' writing, you cannot go wrong with The Muppet Christmas Carol. It's fit viewing for the whole family due to its surplus of heart, humour, charm and wonderful songs. It's a welcome Christmas treat which deserves to enjoy continued prominence as one of the most beloved festive movies of all time.

8.5/10