Every family has their own Christmas
traditions. Some families sit around playing monopoly and arguing about how
much should be paid for Mayfair, some families drink loads and argue, some sit
in abject silence glued to the box, some eat an obscene amount of
food and sit around complaining about how full they are and saying that they'll
never be hungry again. However, our family have the best Christmas tradition,
on Christmas Eve we sit down together, eat a huge amount of festive buffet food
and watch Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol re-imagined by those most
glorious of puppets, The Muppets. Yes I'm biased but this film is quite
genuinely THE BEST Christmas film ever ever made. So, here goes...
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Christmas Story
I hope by this point you are aware of this most famous of Christmas tales, if you aren't then there is a good chance that you have been living under a rock or have been in orbit around earth in a tiny pod for the past 110 years. Michael Caine does an absolutely stellar job as the traditional Christmas miser Ebeneezer Scrooge who abhors the festive period and is entirely devoid of Christmas joy and cheer despite the fact that he employs a frog and some very comical rats who can get changed really really quickly. ("This is my island in the sun!") and lives in a ye olde London towne entirely inhabited by Muppets and extras who look utterly completely dashing in period costume. So in order to avoid the fate that his old bosses Marley & Marley suffered of being tormented by some omnipotent chains and singing boxes he is shown the error of his ways by three Christmas ghosts and learns the true meaning of Christmas. And the whole thing is expertly narrated by The Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat. AND it is chock full of Muppets. It's friggin' magical. 5/5
The Voice of Christmas
There are so many people who deserve to be the victors in this prestigious category. The Great Gonzo/Charles Dickens tells his story like a pro, in such a delightfully cheerful festive manner it really is a joy to behold. Then there's Fozzie Bear, Fozzie Bear loves Christmas so much that he is willing to throw his rubber chicken factory's money at giving his employees and friends a rip-roaring Christmas party. Then we have the delightful post ghost visit Scrooge who is so ludicrously full of Christmas joy, goodwill and excitement that he bursts into song. and then we have the supreme Beaker and Dr Bunsen who go out of their way to collect money for the less fortunate on Christmas Eve and give away an amazing red scarf as a gift. All of these people and more are sublime voices of Christmas, they fill me so full of cheer it's a wonder I don't spend all of December and January in a perpetual state of singing and huge amounts of festivity. 5/5
The Annoying Kid At Christmas
There are only two annoying things about Muppet's Christmas Carol, 1) it ends and 2) you can only watch it once a year. There are no annoying characters, I mean Fred Scrooge is a bit annoying in that he turns up at Scrooge's workplace, is very nice and wishes him many festive delights and then at a later Christmas party he hosts uses him in a derogatory manner in a game of 20 questions but he is so full of cheer, joy and festivity as is literally everyone in this film. What, now that I've said that when we see Young Scrooge back in the classroom there's a bit where for some reason it sounds like he has an Australian accent and then when he is older he keeps saying "Yes Headmaster." Which is suppose is a bit annoying... 4/5
The Christmas Miracle
That turkey that Scrooge brings to the Cratchit family is huge. Literally massive. Yet it seems to be cooked really quickly. I mean i'm no culinary genius but whenever we have turkey it seems to take quite a while to cook and we do it in the oven not on a spit over a fire turned by a frog. I assume that that takes even longer than it does in an oven. I suppose they could've all sat down and played pass the parcel for a while the turkey cooked... Also, on that table at the end there is at least 6 Christmas Jellys. I know it's not a miracle about the jelly but it's an awesome idea. ALSO there is the miracle that this film is so amazing it has the ability to change lives, I know it's changed mine. 5/5
The Christmas Message
"It's true wherever you find love it feels like Christmas" To be honest I could put any quote from this film as an answer to this category and it would serve as a perfect little description of what the true Christmas message of this film is. Christmas is about joy, family and delight at the most wonderful time of the year. But, as i said in my Scrooge review it's important to remember that anything you could do can quickly and vastly be improved if it were to be done by the Muppets. 5/5
Additional Notes
- The songs are amazing.
- It's the best Christmas film probably ever.
- It has the Muppets in it.
- That bit when Rizzo forgets his Jelly Beans and goes back through the gate is amazing.
-The cute little kiss that Rizzo gives Gonzo
- LIGHT THE LAMP NOT THE RAT! LIGHT THE LAMP NOT THE RAT!
- I FLIPPING LOVE IT.
(A big old combined score of a glorious Plus One which makes it, wait for it, perfect.)
Overall Festivity Rating - 25/25
Tomorrow The Polar Express COZ DUDE IT'S CHRISTMAS TOMORROW!!!!!!
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