Movie Description
With Kermit as the dutiful Bob Cratchit and Miss Piggy as his feisty wife, the Muppets do Dickens with Michael Caine as the miserly Scrooge. The songs in this musical version were penned by Paul Williams.
| Credits | | Producer: | Brian Henson | | Cast: | Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Michael Caine, Steve Whitmire |
Notes
Feature-film directorial debut for Brian Henson, the 29-year-old son of the late puppeteer Jim Henson. Brian Henson began working as a puppeteer at his father's studio at age seventeen and took over as president and CEO of Jim Henson Productions following his father's death in 1990.
Color by Technicolor.
Charles Dickens' novella "A Christmas Carol" has been adapted for the large and small screens on numerous occasions, including:
"Scrooge" (1935, directed by Henry Edwards, starring Seymour Hicks, Maurice Evans, and Robert Cochran)
"A Christmas Carol" (1938, directed by Edwin L. Marin, starring Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, June Lockhart (debut), and Leo G. Carroll)
"A Christmas Carol" (aka "Scrooge," 1951, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, starring Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, and Kathleen Harrison)
"Christmas Carol" (1954 musical, starring Fredric March and Basil Rathbone)
"Scrooge" (1970 musical, directed by Ronald Neame, starring Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth More)
"Stingiest Man in Town" (1978 musical, starring Tom Bosley, Walter Matthau, Paul Frees, Theodore Bikel, Robert Morse, and Dennis Day)
"A Christmas Carol" (1984, directed by Clive Donner with George C. Scott, Frank Finlay, Edward Woodward, David Warner, and Susannah York)
"Christmas Carol" (1984, 2 different animated versions, one by Chuck Jones)
"Scrooged" (1988 black comedy, directed by Richard Donner, starring Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, David Johanssen, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, Alfre Woodard, Robert Goulet, John Houseman, and Buddy Hackett)
Also available on video are "A Jetsons Christmas Carol" (1989), "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" (1962), and "Rich Little's Christmas Carol" (1990).
Other effects credits include Larry Jameson (Muppet electro/mechanical effects supervisor); Paul Gentry (miniatures unit director); David Sharp (miniature unit supervisor); Mark Zeszotek and Tim Miller (Muppets workshop production unit supervisors); Fred Buchholz (Muppet stunt coordinator); Mike Quinn and Karen Prell (puppeteer coordinators); John Stephenson and William Plant (Jim Henson's creature shop creative and production supervisors); and Paul Wilson (miniatures unit camera).
Rated BBFC U by the British Board of Film Classification.
Editorial Reviews
"...A lot of fun. The sets are detailed and charming..."
Sight and Sound - p.51-2 - Philip Kemp
"...The specter effects are enchanting, especially the angelic Ghost of Christmas Past whose gown floats about her like a cloud of frosty air..."
USA Today - p.4D - Susan Wloszczyna
"...Like the earlier three Muppet movies, it manages to incorporate the Muppets convincingly into the action....This time, they even seem to belong in Victorian London, created in atmospheric sets that combine realism and expressionism..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (12/11/1992)
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