The first film to be produced following the death of The
Muppets creator Jim Henson, The Muppet
Christmas Carol was well received upon its release in time for Christmas
1992 and has grown in stature ever since. The film is a fairly faithful
retelling of Charles Dickens’ famous novel albeit with Muppets in most of the
roles. The central character of Scrooge though is played incredibly straight by
Michael Caine. I have a vague recollection of seeing certain scenes but don’t
think I ever saw the film as a child. I had been warned that it is impossible
to hate the film but if anyone was going to then it would be me. Around this
time of year every year my girlfriend will inevitably yell the words “You’re
running Christmas for me!” as I moan about decorations, cards, crap TV or
buying presents. I am the archetypal Grinch like character, a man who cares
nothing for Christmas and even less for Christmas movies. (See my Die Hard rant). It was always unlikely
then that The Muppet Christmas Carol
would strike a chord with me and as it turns out I didn’t really enjoy it. It
is not without its positives though.