FRANCHISE ME: THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL

"According to the interwebs this decision was made because the filmmakers worried that audiences wouldn’t be able to take the story as seriously if Rowlf or Dr. Teeth were guiding Michael Caine along his journey."

I'm pretty sure that they've retired Rowlf to being sort-of mute because he was one of Henson's primary characters, and Dr. Teeth was also Henson.  So I can see them not wanting to use either of these, though plotwise it whether it would have worked could be debated.

I can sympathize with your beef about how the film wasn't very 'Muppety' and wasn't nearly as meta like Caper, or any of the previous films for that matter.  You make some really good points.  My perspective is that, as a Christmas Carol adaptation, it needed to be a solid Christmas film possibly even before being a solid Muppet film.  And while I like your Kermit Scrooge idea, it might've seemed more of a gamble because Whitmire was so new to a character that, until that point, was completely embodied by Jim Henson.

Also, A Christmas Carol is possibly the darkest material ever attempted by the Muppets.  Constant irreverent joking about horrible choices, lost love, and death might have been a little too much for them at the time, especially so soon after the death of two of their closest colleagues.  I seriously doubt it was a coincidence that they decided to do something concerning issues of family, death, and the importance of loving and appreciating those around you for their first post-Henson and Hunt film.

I've seen this movie only once, at a neighbor's house with a girl I went to school with who I didn't like. I had to spend the afternoon with her family when my mom was out of town. That is literally the only thing I remember about this, but this article was  a good read and it makes me want to go back and reexamine things for the Michael Cain factor

I nearly completely agree with this article, although I love Caine here as Scrooge. I think traditionally, Gonzo should have been the lead (as he's sometimes played as feaux-villain, see him as Darth Vader in the SW ep of the Muppet Show) and Kermit should have been the narrator, as seen in EMMET OTTER's JUGBAND XMAS.

I can't help also agreeing with some of Bill's rebuttals here, expecially that about Rowlf and Dr. Teeth...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill McNeal 

"According to the interwebs this decision was made because the filmmakers worried that audiences wouldn’t be able to take the story as seriously if Rowlf or Dr. Teeth were guiding Michael Caine along his journey."

 

I'm pretty sure that they've retired Rowlf to being sort-of mute because he was one of Henson's primary characters, and Dr. Teeth was also Henson.  So I can see them not wanting to use either of these, though plotwise it whether it would have worked could be debated.

 

I can sympathize with your beef about how the film wasn't very 'Muppety' and wasn't nearly as meta like Caper, or any of the previous films for that matter.  You make some really good points.  My perspective is that, as a Christmas Carol adaptation, it needed to be a solid Christmas film possibly even before being a solid Muppet film.  And while I like your Kermit Scrooge idea, it might've seemed more of a gamble because Whitmire was so new to a character that, until that point, was completely embodied by Jim Henson.

 

Also, A Christmas Carol is possibly the darkest material ever attempted by the Muppets.  Constant irreverent joking about horrible choices, lost love, and death might have been a little too much for them at the time, especially so soon after the death of two of their closest colleagues.  I seriously doubt it was a coincidence that they decided to do something concerning issues of family, death, and the importance of loving and appreciating those around you for their first post-Henson and Hunt film.

Rizzo was pushed front and center next to Gonzo because, Steve W was ascending in involvement (especially due to Kermit's recasting) and Rizzo is his main character besides Bean Bunny, and Frank Oz was slowing moving out from under the Henson banner. His puppets are all done by Eric Jacobson now IIRC.

I don't disagree with a lot of the article in terms of whether it's a "real" muppet movie but it still makes me laugh a lot and I still love seeing these characters even if they're only playing other characters.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DARKMITE8 

EMMET OTTER's JUGBAND XMAS.

Which is currently on Netflix Instant!!!

That is a great little movie. Featuring more Paul Williams music, it should be noted.