This is an honorable mention of favorite Christmas films/specials; I also feel is an under the radar gem as it's became somewhat lost for a long time. This special is one of my favorite crossovers of all time in my book, it was long before the crossovers you've seen on the DC shows "Arrow", "Super Girl", "The Flash". The Marvel show "The Defenders" and even the movie "Avengers Infinity War".
This special does have a special place in my heart as it's another childhood relic; yeah, I'm a Muppet fan as well as fan of Jim Henson. I mainly got into it from the 80's cartoon shows "Muppet Babies" and "Fraggle Rock" which of course lead me to the Muppets. This was also the very first time I got to see the Muppets and I'll admit it really blew me away. I loved watching this special then and as an adult I still love watching it now.
This special really has no story or plotline, by its nature it a variety show special which feels right since "The Muppet Show" is a variety sketch comedy anyway. It's was just so much fun to see all the characters from Jim Henson's beloved show all coming together. You have to understand this was a time before Crossovers became commonplace as they are now, when I saw this when I was a kid it blew me away it really was unexpected, it really was like a dream come true when I saw not just all the Muppet characters under one roof, but the characters from "Sesame Street" and even "Fraggle Rock". Imagine all the characters in Marvel or DC spending Christmas together under one roof, wouldn't that be something.
There are a few new puppet characters like Fozzie's mom whom is obviously a slight homage to Vicki Lawrence's character Mama from "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Mama's Family" as she's got that look and just a bit of the mannerism. It's touching and funny how loving she is but also how she is struggling to fit everyone in to spend the night. Even I'm wondering how everyone will find a space to sleep as the populous is collage sized.
Another character a Jiving Turkey whom only really has a few scenes but there funny as he's sort of a slick con artist just looking to have a good time. My favorite one is with the Sweetish Chief character whom is trying to cook him up, but the Jiving Turkey cooks up a sly scheme to get himself out of the pot.
And last is the Snowman, really like the back and forth both of them have as both are equally bad jokesters, though one funny scene is seeing him coming in to get away from the blizzard because he's so cold, I always found that funny and strange since he's a snowman so cold shouldn't affect him, let alone how the heck heat isn't either.
But of course, there is everyone else whom are all themselves and most if not all of them due to time constraints (if there was a character or two missed sorry) have good and memorable scenes as well as good musical numbers.
I'll just say a few of my favorite senses which by their nature are sketches as it's just hard to decide as there is not one bad one in my book. One is the Christmas play Burt and Errnie put on a Christmas Pageant which is their version of the "Night Before Christmas" poem, I'm not going to say anything else about it as it's something you must see yourself, but the more the pageant goes on the funnier it gets.
The second scene is with Big Bird and the Sweetish Chief which I thought was really touching as both interacted nicely.
Third is seeing the old film reel with the Muppets as babies and their all singing a Christmas song. I thought that was really cool somewhat of a nod toward the 80's cartoon "Muppet Babies" but it was a nice moment as it reminds us how we look back on our own Christmas memories and realize despite how much is different, things are still the same.
One of the last highlights is a cameo by Jim Henson himself which made this all the sweeter, though also a little sad as this special is one of the last things he's done before he passed away which was three years later. But seeing him was a nice touch showing how much this man truly accomplished and has given us which to this day like the holiday lives on.
So, if you're a fan of the Christmas specials or a fan of the Muppets and Jim Henson's work this special is a real Christmas treat.
Rating: 4 stars
This special does have a special place in my heart as it's another childhood relic; yeah, I'm a Muppet fan as well as fan of Jim Henson. I mainly got into it from the 80's cartoon shows "Muppet Babies" and "Fraggle Rock" which of course lead me to the Muppets. This was also the very first time I got to see the Muppets and I'll admit it really blew me away. I loved watching this special then and as an adult I still love watching it now.
This special really has no story or plotline, by its nature it a variety show special which feels right since "The Muppet Show" is a variety sketch comedy anyway. It's was just so much fun to see all the characters from Jim Henson's beloved show all coming together. You have to understand this was a time before Crossovers became commonplace as they are now, when I saw this when I was a kid it blew me away it really was unexpected, it really was like a dream come true when I saw not just all the Muppet characters under one roof, but the characters from "Sesame Street" and even "Fraggle Rock". Imagine all the characters in Marvel or DC spending Christmas together under one roof, wouldn't that be something.
There are a few new puppet characters like Fozzie's mom whom is obviously a slight homage to Vicki Lawrence's character Mama from "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Mama's Family" as she's got that look and just a bit of the mannerism. It's touching and funny how loving she is but also how she is struggling to fit everyone in to spend the night. Even I'm wondering how everyone will find a space to sleep as the populous is collage sized.
Another character a Jiving Turkey whom only really has a few scenes but there funny as he's sort of a slick con artist just looking to have a good time. My favorite one is with the Sweetish Chief character whom is trying to cook him up, but the Jiving Turkey cooks up a sly scheme to get himself out of the pot.
And last is the Snowman, really like the back and forth both of them have as both are equally bad jokesters, though one funny scene is seeing him coming in to get away from the blizzard because he's so cold, I always found that funny and strange since he's a snowman so cold shouldn't affect him, let alone how the heck heat isn't either.
But of course, there is everyone else whom are all themselves and most if not all of them due to time constraints (if there was a character or two missed sorry) have good and memorable scenes as well as good musical numbers.
I'll just say a few of my favorite senses which by their nature are sketches as it's just hard to decide as there is not one bad one in my book. One is the Christmas play Burt and Errnie put on a Christmas Pageant which is their version of the "Night Before Christmas" poem, I'm not going to say anything else about it as it's something you must see yourself, but the more the pageant goes on the funnier it gets.
The second scene is with Big Bird and the Sweetish Chief which I thought was really touching as both interacted nicely.
Third is seeing the old film reel with the Muppets as babies and their all singing a Christmas song. I thought that was really cool somewhat of a nod toward the 80's cartoon "Muppet Babies" but it was a nice moment as it reminds us how we look back on our own Christmas memories and realize despite how much is different, things are still the same.
One of the last highlights is a cameo by Jim Henson himself which made this all the sweeter, though also a little sad as this special is one of the last things he's done before he passed away which was three years later. But seeing him was a nice touch showing how much this man truly accomplished and has given us which to this day like the holiday lives on.
So, if you're a fan of the Christmas specials or a fan of the Muppets and Jim Henson's work this special is a real Christmas treat.
Rating: 4 stars