This is the telling of the Charles Dickens classic The Christmas Carol. The only difference is that it is told by The Muppets (with a few humans thrown in for good measure, notably Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge).

On Christmas Eve, he is as crotchety as ever, and his employees – rats mostly, led by Kermit the Frog as Bob Kratchit – ask for the next day off, and reluctantly, Scrooge agrees. That night, however, he is visited by five ghosts. This differs slightly from the Dickens telling, because The Muppets needed to fit in Statler and Waldorf (Jacob and Robert Marley, respectively – only Jacob was in the original). Marley and Marley come to tell Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts this night. They also deliver one of the best songs in the show.

Scrooge dismisses his dead partners with the same attitude that he dismisses just about everything else, and proceeds to bed, but not long after, he is awakened by the first of the ghosts – the Ghost of Christmas Past. This is a strange apparition, that appears to be floating in the air (in fact, the special features in the DVD say that she was filmed floating in water to achieve this affect). She shows Scrooge his past, and how he came to be who he is today – and most specifically how he lost his love through Christmases that have come before.

The next visit comes shortly thereafter and comes from the Ghost of Christmas Present. This is a large, jolly man who has trouble remembering what has just happened, for he lives only for the moment. While this ghost stays only for a short while, he touches Scrooge the most, by showing him the enjoyment that is present in the Kratchit household, even though young Tiny Tim is suffering so. Perhaps what gets to Scrooge the most is that Tiny Tim is one of Scrooge’s most vocal supporters.

What really motivates him, however, is the final visit, from the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and this is not really a spooky ghost, but it is a sort of Grim Reaper-looking ghost, but with a well-oversized body, as you would expect from a Muppet. He also doesn’t speak and has a huge hole in his hood, which is pure black. This is probably more intimidating than anything else. But this ghost shows Scrooge that someone has died, and that everyone is simply dividing up the spoils – his linens, clothes and everything, without concern for the death of someone. That’s when he sees that it is his name on the grave.

And that is when he wakes in his bed and vows to change. So he sends a boy to buy the big turkey from the store (though it is a raw turkey – not sure how that works out), and heads over to the Kratchit household for a feast for everyone, so there is a happy ending. Though Tiny Tim is sick, he does not die. At least, not in this story.

Rated G.

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Actor: Anthony Hamblin, Actor: Dave Goelz, Actor: David Alan Barclay, Actor: David Rudman, Actor: David Shaw Parker, Actor: Donald Austen, Actor: Edward Sanders, Actor: Fergus Brazier, Actor: Frank Oz, Actor: Geoff Felix, Actor: Jerry Nelson, Actor: Jessica Fox, Actor: Karen Prell, Actor: Kristopher Milnes, Actor: Louise Gold, Actor: Marcus Clarke, Actor: Meredith Braun, Actor: Michael Caine, Actor: Mike Quinn, Actor: Nigel Plaskitt, Actor: Raymond Coulthard, Actor: Reginald Turner, Actor: Robbie Barnett, Actor: Robert Tygner, Actor: Robin Weaver, Actor: Russell Martin, Actor: Simon Williamson, Actor: Steve Whitmire, Actor: Steven Mackintosh, Actor: Sue Dacre, Actor: Theo Sanders, Actor: Timothy M. Rose, Actor: William Todd Jones, Director: Brian Henson, Rated: G, Year: 1992