Since its release in 1992 – yep, the movie is over two decades old – The Muppet Christmas Carol has become a holiday classic.
For many, watching the film has become an annual tradition, and with good reason.
1. Simply put, it's the greatest adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
2. The movie features an amazing soundtrack.
There's no shortage of catchy tunes in The Muppet Christmas Carol. With up-tempo tunes like "It Feels Like Christmas" and slower musical numbers like "When Love Is Gone", the film is a rollercoaster ride of audio emotion.
3. And one song stands out above all: the "Scrooge" song.
4. It features loads of singing inanimate objects.
Inanimate objects make the best backing groups. Fact.
5. It was the first Muppets movie made without Jim Henson.
Jim Henson would have been 77 today, so let's all cry at THE SADDEST PICTURE ON EARTH:
Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, died in 1990, just two years before the release of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Many people thought his death would signal the end of the Muppets, or at the very least a decline in quality. However, this movie would go on to prove the critics wrong. The film was directed by Jim's son, Brian, and Jim's role as the voice and puppeteer of Kermit was taken over by Steve Whitmire.
6. Michael Caine makes the perfect Scrooge.
Is there any role Michael Caine can't play? Fun fact: Caine considers it one of his most challenging acting gigs. In an interview with Empire, the veteran actor said: "It’s a very stretching, difficult role funnily enough...". He slayed the role, perfectly making a convincing transition from the ultimate humbug to the spreader of Christmas joy.
7. And Gonzo makes a pretty good Dickens.
8. In fact, all of the Muppets are given perfect roles.
Splitting the character of Jacob Marley in two and writing in Statler and Waldorf to fill the role was especially great. And the film feautred a Tiny Tim we actually cared about, which made the inevitable scene all the more heartbreaking.
9. The alternative reality where Tiny Tim dies is genuinely heartbreaking.
10. The movie features a scene involving an annual penguin's skating party.
11. The ghosts that visit Scrooge are terrifying.
The first ghostly visitor of Scrooge is one of the most genuinely terrifying ghosts in the history of cinema. The Ghost of Christmas Past just weirdly floats about, like ghosts do, but in an unexplainably ghostly manner – seriously, it's freaky as fuck. And if ghost children don't scare you, there's the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, who looks like something out of an R-rated horror movie. Even as an adult these ghosts will have you hiding behind the sofa.
12. It brings the laughs.
The film achieved something the likes of Jim Carrey, Tim Curry, and countless others have failed at: It's actually funny. A story about a 19th-century, Christmas-hating money-lender who's visited by a series of threatening ghosts definitely needs humour. And if you haven't seen the film since you were a child, it's worth going back for a rewatch: There's probably a ton of jokes that went over your head on the first viewing.
13. The film contains the ultimate Christmas message.
14. The movie ends by encouraging viewers to read the book.
What other movie adaptation actually flat-out tells watchers to read the source material? So what are you waiting for? Go out and read the book for yourself!