An underrated Christmas classic

What makes “A Christmas Carol” one of the best Christmas stories of all time?

Much of it is Scrooge himself — in the first act he carries out his miserliness with panache and enviable self-assurance. How many people would accuse their co-worker’s ghost of being an indigestion-induced hallucination? Exactly one.

In any other story, Scrooge would be the villain, but Charles Dickens doesn’t let that happen. Watching Scrooge confront the disappointments of his past and the hollowness of his present makes his comeuppance and character development equally satisfying. And personally, no matter how many times I’ve seen it, I am chilled to the bone when the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come drags Scrooge to the foggy London graveyard. The scariest thing is that Scrooge, so close to redemption, is faced with the worst possible ending to his story. In that moment, it doesn’t matter how much he wants to be a better person, his life was truly, utterly wasted. All he — and we — can do is beg the future for one more chance.

And every time, to my relief, it works.

Few holiday stories have as much staying power as “A Christmas Carol” and as such it’s had many adaptations since its 1843 publication. Is any rendition the best? Well, favorites are always subjective and the realm of performance art brings with it as many considerations and stylistic choices as there are directors, actors, sets and ... it’s “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” okay?

Hear me out: directed by Brian Henson and released in 1992, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy as Mr. and Mrs. Cratchitt, Robin the Frog as Tiny Tim, and The Great Gonzo as our narrator, Charles Dickens himself, with Rizzo the Rat in tow. The production team went all-out: the musical numbers are catchy, the sets are seamless, and even the tiny Muppet costumes are more period-accurate than most historical dramas (for more on that, watch dress historian Abby Cox’s video “The Costumes in The Muppet Christmas Carol Deserved an Oscar” on YouTube).

In a GQ interview, Caine said he took the role of Scrooge because his then-7-year-old daughter had never seen him in one of his movies, and he’d never made a film a child should actually watch. He was ecstatic when Brian Henson offered him the role and brought his A-game to the set.

“I’m going to play this movie like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company,” Caine said. “I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me.”

There’s no word on how many times he cracked up on set while looking Kermit in the eye, but Caine delivers on his promise. The Muppets themselves are in their fuzzy element and the script never dumbs itself down for viewers. I have plenty of nostalgia wrapped around this film, but in my 20s, I chuckle at jokes and nods I missed at age 10. And the puppet Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come? Surprisingly nightmarish. Good job, Henson.

Since “The Muppet Christmas Carol” streams online, I recommend introducing any nearby children to it as quickly as possible. And if you’ve never seen it, don’t have kids and hate singing frogs? Don’t humbug it till you try it.

Samantha Tucker is a staff writer for the Daily American Republic. Contact her at stucker.dar@gmail.com.