Ryan is taking over for Paul this week, while Paul battles a nasty foot fungus.
Two of my favorite holiday traditions involve the Muppets. In the day or two before Christmas, I break out my copies of A Muppet Family Christmas and (the Holy Grail of all Christmas shows) Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. The first is notable because it’s one of the few times where all the Muppets, from Animal to the Sesame Street crew to the Fraggles are all in one place. The latter is a personal favorite because of the happy memories of watching it on PBS as a young child, when I was fanatical about Sesame Street.
This year, a new Muppet holiday special debuted, A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. In this one, Kermit and crew are putting on a holiday show at Muppet Theatre and run into problems as the building is about to be repossessed by an Evil Corporate Banker (played by Joan Cusak). The show is more like a movie, running two hours with commercials and a much slicker feel than previous holiday specials (with the exception of A Muppet Christmas Carol). It feels a bit long and had they gotten rid of some of the cameos (there are a lot) and the heavy dose of timely pop references, it might have moved a little better. Quibbles aside, though, there were a number of memorable moments, especially when Fozzie is attempting to deliver a bag full of cash to the Evil Corporate Banker before the deadline. It’s a great sequence that culminates in Fozzie running through a series of security lasers because time is running out.
While A Very Muppet Christmas probably won’t become a timeless classic?in five years, no one’s going to remember Moulin Rouge or Carson Daly?it was a nice entry in the series of holiday specials from the Henson family.
Posted in Television, Movies, and Music