The Muppets have been an essential part of the Christmas season for as long as I can remember. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve seen The Muppet Christmas Carol. Whether it’s singing along to the film’s opening tune “Scrooge,” or bawling literally any time Tiny Tim is on screen — it’s a movie that fills me with holiday spirit.
It isn’t the only Muppet Christmas movie I watched as a kid — I also saw It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. But it never quite held the place in my heart that Christmas Carol did, so I wanted to revisit it to find out why.
Now, it might be because this movie is certifiably insane. Within the first two minutes, we have learned that there will be cameos from Joe Rogan, the cast of Scrubs and someone named Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. We are also introduced to the sentimental snowman narrator Joe Snow, voiced by Mel Brooks, who starts to regale us with the tale of when the Muppets almost missed Christmas.
I mean, it’s a bit of a cliché, but it’s a comforting one — wait, no, now he’s being escorted off the set by a Muppet film crew member and is threatening to call his attorney. Later, he will be shot in the neck with a tranquilizer blow dart by a Steve Irwin impersonator.
While Muppet movies are usually zany and unpredictable, this film turns that up multiple notches. From the overtly sexual desires of Pepe the King Prawn that motivate crucial plot points, to a scene in which Fozzie Bear gets spray-painted to look like the Grinch and is chased by an angry mob — something ludicrous happens every five minutes in this one.
Oh, also, Whoopi Goldberg plays God.
You may be asking, why is anyone playing God in a Muppet movie? Well, that’s because, while it may not seem like it, this movie does have a plot. Like The Muppet Christmas Carol before it, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas is a parody of another classic Christmas story, the 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life.
Kermit is this movie’s George Bailey, falling into financial trouble when the movie’s villain, Rachel Bitterman, makes a push to take over the Muppet Theatre. While the Muppets had been leasing the theatre from Bitterman’s husband, we quickly learn that he has died, and that Bitterman herself now holds the keys to the Muppet Theatre deal. With dreams of tearing down the theatre to build a nightclub, she orders the Muppets to pay back the debts they owed her husband by midnight on Christmas Eve, or they’ll lose the building.
Despite an admirable effort by Fozzie Bear to turn in the money on time, a mix-up with a Salvation Army Santa results in the money being lost in transit. The deadline passes and Bitterman takes back the theatre. With the Muppets now broke and destitute, Kermit takes responsibility for the situation, and despite Whoopi Goldberg (again, as God) sending a guardian angel — Kermit still fatefully wishes that he had never been born.
Now, if you’ve seen the original film, you know what happens next. Bailey (or in this case, Kermit) is transported to a world in which he actually never was born. While these story beats were familiar to me, it was still surprisingly impactful.
As he explores this world, Kermit realizes that without his dream and ambition to form the Muppets, many of his friends would be significantly worse off than they are in reality. It’s the same tear-jerking formula as the source material, but it works particularly well with Kermit at its centre. Seeing Kermit of all people so pessimistic and down on his luck is heartbreaking — but seeing him experience firsthand how much he’s impacted the lives of so many is healing.
Sitting down with Gonzo, who, in this world, is a beggar, Kermit is able to rediscover his trademark optimism. He sings that, even when nothing else seems right, being able to share a moment with a friend can make even the worst Christmas wonderful.
Honestly, as simple as it is, I think it’s a message I needed this holiday season. As the lights, decorations and trees go up, I’ve had to lock myself away, pounding away at the last few projects and assignments on my plate. While the world starts to celebrate “the most wonderful time of the year” — I slink into the most stressful time of the year. It’s easy to feel invisible.
Maybe it’s stupid, but this insane, chaotic mess of a movie made me feel something. It gave me a few laughs, it raised my spirits, but most importantly, it reminded me that even when things feel helpless, there’s always something to be grateful for. Who knows — maybe it’ll make you feel something too.
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