The Muppet Christmas Carol, Part 1: Bah, Humbug!

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is rightfully considered a classic due to the impact it had on our modern day perception of Christmas.  Published in 1843, this novella was the first story to focus on the festive spirit and secular traditions that surrounded the holiday season, rather than the religious and pagan history from which it was born.  The concepts of family togetherness, celebration, and generosity were brought to the forefront in the story, forever linking them in the public's minds with Christmas.

Drink and be merry!

Because of its influence, the story has been retold countless times through various media, with over 50 interpretations presented on television or in film.  Each version adheres to the same basic plot structure following one person's journey through the past, present, and future to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas.  With so many adaptations to choose from, some are bound to be over better quality than others.

Many people cite The Muppet Christmas Carol as being not only their favorite Muppet movie, but as being their favorite interpretation of A Christmas Carol as well.  I am not among those people.  As its own movie, I think it is fine.  But as a Muppet movie, I do not consider it the best and as A Christmas Carol, I find it to be severely lacking in quality.  I believe most supporters of this movie are clouded in their own sense of nostalgia, only remembering having enjoyed this movie as a young child.

But perhaps I am being unfair.  Everyone I encounter loves this film with all of their heart.  Perhaps I am just missing something.  I shall watch this film again, to see if it truly does hold up as more than just a kids' movie.  So, here we go.  This week, it's The Muppet Christmas Carol.

There are two rats on the poster.  We're in for a treat!

First, a little history.  This was the first Muppet movie to be made following the deaths of two very influential Muppet performers, Richard Hunt and Jim Henson.  As such, their more memorable characters were pushed to the background or removed entirely from the project (Scooter, in particular is completely absent).  This was also the first film to be produced under the Walt Disney Studios name, which results in a more streamlined production differing in tone from the original three films.  The movie was originally intended to be made for TV until Disney expanded the budget.  However, these changes will not influence my review in anyway.  Although Henson and Hunt are missed, their spirit lives on in the remaining puppeteers and Jim's son Brian, who directs the film.  It is still very much a Muppet group effort, even if it must suffer the burden of being made during this unexpected transitional period.

The film opens on a busy 19th-century London street in the wintertime as Muppets and humans coexist without tripping over one another.  Puppet-recycling is in full effect as many minor characters from past productions appear in Victorian garb.  As merchants hock their wares on the street, we settle on a booth manned by the Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat.

Charles Dickens and friend

In the original script, Muppets were supposed to play all of the major characters, including the three Ghosts of Christmas.  Piggy would be Past, Scooter would be Present, and Gonzo as Future.  However, as it underwent revision, it was decided that the Ghosts should be more foreboding in order for Scrooge and the audience to take them seriously.  Also, a voice-over narration had been considered in order to keep Dickens' masterful language intact.  But when Gonzo got booted from the ghost role, it was decided to place him as the role of the narrator.  Rizzo had recently joined the ranks as a main Muppet character and his performer Steve Whitmire had a great repertoire with Gonzo's Dave Golez.  With Gonzo as Dickens and Rizzo on deck to provide commentary and comic relief, the comedic duo were allowed to lead the audience through the movie.

This choice is one of the movie's great assets.  Most versions try to keep the narration either through another character, as a voice-over, or (in the most clumsily fashion I've ever seen) incorporated into the dialogue.  But Gonzo presents a liveliness to the narrator that is not present in any other version and, more importantly, he cares about the story.  While Rizzo often gets side-tracked with his jokes, Gonzo is always there to keep everyone focused on the story at hand.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the erratic Gonzo is capable of deep pathos, making him the perfect choice to play Dickens.

Dickens begins his tale, introducing Ebenezer Scrooge by way of the film's first musical number.  This catchy song is cute, but I feel it fails to fully characterize Scrooge.  It falls into the common trap of telling rather than showing.

Our Scrooge (Michael Caine) calmly strolls through the singing puppets, ignoring them all the way.  Despite their claims of his many faults, we are not treated to any of them during the song.  For comparison, I implore you to check out the 1970 musical Scrooge starring Albert Finney.  During his introduction song "Father Christmas," we witness him going about town calling upon his many debtors, showing little compassion to their plights.  He is outright mean to everybody he encounters and shows no remorse at all.  Caine, on the other hand, while a great actor, does not display any signs of cruelty yet, despite what the lyrics imply.

In fact, he often seems as if he would rather be anywhere else.

Perhaps this is meant to show how disinterested he is in the lower class, but it just comes off as boredom.  This continues as he enters his office and casually tosses out a random Muppet asking for an extension in his mortgage payment.  Drawing on another comparison, Alastair Sim's famous portrayal in 1951's A Christmas Carol took his disinterest in the common man to a whole new level.  It seemed as if life had beaten him down so much that there was nothing left for him but resentment.  He showed no compassion to anyone because he was physically incapable of finding those emotions.  The human race became foreign to him and their joy at Christmas irritated him because he was unfamiliar with it.

Caine, however, plays Scrooge as a jerk who just enjoys being a jerk.  When he sends Bob Cratchit to prepare the many eviction notices due on Christmas, he seems to exhibit a villainous glee at the prospect of people losing their homes.  Scrooge may be cold-hearted and unsympathetic, but evil?  That's pushing the character a little too far.  Scrooge's main fault is that he is self-absorbed, not malicious.

Money for the poor?  I'd rather watch them starve to death while I stroke my cat.

Kermit as Bob Cratchit, like Gonzo as Dickens, is another inspired Muppet casting choice.  Kermit's humility is almost identical to Cratchit's meek yet optimistic persona.  One welcome addition to the original dialogue is when Cratchit tries to ask for Christmas day off from work.  Usually, Scrooge reluctantly gives in to the custom, decrying it, but acknowledging it nonetheless.  Here, he puts up some resistance, prompting Cratchit to appeal to his thriftiness by logically explaining he would lose more money by staying open on a day when all other businesses are closed.  That's very clever and bold for the usually subservient Cratchit.

But why he has to be surrounded by a gaggle of unnecessary rat co-workers is beyond me.

I shall conclude today's post with Kermit/Cratchit's pleasant song "One More Sleep 'Til Christmas."  Like with "Scrooge," I find that the visuals and the lyrics do not exactly match up, as the rat bookkeepers exhibit many playful slapstick as they pack up shop while Kermit sings a low-key tune.  This is one of those moments that distracts the viewer as the story is placed on hold to allow for puppet antics.

The end of the song with the shooting star presents a nice contrast as the camera pans over to a homeless Bean Bunny, struggling to keep warm in the trash.  What is a beautiful Christmas Eve night for one person is a source of extreme discomfort for another.  Despite being a background character, Bean has managed to steal the show with the most heart-wrenching scene in the film.

I hope the rest of the movie is as meaningful as this five-second moment.

The Rise and Fall of Bean Norman Bunny, Part 3: Down the Rabbit Hole

All things must come to an end, and for Bean Bunny, the ending came a lot sooner than he had expected.  Bean's puppeteer was Steve Whitmire, who was the youngest to join the original Muppet Show crew.  He was given a variety of new characters to perform, such as Rizzo the Rat and Wembley Fraggle.  It seemed as if Bean would be his breakout hit, but just as the bunny started gaining attention, Jim Henson unexpectedly passed away.  Whitmire was assigned to take over Jim's biggest roles, namely Ernie and Kermit the Frog.  Bean Bunny was forced to become an afterthought, because Whitmire's new schedule only allowed him to play the important characters.

However, Bean Bunny was not simply ignored.  He became the unwilling victim of all the negative feelings of the collective Muppet Company.  At first, he was just given minor, usually-non speaking roles.  His biggest role in a Muppet movie to date is the poor, starving child in The Muppets' Christmas Carol.

How the mighty have fallen

But malnutrition and neglect were not the only pains this rabbit had to endure.  Having grown tired of his "cute" schtick, any excuse would be made by the producers to deliver abuse to the poor bunny.  He would become the punchlines of scenes, literally.  He would get smashed by doors, trampled on, or eaten whenever he made an appearance in a future filmed Muppet event.

As Brian Henson noted, "Inside the Muppet Company, we love to hate Bean Bunny."

Even in non-live material, Bean Bunny got the short end of the stick.  In one "Muppet Kids" story book, Bean (who is still the same age he always is) moves into the Muppet community and is shunned by everyone else.

I miss the Bunny Picnic.

In certain ancient/unmodernized societies like the Romans or some aboriginal tribes, punishment for a terrible crime would result in banishment.  Basically, people would be forced to live on the outskirts of the community and, while they would be protected and helped in times of emergency, they would not be invited to partake in the society's events and customs.

But for even WORSE crimes, the guilty party would be forced to stay and participate in all of the society's events.  However, everyone else would ignore them.  Shunning in its purest form.  This was considered to be harsher than banishment, and was stopped by the federal law in Amish communities for being "cruel and unusual punishment."

The Muppets have shunned Bean Bunny.  He is allowed to appear in everything they do, but he is not included in the fun.  He is shoved to the background, and only brought forth to be humiliated.  Bean's only crime was being himself, an attribute that was widely celebrated and encouraged for a couple of years, and then it became the cause of all his torment and anguish.

Too much of a good thing can have unfortunate consequences.  Just look at all of the celebrities whose lives have been ruined because we could not accept just a small amount of their talents.  Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Ted Williams (the homeless man with the golden voice).  These were all people who had a gift, had that gift exploited, and then turned into beaten washed up versions of what they once were.

The Muppets should have been immune to this sort of thing.  They are living cartoons.  They're personalities and lifestyles rarely change.  But the audience can change.  And in this case, a harmless little bunny rabbit took the bullet.

R.I.P. Bean Bunny's career (1986-1990)

Simpler times.  Cuter times.

The Rise and Fall of Bean Norman Bunny, Part 2: Overexposure

After The Muppet Show had been off the air for years, Jim Henson hoped to try a new style of television to show off his new creations and experiments.  The show was dubbed The Jim Henson Hour and it each episode would be made up of two parts (usually).  The second half would focus on a story or special involving Henson's Creature Shop, usually old episodes of The Storyteller or something new like "Dog City."  The first half would be called "MuppeTelevision" and would run like The Muppet Show.  There would be sketches, songs, and guest stars but the segments would be shot as if the Muppets ran a television studio rather than a theater.  Many new characters were brought in as lead roles to perform along side familiar favorites like Kermit, Piggy, and Gonzo.  But to draw in the younger demographic they needed Bean Bunny.

To quote Kermit, "We hired Bean to be cute so the rest of us don't have to bother."

The cast of "MuppeTelevision"

Unfortunately, the show struggled to build an audience in the primetime hours, and one of the last episodes that aired confronted the ratings disaster head on.  It was soon discovered that ratings were at their highest whenever the show featured sex, violence, or Bean Bunny (or a combination of the three).

And so, Bean Bunny was shoehorned into as many sketches as possible to maintain an audience.

Leading to horrible abominations such as these.

However, Bean's presence could not keep the show afloat, and soon it was cancelled.  This setback did not hinder his fame, though.  It allowed him to move to the forefront of the action partaking in many other endeavors.  As the Muppets started joining forces with the Walt Disney Company, Bean Bunny was first in line to reap the benefits.

Doing whatever it takes to rake in the dough.

He became one of the stars of "MuppetVision 3-D," a Disney Parks attraction that still runs to this day.  Thanks to excellent timing, Bean Bunny has gained immortality due to the wonders of the third dimension.

Not so little anymore.

Bean Bunny was so omnipresent that he even arranged to join the cast of the Muppet Babies!  The logic that all of the Muppets knew each other as toddlers was stretched pretty thin to begin with, but then to add in a character who was deliberately a child when he was introduced to the Muppet family and say that he was a baby with them as well?  Well now you're asking too much of us!

On top of that, he's the only one who is toilet trained!

Bean Bunny was on top of the world.  At this point, anything was possible.  The world was his carrot patch and he could have been on Easy Street for the rest of his life.  Sure, he was being used for his cuteness, but he did not care.  Everything was coming up Bean Bunny.

But as with most child actors, the initial charm fades, and the antics do not seem as cute anymore.  He was on a path towards destruction, one that he could not have foreseen.  The bigger they are, the harder they fall.  And Bean Bunny was about to hit rock-bottom.  Join us tomorrow as we learn about the tragic aftermath of the young kit who had so much potential and promise.

Play us out Bean (jump to 11:42):

The Rise and Fall of Bean Norman Bunny, Part 1: Humble Beginnings

Late in Henson's career, there arose a young new Muppet eager to join the well-established cast of The Muppet Show.  The main crew had fixed themselves as stars in the eyes of the world, but there was one area in which they were sorely lacking: Cuteness.  Kermit's nephew Robin was young but had a complex maturity that did not resonate with children.  Meanwhile, on Sesame Street, a furry red monster named Elmo was making waves, preparing to take the street by storm.  As his popularity was rising, the Muppets needed someone who could balance out their ensemble.  Someone who was their "Elmo."  And so, the Henson crew turned to a little fuzzy face that had already made a name for himself in the saccharine television special "The Tale of the Bunny Picnic."

Bean Bunny, the littlest rabbit

While on an afternoon stroll with his daughter Cheryl, Jim Henson observed a group of rabbits convening, seemingly in the midst of an important discussion.  Suddenly, a large dog appeared and scared them all off.  He was inspired to create a springtime special focusing on the backstory of that random cute event.

Below is the full hour-long special, but I shall provide a summary for those who are allergic to an overabundance of cuteness.

As the story goes, to celebrate the arrival of spring, a large group of bunnies hold the annual Bunny Picnic.  They leave in a peaceful warren, close to a farm stocked with many delicious vegetables.  The mean old farmer, in an attempt to rid himself of the rabbit infestation, adopts an dog to kill the rabbits.  The dog is disrespected and mistreated by his master, as evidenced by the fact that he is not even bestowed with a name.  He tries his best to carry out his duties, but has many difficulties.

The Dog, both the main villain and victim of the tale

In the community of bunnies, everyone has a role to play.  Everyone contributes to the picnic, save for little Bean Bunny, who is shunned by his older brother Lugsy for being too small to help.  In order to avoid the negative criticisms of his size, Bean disassociates from reality, imagining himself to be anything but a little rabbit.

Even when he turns into a menacing dragon, he can't help but be adorable.

Bean is the first to discover the dog and no one else believes him.  But once the dog attacks, Bean uses his clever imagination to come up with a scenario to rid the warren of the beast.  Everyone pitches into help, but his bigger brother takes credit for all of the work and places himself in charge of the proceedings.  But when Lugsy gets captured by the dog, it is up to Bean to step in and prove that being little does not prevent him from doing great things.

Such as scaring off a dog in a giant bunny costume.

I do not want to spoil the climax (the huge fake rabbit is just the beginning of things), but after all is said and done, Bean Bunny is treated as a hero to his people and finally earns the respect he deserves, especially from his older brother.

He is a savior to us all!

Bean Bunny enjoyed his new fame and hoped to live out a peaceful existence in the warren, having served his purpose and made a name for himself.  But fate had different plans in store for the young buck.  His audience demanded more.  Very soon, he would be ripped from the warm rabbit den and thrown into the world of television, hype, and success, unlike anything he had ever dreamed of experiencing.  The power would soon go to his head.  His fluffy cottontail would be marking his territory all over the Muppet landscape.  This would not be the last we saw of that little pink-nosed bundle of joy.

Tomorrow, we will continue our look at one of Hollywood's most tragic stories of abuse, corruption, and self-destruction as Behind the Muppets continues.