entertainment 1 Liked! 0 Disliked 84 A Muppet Family Christmas is the best holiday movie you may never see by: Jon In: Christmas, Entertainment, Holidays Nov 27, 2020 1 Liked! 0 Disliked 84 1GIF A Muppet Family Christmas is my favourite Christmas movie. Home Alone is a close second, but every December I make an extra effort to see Kermit, Fozzie and the gang all go flying on the icy patch leading into Ma Bear’s farmhouse home. I love this movie because it’s an all-star Muppets cast including most of the characters from Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and The Muppet Show. 2GIF This special premiered on December 16, 1987 on ABC. The following year it was rebroadcast on ABC and was then re-edited to air on NBC as part of The Magical World of Disney in 1989. Now, why is this the holiday movie you may truly never see? Well, A Muppet Family Christmas has never been released on VHS or DVD in its original 1987 broadcast form. 3GIF There was a VHS release in 1994, 1998 and a DVD release in 2001. Sadly, several songs that were licensed to air on TV were not cleared for home video versions. I believe The Wonder Years ran into the same issue. 4GIF The missing content is glaring to anyone who watched the original. Only a European PAL video release contains all of the original music. That said, the PAL release is a dub of the 1989 NBC version and not the original ABC broadcast. In one version or another, all of the following is cut from the original 1987 TV broadcast… 5GIF Fozzie and the Snowman singing Sleigh Ride while rehearsing their comedy act. 6GIF The Muppets watching a home movie of their first Christmas together. The Muppet Babies were shown singing Santa Claus Is Coming to Town with baby Rowlf playing a toy piano. 7GIF Miss Piggy’s performance of Home for the Holidays is gone. This one sucks because you got to see Miss Piggy slip on the icy patch and fall on her ham hocks. 8GIF A brief moment where Fozzie and Elmo turn on the Christmas lights is missing. This was only shown on the original 1987 broadcast. 9GIF Statler and Waldorf singing I Heard the Bells on Christmas is gone. 10 A brief interlude here, but if you haven’t seen our new line of Christmas tees, you’ll want to rectify that right now and give these hilarious tees a gander. 11GIF Kermit and Miss Piggy singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is cut. 12GIF Jim Henson remastered the special in the 1990s for television reruns. He had to make room for commercials and cut a scene with Fozzie and Emily Bear hanging stockings. This was a heartwarming moment where Fozzie said he’s too old to hang a stocking but quickly changed his mind. 13GIF Okay, let’s stop focusing on what’s missing and kick in some holiday cheer with some interesting facts and information on this underrated classic. 14GIF While Kermit and the gang drive up to Fozzy’s family farmhouse, the car’s gear shift is in park. Must’ve been a rough ride. 15GIF The Muppet Babies were first introduced in a dream sequence during The Muppets Take Manhattan in 1984. In a family video, the little Muppets sing Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. This time around a baby version of Animal joins the gang. 16GIF At the end of singing Deck the Halls, Big Bird says, “I love carols.” Which is a meta pun because Caroll Spinney is the voice of Big Bird. Well, until recently. 17GIF This is a goof in the special I found specifically for Ben: Beaker isn’t shown during the first half of the final musical number. He suddenly appears with Dr. Honeydew to “sing” a verse and goes missing again during the last group shot of the Muppets. 18GIF A Muppet Family Christmas was shot in Toronto, Ontario. 19GIF The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years is the first time all four major Muppet franchises (The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies) appear together. This holiday special is the second. 20GIF When A Muppet Family Christmas aired in the UK it was the first time British audiences saw the Fraggle Rock character Doc. In the UK version of Fraggle Rock the human character is a retired sailor named Captain (played by Fulton MacKay) who lives in a lighthouse with his dog Sprocket. 21GIF Speaking of Doc, he’s the one who shows up dressed as Santa Claus. That’s obvious now but was mind-blowing the first time I put it together. 22GIF Right before the credits roll, Jim Henson is shown in the kitchen doing dishes with Sprocket the dog from Fraggle Rock. Like this post? 1 Liked! 0 Disliked 84
x Looks like you already have a subscription! You can verify your subscription or upgrade to LIFETIME HERE: Upgrade
Looks like you already have a subscription! You can verify your subscription or upgrade to LIFETIME HERE: Upgrade