Scorecard Weekly - 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'

And so, it begins…

Our official countdown to Christmas has started and we have a special event planned for you all. Over the course of the next ten days, we will be watching and scoring Christmas movies throughout the years. Once it’s all over, we will create an article specifically for those films—you’ll be able to access them at any time. We know what you’re all thinking—“How can you be so giving?”

Well, it is that time of year! As a token of our appreciation, we are giving you guys and gals the best gift of all. More shit to read. You’re welcome.

WELCOME TO SCORECARD WEEKLY! The place where you come to get honest, uncut, and uncensored reviews of the newest and oldest TV series and movies. Before we begin today’s card, let’s recap on what we are grading shall we? Please turn your attention to the invisible, non-existent whiteboard codename JARVIS—

Using our state-of-the-art scorecard, we grade:

1. Setting/Characters
2. Obstacles/Conflict
3. Tone
4. Concept

The minimum score for a section and card is one. The maximum score is five. Finally, we decide if it’s a recommend or pass.

To kick off this event, we’ve decided to take things back a bit where we’re given a classic rendition of the Charles Dickens Classic in THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL brought to us by Jim Henson Productions and Walt Disney Pictures.

1. Setting/Characters

We can assume that everyone knows about A Christmas Carol (but we all know what they say about assuming) so we’ll fill you in with the details. The story as well as this film are set in 19th Century London on Christmas Eve—that’s cut and dry. Moving on. Moving on. Unless you HATE the Muppets, you will appreciate wholeheartedly the way these characters are introduced and used within this film. Even though it’s their film, there’s still a familiarity about it all and the dash of human beings added in makes this the perfect combination.

To play on the protagonist and antagonist theme of things, we are introduced to a few protagonists whose jobs involve showing our “bad guy” what he needs to see, in hopes that he’ll take a different path than the one he’s on. The entire cast mostly made up of Muppets gives this classic story a uniquely quirky perspective that works. The only issue with using Muppets would be there’s no way to develop them and this film will remind you several times just how idiotic they can be at times. Kind of an overkill.

Score - 3

2. Obstacles/Conflict

You can take the red pill and repent for your wicked ways or you can take the blue pill and be cursed in the afterlife. The choice is yours, Neo… I apologize. Wrong movie. However, that’s pretty much what’s happening here. See, you’ve got a deplorable man who isn’t buying into the Christmas spirit nonsense like everyone else. He’s a cold-hearted and greedy old man who seems to go to great lengths to make others miserable until he gets some unexpected visitors.

The red pill—Repentance. The blue pill—Cursed afterlife. This man has exactly one night to change his ways or face the consequences. This doesn’t seem like too hard of a choice, but he’s taken on a time jumping adventure just to make sure he’s not on the fence about things. Again, this movie is based around The Muppets, so it still finds a way to add a childlike vibe, even though the conflict and its potential consequences facing our antagonist are so high. That being said...

Score - 3

3. Tone

First thing that comes to mind? Childish and that’s probably because it’s a children’s movie. Now, if you’ve read A Christmas Carol, you understand that the challenges faced by our antagonist and the things he’s shown break him down completely. Yet, somehow some way, this film time and time again helps lighten the mood. This is one of those times we think you’ll enjoy some of the childishness of the film, keeping it light and carefree, not dark and heavy… With a little joke here, a serious moment there, it sets the mood and creates an atmosphere that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. I love it.

Score - 4

4. Concept

Oh, my goodness! Seriously, if you’ve got a little time on your hands, just Google "A Christmas Carol Movie." I don’t know how many times they plan on remaking this, but I can say that The Muppet Christmas Carol is the most original out of a plethora of adaptations. Granted, the storyline never changes but adding in these loveable characters brings a new dynamic to a classical classic. Even if you despise the idea, you must appreciate the time and effort put into this film, in order to bring it to life.

Score - 4

Overall Score - 3.5/5

Final Verdict - Recommend

Final Thoughts

A Christmas Carol is a timeless story. We would love if they would just STOP MAKING THEM but Hollywood loves money, so they’ll probably continue to recreate the same tale over and over. Regarding this film, we firmly believe if you haven’t seen this version—you should! It’s fun. The music is great. The characters can be annoying yet loveable and my children sat through the entire movie with no complaints. BOOM!—That’s a win-win.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for stopping by! Until next time, see you later!