“Another Idol Has Displaced Me” | Michael Caine (1992)

Like so many other versions, The Muppet Christmas Carol introduced Belle at Fezziwig's (I'm sorry, "Fozziwig's") party and has the breakup scene out of doors. As introduced at the party, this Young Scrooge came from a miserable home where he didn't feel loved, so he gets his sense of value from succeeding at work and accumulating wealth. Fozziwig called him "the finest young financial mind in the city" and I sense that this version of Scrooge is sort of a prodigy when it comes to business. So much so that he wasn't able to fully enjoy Fozziwig's party because he saw all the red it put in the accounting books. Now that same business genius is going to keep him from fully enjoying or appreciating Belle.

When this scene opens, Belle is complaining that he's put off their wedding for another year. And we'll find out during the conversation that it's not the first time. She's not wearing mourning clothes, so instead of her parents' recently dying, it sounds like this new delay is the reason for her deciding finally to end things.

Young Scrooge is pretty patronizing when he tells her that the delay can't be helped, like he's explaining it to a child. They don't have enough money saved away for a decent home; his investments haven't paid out like he hoped. But she's heard all of this before.

She points out the progress that they've made. He's a partner in his own firm now. But he claims that they're barely clearing expenses. She thought the partnership was the goal, but he keeps coming up with extra reasons to hold off the marriage. He claims that he loves her and that he's doing it for her, but she's run out of patience.

This is a serendipitous year to be talking about this scene, because the Muppet version of it has a complicated story. As originally shot, Muppet Christmas Carol included a song called "When Love Is Gone" in this scene. After Young Scrooge insists that he does love Belle, she says, "You did once," and begins to sing:

There was a time when I was sure

That you and I were truly one

That our future was forever

And would never come undone

And we came so close to being close

And though you cared for me

There's distance in your eyes tonight

So we're not meant to be

The love is gone

The love is gone

The sweetest dream

That we have ever known

The love is gone

The love is gone

I wish you well

But I must leave you now alone

There comes a moment in your life

Like a window and you see

Your future there before you

And how perfect life can be

But adventure calls with unknown voices

Pulling you away

Be careful or you may regret

The choice you make someday

During all of this, she gets up and moves away from him. He follows her a couple of times, but finally she moves away again and he stays put, ultimately turning and walking away to leave her alone to finish the song.

When love is gone

When love is gone

The sweetest dream

That we have ever known

When love is gone

When love is gone

I wish you well

But I must leave you now alone

At this point, Old Scrooges walks into the frame behind her to join her in a duet.

It was almost love

It was almost always

It was like a fairytale we'd live out you and I

And yes, some dreams come true

And yes, some dreams fall through

And yes, the time has come for us to say goodbye

Yes, some dreams come true

And yes, some dreams fall through

Yes, the time has come for us to say goodbye

Or he tries to, anyway. He breaks down about halfway through, weeping openly as she finishes alone, looks back at the direction Young Scrooge has gone, then walks away herself. It's super emotional and gets me every time. And it's no wonder that when Belle passes Gonzo and Rizzo, Rizzo is sobbing his tiny little eyes out.

The problem was that Disney's Studio Chairman at the time, Jeffrey Katzenberg, thought the scene was too emotional and adult for kids to sit through, so he had it cut from the theatrical release. It was added back in for the VHS release, but the footage was lost shortly after that. So on my DVD copy, I have the choice of either watching the widescreen theatrical release without the song, or a crappy pan-and-scan VHS transfer with the song. Frankly, I usually choose the widescreen version, but it's always jarring to go from Belle's "You did (love me) once" to Rizzo's passionate bawling. It's still a sad scene without the song, but it's so much more powerful with it.

And that's before we even bring up the reprise/sequel of "When Love Is Gone" at the end of the movie, retitled "When Love Is Found." Again, it works just fine without knowing that there was an earlier version of the song that the finale is mirroring, but it's way more effective with that balance intact.

Happily, this year the scene (like Love) was found and is going to be added back into the movie for its 4K remaster release.

Getting back to the movie, the Ghost doesn't show Scrooge a final vision of Belle's family without him. He still has tears in his eyes as he pleads, "Spirit, show me no more." And he adds, "Why do you delight in torturing me?"

He resents it when she reminds him that these visions are what they are because of his own decisions. "Leave me!" he says, angrily. And she does without argument or his having to attack or extinguish her. She just disappears as the vision darkens and he's returned to his bedroom.

“Why, It’s Old Fezziwig!” | Michael Caine (1992)

The Muppets Ghost of Christmas Past doesn't like to travel the same way twice. She flew Scrooge from his apartment to the school, but from the school to Fezziwig's they sort of hyper jump and warp into the street. It's a cool effect, but looks a bit odd in the Victorian setting.

The sign on the warehouse says "Fozziwig and Mom, Ltd." As much as I dislike Fozzie's having such a small role in the movie, I can't fault anyone for casting him this way. It's too perfect. And I love that Scrooge identifies the building as Fozziwig's old rubber chicken factory. Because of course it is.

Fozziwig himself comes outside to enjoy the evening and the lamplighters and just Christmas Eve in general. He's not as jovial as I expect, in fact he's downright sentimental. But the effect is the same on Old Scrooge. "As hard and as ruthless as a rose petal," he chuckles, clearly fond of his former boss.

True to his name, Fozziwig is Fozzie in a wig: the white, old-fashioned kind that's become the shorthand for identifying so many versions of this character. As he goes back inside, he announces that it's time for the party to begin, and Old Scrooge gets excited. He's eager to relive this memory.

Fozziwig's announcement was actually meaningless, because the party has already begun. There's no scene of anyone setting up; all the humans and muppets are milling about with drinks and chatting together. But Fozziwig has a few words to say to open the festivities and after some problems getting everyone's attention, he does. Heckled of course by Young Statler and Waldorf as the Young Marley Brothers.

Fozziwig's speech is super short and the music starts right after. Instead of a fiddler, it's Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. They're not on Fozziwig's desk of course, but they are on a raised platform. They start with a slow number until Animal gets bored and starts rocking out, bringing the rest of the band along with him.

At one point, Young Ebenezer appears, extremely well-cast. I don't know if the makeup department did some extra work on Raymond Coulthard's eyebrows, but he looks a lot like a young Michael Caine. At any rate, Ebenezer has been going over the books and has some concerns with how much the party is costing the company.

Fozziwig gently chides him about Christmas and generosity and how Ebenezer needs to enjoy himself. We've seen different Ebenezers have different reactions to the party, but this is the only one who's actually objected to it. As we saw at the school, Scrooge has replaced his empty family life with hard work and dedication to his career. He came from a miserable home where he didn't feel loved, so he gets his sense of value from succeeding at work and accumulating wealth. The Muppet Christmas Carol is especially simple and on-the-nose about this, but that's not a bad thing. I appreciate its spelling out some things for me.

Speaking of simplistic, there's also not much detail about Fozziwig's character in this version. We meet his Mom, but he doesn't appear to be married or have any children. The guests are a hodgepodge - we get to see Rowlf and the Swedish Chef - but puppets causing chaos is a Muppets staple and it doesn't seem like Fozziwig has any special, particular compassion for social outsiders as a group. He's weird, so his friends are all weird, too.

There's no Dick Wilkins in this version and the Ghost never challenges Fozziwig's generosity. The only person who does that is Young Ebenezer himself who never quite follows Fozziwig's advice about having a good time. And yet, Old Scrooge remembers the party fondly and was excited to revisit it. I don't think it's because he met Belle there, because that's also a painful memory. I don't know how many Fozziwig Christmas parties he went to, but it seems like the celebration is what he remembers fondly, even though he was complaining about it. He may have tried to resist, but deep down, these parties affected him. As simple and kind of dumb as he was, Fozziwig affected Scrooge.

As I mentioned, Ebenezer meets Belle in this scene. Later in the festivities, he accidentally bumps a beautiful girl whom Fozziwig is talking to. Fozziwig introduces Ebenezer to her as "the finest young financial mind in the city." I don't know if he's just being hyperbolic there or if Ebenezer really does have that reputation, but I can believe it based on what we've seen of Scrooge so far: his single-minded dedication as a young man and his obvious success as an old one.

Fozziwig introduces Belle as "a friend of the Fozziwig family" and there's an instant connection between her and Ebenezer. The Ghost asks Old Scrooge if he remembers the meeting.

"Yes," he says, deeply emotional about it. "I remember."

"There was of course another Christmas Eve with this young woman. Some years later."

He looks frightened. "Oh, please," he begs, turning back to look at Belle again. "Do not show me that Christmas."

But she does.

“I Was a Boy Here!” | Michael Caine (1992)

The Muppet Christmas Carol includes a fun transition scene where the Spirit flies Scrooge out of his room and over London. Not wanting to be left behind, Gonzo and Rizzo snag Scrooge's robe with a grappling hook and tag along. As they fly over the city, Scrooge sees a light in the distance. He asks what it is and the Ghost tells him that it's the Past. The light expands and envelopes the group, then they're through some kind of wormhole and flying over snowy forest. A cluster of buildings appears in a valley ahead and that's where the Ghost descends. It's Scrooge's school, but a cool version of it with lots of outbuildings. Instead of a mansion, it looks like it was converted from a farmhouse. That may say something about the kind of education Scrooge's father could afford, but as we'll see, Scrooge's dad doesn't play a part in this version.

Scrooge is happy to see the place and even happier to see the kids running out of the building for their Christmas break. He names a couple of them and points out one as his best friend. There's no crying in this scene. Scrooge thoughtfully takes it all in and he's mostly happy to revisit this time.

Caine's Scrooge is going to be pretty easy to change. He wasn't especially frightened by the Marleys and had almost convinced him that they were a dream. Perhaps he still thinks he's dreaming now. He's been nothing but polite to the Spirit though and is open to whatever she has to show him. It's hard to tell what he's thinking, but as we'll see, he doesn't have all the hurdles that some of the other Scrooges have to overcome.

Inside the building, the music becomes light and pastoral with some kind of flute as the primary instrument. Actually, it reminds me of the Hobbiton theme from Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score. It evokes fond memories of simpler times, not oppressive loneliness. Scrooge walks around the room remembering sights and smells. These were mostly good times for him. He finishes his little tour by saying that he chose his profession in that room. This introduces the main point of the scene in this adaptation.

The Spirit points out Young Scrooge sitting at a desk. He's not reading though. He's writing on a tablet; working. A couple of other boys run in and one of them tells Young Scrooge that it's time to go, because the last coach is leaving. He's excited about it and trying to be helpful, but the other boy corrects him. "Come on. He never goes home for Christmas."

Young Scrooge yells after them, "Who cares about stupid old Christmas?" and goes back to work. It comes across as a childish response that Young Scrooge doesn't really mean. He probably does actually care about Christmas. And Old Scrooge notes that he was often alone, but he tries to put a positive spin on it. "More time for reading and study. The Christmas holiday was a chance to get some extra work done. Time for solitude." His face shows that it affected him though. This is as close as we get to tears from this Scrooge and there is a slight tremble in his mouth.

There's no mention of Scrooge's family in this version, but even if you weren't familiar with other versions you could deduce that there's some kind of problem at home that lets Scrooge stay in school over Christmastime. Whatever emptiness is there from Scrooge's family, he's replaced it with hard work and dedication to his future career. Which, come to think of it, is pretty much the point of every version of this scene. Fan's love for him notwithstanding, Scrooge comes from a miserable home where he didn't feel valued. He's going to try to form his own happy family with a woman he loves, but he's not going to trust it. He gets his sense of value from succeeding at work and accumulating wealth. The Muppets version makes this especially clear right in this scene, but it's the underlying psychology in the other iterations, too.

The Ghost invites Scrooge to see another Christmas at the school, but Scrooge isn't eager. Still looking heartbroken, he says that they were all very much the same. "Nothing ever changed."

She says that he did, though. And sure enough we see images of a gradually aging Scrooge until we settle on one in his mid teens. Fan doesn't appear nor is she mentioned, but the schoolmaster does in the form of Sam the Eagle. We learn that Scrooge is graduating from the school, so Sam is there to give him some last advice. It's a funny bit and Sam is perfect as the overly serious mentor who encourages Scrooge to "work hard, work long, and be constructive."

He observes that Scrooge has been apprenticed to a fine company in London, which of course we'll see in next year's scene. So there's no Father who's decided to pull Scrooge from school and start him working. This is just the natural progression of things and we can infer that Scrooge obtained the apprenticeship through his own hard work and merit, with perhaps a little assistance from Sam and the school.

“Your Reclamation, Then” | Michael Caine (1992)

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The Muppets cut from Scrooge's going to bed to back outside where Gonzo and Rizzo are trying to get inside the house to continue narrating. It's some fun shenanigans, but nothing important to the story.

Back inside, Scrooge is asleep and still holding his poker. He's left a candle burning and it's lighting up the room pretty well; even shining through Scrooge's thin bed curtains. A clock shows that it's five minutes to one, so the film uses the time to visit Gonzo and Rizzo again as they're climbing a rope to get to Scrooge's upstairs window. Gonzo is back to narrating, talking about how Scrooge is in a dreamless sleep.

Inside once more, the clock finally chimes one and causes Scrooge to open an eye. His candle goes out and Gonzo, now on top of a tree branch right outside Scrooge's window, yells a repeat of the Marleys' warning, "Expect the first ghost when the bell tolls one!" And on cue, Scrooge's window fills with blinding light.

Scrooge is startled into getting up and - poker in hand - opens his bed curtains. The light gathers itself into a single point, finally taking the form of a small, floating child with gauzy robes that swim around her. There's no cap or holly and the only reference to fire is her flaming red hair.

Scrooge puts down the poker and comments on her apparent youth. She explains that she can remember nearly 1900 years, so she's the Ghost of All Christmas' Past, then; not just Scrooge's.

Scrooge is polite. He's probably a little freaked out, but she doesn't appear to be a threat. And when she says that she's there for his welfare, he's bold enough to suggest a night's unbroken rest might aid him better.

She changes her mission to his "salvation, then." If the story is about Scrooge's avoiding Hell, then words like "reclamation," "redemption," and "salvation" are relatively interchangeable, but I don't think that's the best interpretation. When we get to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, the focus will be on Scrooge's impact on this world; not his fate in the next. So in that context, "salvation" has to refer to Scrooge's being saved from his own misery. It basically means the same thing as "reclamation," where he's being reclaimed from Misery for the side of Joy. In both cases, it's a rescue mission and I like both words better than the Albert Finney version's "redemption." "Reclamation" is still the best word though, because "salvation" does carry a specific religious connotation that the story isn't really focusing on.

When she tells Scrooge to "take heed," there's no threat in it. She's too tiny and sweet. She just wants him to be careful and pay attention. She's clearly there for his own good, if only he'll let her help him. When she tells him, "Come," it feels like a request.

The windows open by themselves though (revealing Gonzo and Rizzo on the branch outside) and that worries Scrooge. He expresses his concern about going out that way.

"A touch of my hand," she responds, "and you shall fly." In so many of the last few versions we've looked at, the hand on the heart is ignored and the Spirit's touch is all about magically getting Scrooge where he needs to go. That's disappointing.

Scrooge does touch her tiny hand though and off they fly through the window. Gonzo chuckles gleefully and swings his grappling hook.

“More of Gravy than of Grave” | Michael Caine (1992)

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The Muppets use CG to provide a great transformation scene with the knocker. No superimposed faces here; we get to see the knocker slowly morph into Marley's face - or a Marley's face - before our eyes. It's Statler of Statler and Waldorf. A spooked Scrooge identifies him as Jacob Marley before the ghost moans Scrooge's name so loudly that he startles the horse pulling Gonzo and Rizzo's carriage. Gonzo and Rizzo spill out and when we cut back to the door, Marley is gone. Scrooge takes a close look on it and decides, "Humbug."

Gonzo narrates some more, focusing on Scrooge's fondness for the dark and generally making Scrooge out to be recovered from the incident, but wary. Scrooge lights some lamps and searches his rooms. He looks determined, but he also picks up a poker from the fireplace to carry as a weapon. And in a great bit, he attacks his own dressing gown, thinking that it might be an intruder. He even pounds on it a couple of times on the floor, before realizing in horror that he's abused a valuable piece of clothing.

The scene then cuts to Scrooge by the fire, wearing the gown and taking some bread and cheese. No gruel for this Scrooge. He's not a spendthrift, but Michael Caine's Scrooge enjoys his wealth. He just doesn't share it with anyone else. As he eats, the servant's bell gives a little jingle. Scrooge looks at it and it goes still, but when he returns to his dinner, the bell goes crazy before settling down once more.

Scrooge's fire doesn't grow larger at Marley's nearness, it goes out completely, which is probably a better visual. We're used to rooms getting cold before spirits appear and that's the sense that I get here. There's some distant creaking and maybe some footsteps, but the music does most of the work in building suspense until the Marleys pop up.

In this version, there's no door separating Scrooge's sitting room from the staircase. There's just a bannister, so the Marleys (Statler and Waldorf this time) fly up the stairwell to hover near the rail. Their moans turn into the duo's trademark heckling laughter and they immediately launch into insults about Scrooge's looks. When the disbelieving Scrooge asks who they are, they introduce themselves as Jacob and Robert (get it?) Marley. They're pale and transparent, but neither wears the traditional bandage for some reason.

Caine's Scrooge has already demonstrated a sense of humor, so it's fitting that he uses it here to convince himself that he's hallucinating. The Marley's are into it, too, chuckling to themselves until Scrooge gets to his gravy quip. That's when they go into full heckling. "What a terrible pun!" Jacob says. And Robert: "Leave the comedy to the bears!" Scrooge's reaction is telling. At first he begs, "Please don't criticize me!" But then he scowls and points. "You always criticized me!"

Of course that would be the case. Statler and Waldorf are horrible people and they make fitting Marleys. I can't imagine working with them and it builds sympathy to think of Scrooge's having to endure them as partners, even as mean as he is.

When he asks why they're there, they launch into a song that explains their plight and how Scrooge is heading down the same path.



I have some of the same problem with this interpretation that I do with Goofy's playing Marley in Mickey's Christmas Carol. Not to that same extent, because an additional part of Goofy's problem is that he's generally known for being a good-natured pal, so he's not a natural fit for Marley. Statler and Waldorf are at least reasonable choices. But they do the same thing that Goofy does, which is to try to balance remorse over their past deeds with a humorous pride. It doesn't work any better for Muppets than it did for Mickey, so I generally don't care for these Marleys at all. I doubt that this visit to Scrooge was their idea. They seem like the kind of guys who had to be forced into it.

Their song is good though and I love that their cash boxes and padlocks join in for a line. It's also great that Caine plays the whole thing straight. He's appropriately frightened and seems to take their warning to heart. It's hard to get a good sense of where he's at, because he's just interjecting lines into a song, but if there's no great insight to Scrooge's mindset, we can at least accept that he's shaken up. There's been no real change in him yet, though. It'll take more than a fun, but silly song.

When the song is done, it's interesting that the Marleys have to be literally dragged back towards the bannister by their own chains. They struggle to get out the last of the message, but manage to tell Scrooge about the coming spirits. They're vague about the timing though and only mention that the first is coming that night at 1:00.

When they reach the stairwell, their chains continue to pull at them, down the well (or into hell, if your imagination wants to go there). As they descend, they go back to their song, "We're Marley and Marley!" It's just a musical end cap, but there might also be something to their trying to hold onto their identities as they rejoin the nameless forces that have both sent them there and are drawing them back. Maybe that's deeper than you want Muppets to go, but the movie shows some surprising depth in other areas, too, so I'm going with it.

There's no host of phantoms trying to help a homeless mother in this version. As the Marley's disappear with a final command for Scrooge to "Change!" the lamps go out and everything is dark for a couple of seconds. Then Scrooge's fire roars back to life.

The scene shifts outside for some more narration/shenanigans by Gonzo and Rizzo, then back to Scrooge's bed as he climbs in. He's holding the poker again, still unnerved, but he gets out a whole "humbug" as he pulls closed the curtains.

His Usual Melancholy Tavern | Michael Caine (1992)

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The Muppets reduce our scene to a single shot of the courtyard outside Scrooge's house. Gonzo and Rizzo pull up in a carriage and Gonzo narrates as Scrooge enters from a narrow alley and goes to his door. Gonzo differs from Dickens slightly, mixing the author's description of the house with earlier stuff about Marley's (or in this case, the Marleys') existential state.

"Scrooge lived in chambers which had once belonged to his old business partners Jacob and Robert Marley. The building was a dismal heap of brick on a dark street. Now, once again I must ask you to remember that the Marleys were dead and decaying in their graves. That one thing you must remember, or nothing that follows will seem wondrous."

Nothing new there, but Gonzo does it in a hushed tone (something that Rizzo comments on) to add to the spookiness and build suspense for what's about to happen.

“If Quite Convenient, Sir" | Michael Caine (1992)

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Scrooge is absolutely beside himself after his encounters with Fred and the solicitors. Slamming the door on Honeydew and Beaker, he sees Fred's wreath where Fred hung it before leaving, grabs it off the wall, and tries to rip it up. It's just then that a small voice outside starts singing "Good King Wenceslas" (the substitute of choice for carollers who don't go for Dickens' "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen").

Scrooge yanks open the door and bares his teeth at the young, singing rabbit. "What do you want?!" he snarls, daring the boy to ask him for something. Unfortunately for the boy, he does. "Penny for the song, governor?" Scrooge slams the door on the kid, goes back to trying to tear up the wreath, then opens the door again to chuck the wreath at the boy. It's a unique and clever take on Scrooge's threatening the kid with a ruler, made cooler because it develops Scrooge's character in a powerful way. I haven't seen another version of Scrooge get this flustered and furious. It makes him vulnerable without taking away from his meanness.

That carries over into the next scene, which is closing time. Cratchit has to step into Scrooge's office to announce that the work day is over. Scrooge looks up from his work, sullenly. He's not joking like he was earlier in the day. In fact, he's sulking. "Very well," he says, "I'll see you at 8:00 in the morning."

The exchange between Cratchit and Scrooge here is awesome. Cratchit reminds Scrooge that the next day is Christmas, so Scrooge says that he'll let the staff come in at 8:30 then. Cratchit has to fight for the whole day off. There's no question about whether or not it's convenient and Scrooge makes it very clear that he's being persecuted and put upon. Caine is amazing and gives us a Scrooge who's still hurt from the earlier scene. I feel genuinely sorry for him and a more passive Cratchit would totally cave and come in. But Kermit isn't that Cratchit.

Kermit's role in the Muppets has always been to be the calm in the center of the chaos, so he continues that here. Whether he's managing his unruly staff of rodent accountants or managing Scrooge's bad moods, he keeps it together and sticks up for what's right. What's strange is that Scrooge seems to respect him for this. Earlier, he treated Cratchit as a valued, even trusted employee. Now, he begrudgingly grants the day off ("take the day," like a spoiled child who's being forced to share a toy) even though it's the last thing he wants to do. Though to be fair, Cratchit also defeats Scrooge with logic: explaining that other businesses will be closed and there'll be no one to do business with.

Scrooge leaves Cratchit and the rats to close up with a final, "Be here all the earlier the next morning!" then stalks off. As the staff cleans the office and shuts everything down, Cratchit sings "One More Sleep 'Til Christmas," an ode to the excitement of Christmas Eve that serves the same purpose of Dickens' sliding scene. With Scrooge out of the picture, the festivities can commence.

Of course, the sliding scene still makes it into the movie. Cratchit's song continues after he locks up and moves into the street. Outside, a group of penguins are having a "skating party" and Cratchit joins in as well as Gonzo and Rizzo.

He finishes the song and heads home and it looks like the film is going to let the Christmas street celebration be nothing but fun and joy. But surprisingly, as Cratchit leaves the frame, the camera pans down to the shivering bunny who was singing earlier and is now trying to keep warm wrapped in newspapers. It's a touching bit of darkness and Dickensian social commentary in what we might expect to be nothing more than a feel-good film. Nice job, Muppets.

'You Wish to Be Anonymous?' | Michael Caine (1992)

Index of other entries in The Christmas Carol Project

I mentioned this last year, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is unique in that it has the charitable solicitors' visit overlap Fred's by a considerable margin. Other adaptations may have the two men come in as Fred's leaving, but here they get to interact quite a bit. As Fred's just finishing up his speech about how wonderful Christmas is, Gonzo cuts in to introduce the audience to the "well-meaning gentlemen (who) call upon businesses collecting for the poor and homeless." Cue Professor Honeydew and Beaker.

It's great casting since in Dickens the second gentleman remains silent for the entire scene anyway. Most adaptations correct this by sharing the dialogue between the two characters, but the Muppets don't have to since Beaker simply meeps behind Honeydew. Honeydew himself makes an interesting solicitor, but I'll come back to that in a second.

It's interesting that there's no confusion about whether Scrooge is Scrooge or Marley. In spite of Marley's name on the sign outside, Honeydew presumes he's Scrooge. Maybe he's done a little research and learned that the Marley brothers are dead?

Scrooge's reaction to them is interesting. His "Who are you?" is curt, but not offensive. If he thinks they're customers, he's not excited to take their money like Scrooge McDuck is, nor is he outright rude with them like Reginald Owen. He knows that they need something from him and he exerts that power right away in the relationship while still leaving the door open for them to do business. It fits with Michael Caine's portrayal so far of a Scrooge who has obtained his power and money through smarts and cleverness.

(Interesting, but meaningless side note: Honeydew gives Scrooge the name of the organization they're collecting for. It's the Order of Victoria Charity Foundation. )

Since Fred is still there, he has some more fun with his uncle by gleefully misrepresenting Scrooge to the solicitors as a generous man. That gets a growl from Scrooge, but he regains his humor for most of his conversation with Honeydew. That's similar to what we saw in the Alastair Sim cartoon and with Scrooge McDuck, but we've also already seen that humor in Caine's Scrooge in the first couple of scenes. Again, he's a smart, clever man and that means that he also has to be somewhat self-aware. When he says horrible things, it betrays the darkness of his heart, but he often does it with a chuckle, so he's at least attempting to disguise his wickedness as humor.

That only confuses Honeydew though, who on The Muppet Show traditionally also had a dark sense of humor in the way he let horrible things happen to Beaker during experiments. Even though Honeydew is playing a character here, he does it with his typical mannerisms and one of those is that his response to horrible things is sometimes laughter. Since Scrooge is also laughing at unpleasant things, Honeydew can't really tell if they're kindred spirits or not. He has a hard time figuring out if Scrooge is serious and the offer of anonymity is a result of that.

Scrooge gets serious with his, "I wish to be left alone," which leads into one of my favorite exchanges in the whole movie. Scrooge says that he doesn't make himself merry at Christmas, to which Fred replies, "That certainly is true." But then Scrooge follows it up with the traditional, "And I cannot afford to make idle people merry," to which Fred replies, "That is certainly not true."

This causes Scrooge to turn his attention back to Fred and finish up their conversation that we talked about last year. There's a nice, final moment between Fred and the solicitors though when Fred drops some coins into Beaker's hand and says that he's leaving Scrooge to make his donation.

Possibly because Fred has hinted that Scrooge will still donate, or possibly because Honeydew and Beaker are a little dense anyway, the solicitors stay at Scrooge's desk, patiently (and hilariously) waiting for his offering. That finishes his patience and we see him finally lose his temper on the way to the door to show them out. When he talks about the surplus population, he's shouting furiously.

Another unique aspect of this version is that the solicitors are equally frustrated. In most versions, they're saddened by Scrooge's attitude, but Honeydew is clearly flustered and Beaker actually scolds Scrooge on the way out. There's an emotional level in the parting that isn't reached in other versions (so far, anyway), so it's natural that Scrooge is still angry when he closes the door and sees the wreath that Fred left hanging on the knob. Scrooge picks it up and opens the door to throw the greenery at the solicitors (a la Scrooge McDuck), but what he finds on the other side... is something we'll wait until next year to discuss.

'Merry Christmas, Uncle!' | Michael Caine (1992)

Since Gonzo narrates The Muppet Christmas Carol as Dickens, this version has opportunities the others don't; like explaining who Fred is (and giving his name) before he even arrives onscreen. Gonzo stresses that Fred is Scrooge's only living relative, which plants seeds about Scrooge's loneliness. Scrooge hasn't appeared particularly lonely up to now - or not to care about being lonely at any rate - so at this point, it really is just information to file away for later.

Steven Mackintosh (Tanis from the Underworld movies) is a young, very pleasant Fred. He's perfectly cast, but unfortunately doesn't get enough to do in the movie. I want to see more of him, but his Fred's not a vital character for this version. He even has to share this introductory scene with another major scene, but more on that in a minute.

Fred doesn't enter abruptly in this version. He knocks at the door first and announces himself before entering. That's kind of odd and the only reason I can think of for him to do it is out of respect for his uncle. Mackintosh's Fred won't be afraid of a little confrontation with Scrooge, but early on, he's a considerate visitor. That lack of abrasion is one of the reasons I like his Fred so much.

He is here to wish Scrooge a "Merry Christmas" though, and he's even carrying a wreath. (A couple of the other Fred's have had wreaths and it's how I often picture the character, even though Dickens doesn't describe him that way.) Scrooge's "Bah" has a scoffing laugh in it. He punctuates it with the "Humbug."

Fred senses the humor in Scrooge's voice and is up for some verbal sparring with his uncle. They deliver their initial interaction in a quick back-and-forth, both confident in their wit. Fred delivers, "What right have you to be miserable? You're rich enough" with a swagger and a cocky grin, as if he's won the argument. Rizzo even comments on it before Scrooge drops the smile and delivers the "stake of holly" line with serious venom. He's done playing.

Fred tries to keep his humor (he's still smiling), but it's clear that he feels that Scrooge has gone too far. Scrooge tries to finish the conversation with "you keep Christmas in your own way and let me keep it in mine." Instead of continuing to plead like the literary version, this Fred launches straight into the speech. He's not sappy or sentimental as he delivers it, but confident and charming. In the outer office, Cratchit and the staff look up and Cratchit nods approvingly.

When Fred finishes, Cratchit and the rats all raucously shout, "Hear! Hear!" and create quite a noise that Scrooge has to shout over. He's not just shouting to be heard though. There's genuine anger in voice as he asks how one celebrates Christmas on the unemployment line. Even Cratchit - who so far has held special privilege above the rest of the staff - seems shaken and quickly goes back to work. I don't think he's really afraid for his job, but he seems to realize that he's crossed a line and really ticked off his boss.

At this point, The Muppet Christmas Carol does a startling thing and introduces the charity solicitors while Fred is still around. I guess that's not so surprising, but Fred's sticking around for part of their scene is. It works well though. Fred adds some humor to the solicitors' introduction by egging Scrooge on and misrepresenting him to the solicitors. At this point, Fred seems to have lost his patience and is just screwing with his uncle.

After a while, Scrooge loses his own patience with Fred and asks him if he has other things he needs to do. Fred takes the hint and excuses himself, but not before donating a few coins to the solicitors (a lovely touch) and fulfilling the rest of his purpose for visiting. He almost forgets and is at the door when he turns and remembers to invite Scrooge to Christmas dinner with "me and Clara" the next day.

This is Disney, so there's no "I"ll see you in Hell first" line. Instead, Scrooge's response seems to come out of nowhere. "Why ever did you get married?" It's so sudden that it has to be something he's been thinking about and has just now had his opening to bring it up. He's not smiling about it either. He's the personification of Judgment. This is a serious barrier to his relating to Fred.

Fred doesn't sound surprised by the question, but thinks it's an extremely stupid one. "Why? Because I fell in love!" The "duh!" is unspoken, but definitely there.

Now Scrooge is laughing. "That's the only thing sillier than a Merry Christmas!"

Fred keeps his Christmas humor, hangs the wreath over Scrooge's door, and wishes his uncle a "Merry Christmas" again. His final "Merry Christmas" to Cratchit is warm and genuine; not at all for show in front of Scrooge like some of the other versions. An important element to Fred is that he needs to be able to stand up to Scrooge and keep his Christmas spirit, but without being a jerk about it. Mackintosh pulls this off beautifully.

Old Sinner: Michael Caine (1992)

The Muppet Christmas Carol opens with an overture of the music it'll feature throughout the movie, but there are some sleigh bells early on - and of course the name of the movie - to put you in the holiday spirit.

It also, like so many of the other adaptations, starts with the London skyline, including Saint Paul's cathedral off in the distance. As the credits and the orchestra play, the camera pulls back farther and farther, but instead of revealing the expanse of the old city it stays low over the rooftops, creating intimacy with the place. As the camera skims over buildings, barely clearing some of them, it creates a mystery about what's going on inside or in the street below.

Finally, the shot pulls down next to a roof and pans enough to reveal the street. It's a Christmas scene with lots of Victorian shoppers walking around and cheerfully greeting each other. The camera keeps panning though and on a low arch we see a small, frog-like creature eating a carrot. If you didn't already know about the Muppets, this would be your first hint that this isn't "our" London. The camera keeps moving down, getting us closer to the street, and we see a couple of pigs in Victorian clothing talking about their last meal while planning their next. (Sounds like post-dinner conversation at my parents' house, actually.) As the camera keeps moving, we notice that among London's human population a pig is driving a carriage full of talking melons, a dog throws snowballs at a frog and a chicken, and creepy monsters lurk on rooftops. All of this is apparently normal.

If you do know the Muppets, the first recognizable face is Lew Zealand who's on the street hawking his boomerang fish. Near him though are Gonzo the Great and Rizzo the Rat, running an apple stand. Rizzo's making it difficult by eating most of the stock, but the two stop arguing once they notice the audience. Gonzo welcomes us to the movie and claims to be Charles Dickens, something that Rizzo finds hard to believe. They argue about this until Rizzo tells Gonzo to prove his identity by telling us the story of A Christmas Carol, something that Gonzo is happy to do.

"The Marleys were dead to begin with," he says before being interrupted by Rizzo. There are a lot of interruptions in Gonzo's intro, with Rizzo playing the part of an audience unfamiliar with the story. He shivers at the creepiness of the death theme and expresses curiosity about the Marleys' surviving business partner. (We'll critique the decision to pluralize Scrooge's late partner another year.) Gonzo also identifies Scrooge's occupation for us: "a shrewd moneylender." Gonzo points him out as he comes around a corner and the music begins again.

"There he is," Gonzo says. "Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge." Michael Caine's version, mostly in shadow at first, stalks London's streets with the entitlement of an English Lord and the menace of Jack the Ripper. His black cloak snaps in the wind as he passes.

"Say," asks Rizzo, "is it getting colder out here?" He shivers again.

Scrooge strikes the cobblestones with his cane in loud raps. He doesn't need it to walk, but it succeeds in making him look powerful and important. Between it and the tapping of his shoes, he's keeping time to the music as a couple of human-looking Muppets watch him and begin to sing. Soon, the entire neighborhood is joining in, canorously complaining about how mean and nasty Scrooge is.

The song does most of the work of introducing Scrooge's personality, though Gonzo jumps in at one point with some quotes from Dickens. The song finally ends with Scrooge at his place of business, spinning towards the crowd so that we can finally see his face as he disperses the crowd with a glare.

"Humbug," he says; mostly to himself.

He enters the building and we linger on the sign next to the door. It still says Scrooge & Marley, but it's a nice sign. Scrooge is well-dressed too. Caine's version isn't such a miser that he's unwilling to show off a little.

After some more quoting and color-commentary by Gonzo and Rizzo, we join Scrooge inside where he confronts a customer. Behind Scrooge, Kermit the Frog scribbles away with a quill.

"Bob Cratchit?" says Scrooge. He looks bored by the shaking, fearful client. He points his cane in the unfortunate man's face. "Who is this?"

Cratchit explains that it's Mr. Applegate here to talk about his mortgage. Kermit's Cratchit seems unaffected by Scrooge's posturing. He pauses before the word mortgage, knowing what Scrooge's response will be and not really relishing it, but for the most part he keeps scribbling away. He's seen all this before.

Mr. Applegate begins to ramble on with excuses and apologies and requests not to be yelled at. Scrooge ignores him and lets him babble, going into his office to put away his cape, hat, and cane. When Scrooge is done, he says not a word, but returns to pick up Applegate - who's still explaining - and toss him into the street. During this, we see that Cratchit's not the only clerk in the business. There's also quite a large staff of rats who are considerably more nervous than Cratchit.

Scrooge tells Cratchit he wants to deal with the eviction notices for tomorrow. When Cratchit complains that tomorrow is Christmas, Scrooge says, "Very well. You may gift-wrap them."

The rats take the huge stack of notices and some slapstick ensues as Scrooge explains why Christmas is such a busy time for them. "People preparing feasts; giving parties; spending the mortgage money on frivolities." He's working as he says it; barely looking up. It's almost as if he's coaching Cratchit. Caine's is an arrogant Scrooge, so he obviously doesn't see Cratchit as a peer, but he does seem to think of Cratchit as a trusted employee. Or at least a valuable member of the team. "One might say that December is the Foreclosure Season." He looks up at Cratchit with an ugly smile. "Harvest time for the moneylenders."

At this point the rats encourage Kermit to ask for an extra shovelful of coal for the fire. Once he's broken the ice about it they jump in and explain how cold they all are, being pretty obnoxious about it. Scrooge snaps at them and asks how they'd like to be unemployed, roaring the last word. Any tolerance he shows the competent Cratchit isn't shared with the rats. They get all the venom that most versions of the story reserve for poor Bob.

When Cratchit observes, "I believe you've convinced them once again, Mr. Scrooge," Scrooge actually laughs. Partly because he's cowed the poor bookkeepers, sure, but it also looks like he's genuinely amused by Cratchit's dry humor.

I'm not sure I want to be talking about this yet, but one of the things that's most interesting to track from adaptation to adaptation is Scrooge's transformation. We've already started to notice the differences in portrayals of Scrooge's misery and I suspect that how Scrooge is introduced will affect the point at which he begins to change. I don't want to make any predictions yet except to notice that Caine's Scrooge - while in no way kind - starts with a bit of a leg up on the others thanks to his relative softness towards Cratchit. Having noticed this, I'd expect this Scrooge's biggest change to occur when he finally sees Cratchit's family. But it'll be a while before we see if I'm right.

I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that while this isn't one of my favorite Muppet movies, it is a solid Christmas Carol adaptation. A lot of it is played for laughs of course, but the essence of the story doesn't change and the movie makes some interesting choices to talk about. Cratchit is obviously more competent because he's being played by Kermit who always provides that kind of calmness in the midst of chaos, but it's also a legitimate way of interpreting the character. Such a fascinating contrast with David Warner's Cratchit from yesterday.