Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and today, we continue our Christmas Carol celebration as I look at the music of The Muppet Christmas Carol. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Overture
A small little piece to get you excited for the film that you about to watch as it previews the songs that are about to come up but I enjoy it for what it is.
Scrooge
This is such a great setup for who Scrooge is as it really sets him up as this monster that the town hates. You get the idea that everyone in town despises this guy and thinks very little of him but as we see at the end, they are actually afraid of him. And I love how through song, the characters are able to express their disdain for Scrooge.
Room In Your Heart
This along with one other song were only included on the soundtrack and I can kinda see why it was left out of the film as Bunsen doesn't have the best singing voice. Though, it does seem to be some kind of foreshadowing with Bunsen telling Scrooge how he can change but something about the pocketbook rubs me the wrong way. It's not bad but not a song that needed to be in the movie.
One More Sleep Til Christmas
How can you not enjoy Kermit's singing here? It's just so infectious and just puts a smile on my face. It's really enjoyable and it always puts me in a good mood, when I listen to it. It's easily one of my favorite Muppet songs and one of my favorite performances from Kermit.
Marley And Marley
Like I said in my review, these two have the sarcastic wit of Statler and Waldorf but you can also sense the regret and horror that they caused in life.
Chairman of The Board
Yeah, this is another song that was only on the soundtrack and again, I don't exactly think that Sam The Eagle is the type of character that should sing but you do hear the work method that instilled in Scrooge at such a young age and what led him to be the man that he is today.
When Love Is Gone
This is probably my favorite song from this film. And to think, when the film first came out Disney cut it out and it wasn't until the VHS release that the song was put back in and now most cuts of the film don't include this song. Which is a crying shame as without this song, I don't think Belle's despair works as well and the scene loses the emotional punch. You really feel the heartbreak in Belle as she realizes the choice that lays in front of her.
It Feels Like Christmas
How about something a bit more cheerful. This song reinforces this image of Present for mend why I think of this version, whenever I think of the Ghost of Christmas Present. It just fits with the jovial and happy nature that they want to get across with this character and man, does it work so well. You can't help but have a smile on your face, when you hear this song.
Christmas Scat
Just a short little reprise of One More Sleep Til Christmas but it's cute. And that's all it's trying to be.
Bless Us All
Yeah... I tend to forget about this song. It's not bad and it fits The Cratchits but compared to some of the other songs in this film, I just find it lacking. It's not bad but it's not one that I return to.
Thankful Heart
Michael Caine really puts his all in this performance and you can just hear the joy in his voice as he sings and it's actually quite fun to hear. And it's rather endearing. You really feel the joy that has come from learning his lesson and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Harvey Finevoice cover that aired at the end of the Atop The Fourth Wall episode on Batman Noel, which was the completion to Linkara's own take on A Christmas Carol. It's a fun take but I think that I like Michael Caine's more.
When Love Is Found/It Feels Like Christmas (Finale)
A sweet little number to end on and I love how it includes all of the characters that we saw throughout the movie coming together to celebrate the holiday.
When Love Is Gone - Martina McBride
Yeah, this is the first time that I've ever heard the Martina McBride cover of this song. I don't remember this playing over the credits. It's not bad and certainly is a different take on this song. I do like it but I think Meredith Braun just did it better. Again, not bad but having grown up with the film version, I have a bias towards that one. Again, this isn't bad but I don't see myself returning to it, when the original is on my Christmas playlist.
There you have it, my look at the music of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Join me next time as we see how well Jim Carrey is at playing Scrooge as I look at the 2009 adaption of A Christmas Carol.
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. And the Christmas celebration continues with a look at one of my all time favorite adaptions of A Christmas Carol. When I think of A Christmas Carol, 4 things come to mind. The original source material, the 1938 MGM film, Mickey's Christmas Carol.
Those two are perennial favorites as the 1938 film is my one of my Dad's favorite Christmas movies alongside Miracle on 34th Street. And Mickey's Christmas Carol is one of the earliest ones I remember seeing as a kid. And while those two do hold a very special place in my heart. My favorite version of A Christmas Carol has been the 1992 adaption featuring The Muppets. Yes, The Muppet Christmas Carol is easily my all time favorite take on A Christmas Carol. Now, I'll freely admit that I haven't seen some of the classics such as the Albert Finney or Alastair Sim version. I know, I know. I should rectify that but out of the countless adaptions that I have seen, The Muppet Christmas Carol has always been the one that I hold closest in my heart. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Trailer
Man, this trailer evokes so much '90s nostalgia from the way, it's edited to the narrator. I swear that this guy narrated every trailer for a Disney movie in the 1990's.
The Plot
I don't think that I really need to go over much in terms of plot here. It's a pretty straightforward adaption just with Muppet humor thrown in along the way. And out of the films that are adaptions of classic works of literature featuring The Muppets, I think this one is the best. The casting for both the human & Muppet characters is rather spot-on. It does a good job of keeping the spirit of the story alive along with the spirit of The Muppets intact as well. And considering that this was the first film made after Jim Henson passed away that couldn't have been easy. And well, he wasn't the only man behind a Muppet that they lost because this film was also dedicated to Richard Hunt, who was known for playing characters such as Beaker and Janice.
Now, when I review these Muppet movies, I like to keep the spirit alive by referring to only the characters playing these roles because after all, that is how they are credited in the opening credits. It's meant as a way to make their performances seem all the more real to us. However, there is a small story that I would like to share concerning Steve Whitmire, who took over as Kermit in this film after the passing of Jim Henson.
According to Whitmire he was incredibly nervous about taking over such an iconic character. The night before he had to go record Kermit's songs for the movie, he had a dream where he met Henson in a hotel lobby and told him how unsure he was. In the dream, Henson reassured Whitmire that the feeling would pass. After waking up, Whitmire was confident and able to do the part.
I've always found this to be rather touching and I think it shows in the performance of Steve Whitmire as Kermit here Because he turned in a rather solid performance as Kermit The Frog and I enjoyed every moment of it. With that out of the way, let's take a look at the characters.
Narration
Charles Dickens & Rizzo The Rat played by Gonzo The Great and Rizzo The Rat
Brian Henson included these two for narration as he wanted to include the Dickensian dialogue. And it really worked because these two work so well as on screen narrators. I love that only the audience is aware of their presence and the rest of the movie just plays out as it should without the other characters acknowledging their presence until the very end of the film. Gonzo & Rizzo serve as the comic relief for the film and because of the fact that they exist outside the story, it works very well and doesn't take away from the story. It's just a nice added little bonus and as the Muppet Wiki points out, it allows Gonzo and Rizzo to serve as the Greek Chorus a la the singers from Little Shop of Horrors as he comments on the events but doesn't get involved in the story. It's one of the great highlights and I always enjoy seeing these two on screen and man, were they a great pairing on during the '90s. And I am thankful for the new TV show bringing back Rizzo and giving him more time with Gonzo, even if he has to share it with Pepe. Ah well, that is neither here nor there because as far as this movie goes, they are always a joy to watch.
Main Character
Ebeneezer Scrooge played by Michael Caine
I'll make no bones about it, from the versions that I have seen of A Christmas Carol, Michael Caine is my favorite Scrooge. Sure, he starts off a bit over the top in the beginning but that works to show us the cold and heartless man that he is in the beginning of the movie. And I think in a way, it helps the audience to see the transformation that he goes through as the movie progresses as it feels very real and natural. It's as I said in my Muppet Villain cross over with Infamous Jak.
Before, he’s visited by the ghosts, he is a deplorable man that had lost his way. And if Scrooge is really an antagonist to anyone, it’s himself. Because sure, while he is mean to people around him as we see with how he treats Crachit but Scrooge is his own worst enemy
And I still hold that to be very much true to this day as Caine shows through his performance how broken, a man Scrooge truly is.
Ghosts
Interesting fact, Muppet characters were almost cast in the role of the Ghosts of Christmas Present, Past, & Yet To Come.
It was at one time considered that well-known Muppets would be cast in these roles (Piggy, Scooter, and Gonzo, specifically) before it was decided that it would detract from the ominous effect the spirits would need to convey.
I'm honestly glad that they didn't go with this because while it worked with Mickey's Christmas Carol, I'm not so sure it would've worked with The Muppets. Because while Mickey's Christmas Carol did take the source seriously, it was shown how much effort Brian Henson put into this film and in the end, he made the right call.
Jacob & Robert Marley played by Statler and Waldorf
The only exception to the decision of not having Muppet characters not play any of the Ghosts was with Jacob Marley and the role was actually split into two as both Jacob and Robert Marley. And yes, that is a reference to Bob Marley. And having The Muppets' two hecklers fill the role of Marley was a stroke of genius and while it added their humor to the Marley scene, it can also be really effective because these two to a young audience can actually be quite haunting during their Marley and Marley number. And there is also a tinge of remorse in these two for their past misdeeds as they speak to Scrooge. Yes, they are sarcastic like what we know from The Muppet Show but the remorse is still noticeable.
Ghost of Christmas Past Performed by Karen Prell, Rob Tynger, & William Todd-Jones. Voiced by Jessica Fox.
Jessica Fox was only a child, when she voiced the Ghost of Christmas Present and I feel that that having a child voice this character, I feel was a great idea as it really sells the idea of going into the past. And I do agree with Doug Walker in his Disneycember review that it works well that the Ghost has the look of both an adult and a child. By the voice, you know the Ghost sounds youthful but from the design, you do not know how long this ghost has been around.
The Ghost of Christmas Present performed by Donald Austen (Body) & Jerry Nelson (Face). Voiced by Jerry Nelson
This... this is how you do The Ghost of Christmas Present. I'm hard pressed to say that I've ever seen a better take on Present. When I think of this particular Ghost, this is the one that always comes to mind. He is just so full of jovial life and warmth that you can't help but enjoy his presence on screen, whenever you see him. And the aging process done for Present is handled rather well and you truly feel remorse for him as he passes on.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come performed by Donald Austen (Body) & Rob Tygner
I love how Yet To Come never talks and instead lets his actions speak for himself. And that works so well because the future is unknown. And having him be this large and grim figure is such a menacing presence. And this works because you see the threat that is brought forth, when Yet To Come comes on screen and it's not hard to feel the fear in Scrooge as he is shown such a bleak future. It doesn't go too dark but it has the right balance of bleakness to get the point across of what will happen, if Scrooge doesn't change his ways.
Supporting Characters
Bob Cratchit played by Kermit The Frog
Casting Kermit as Bob was as obvious a choice as Mickey playing him in Mickey's Christmas Carol. But obvious isn't bad and he works well here as he exudes the warmth that you expect with Cratchit. As he is just so friendly and I always enjoy seeing Kermit in this role as it just a great joy to watch.
Tiny Tim played by Robin
Robin may come off as too cutesy for Tiny Tim but Tiny Tim was always a precocious type character and having Kermit's nephew made sense as he is the most popular child character from The Muppets. But having said all of that, I do think that he works well in this adaption. And he is very adorable here in this role and you really do feel for the Cratchits, when he passes on in the bleak future that is shown as a possibility, if Scrooge doesn't change his ways.
Fred played by Steven Mackintosh
Fred may be perhaps my least favorite character in this film. He's not bad and his actor does a good job with the material that he is given to work with but compared to some of the other characters, he feels like the weakest link out of an otherwise solid cast.
Charity Workers played by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew & Beaker
The Charity Workers are small but crucial characters to show who Scrooge is at the beginning of the film. And I actually liked having Bunsen and Beaker in these roles as they are a fun duo. And apparently, Bunsen was supposed to have a song in the film but it was cut and after hearing it, I can see why it was cut.
Headmaster played by Sam The Eagle
Now, I do have to correct myself on one thing that I said about Gonzo not interacting with the story.
Sam the Eagle: Mm, you will love business. It is the AMERICAN WAY! Gonzo: [whispers] Sam... [whispers in Sam's ear] Sam the Eagle: Oh... It is the BRITISH WAY!
I can't believe that I forgot that line because it is so funny. And Sam playing playing the Headmaster was such a great choice as he is what you would expect in this type of role with an uptight teacher type. And it works rather well. It's brief but it works well.
Fozziwig played by Fozzie Bear
This had to be an obvious casting choice for the writers, when they decided to A Christmas Carol with The Muppets. And I think that it really works in this role as Fozzie is the type of person that is just a happy person and he wants to see everyone around him be happy and that really reminds me of Fezziwig as he had this joyous personality that was just so infectious. I also have to make mention that I love that at the end, Scrooge goes and sees his old Headmaster and Fozziwig at the retirement home.
Meredith Braun’s singing Belle (ugh) almost seems content in the knowledge that she can move on, resigned to the fact that Scrooge just doesn’t love her any more. And that is, honestly, pretty sad.
While I do see where the author is coming from to an extent, I'd actually argue that Belle being content in her decision to move on actually works to add more tragedy to Scrooge because here as we see what Scrooge had lost as a young man and Belle made this hard decision because she knew could no longer compete as Scrooge had moved on from her. While it may appear that Scrooge is doing these things for her or so he tells Belle and more importantly himself, Belle has come to see that Scrooge's work comes before their relationship and she doesn't want to be second place. You feel the heartbreak in Belle with this one line in reply to a young Scrooge saying that he loves Belle.
You did once
Those three words say so much about how much the relationship has broken and Belle doesn't want to continue fighting. She's given up because to her, Scrooge doesn't love her any longer. He may tell himself that he does but Belle can see that she is no longer as important to him as she once was. And this is what makes Scrooge joining in on singing When Love Is Gone as an old man all the more heartbreaking.
This scene shows how much these wounds have cut deep in Scrooge and I think that you can see that Scrooge had let Belle's decision hurt him and how he had kept it bottled in for so many years. And Scrooge seeing it for himself and having to relive it brings out all of the pain that he locked away for so many years.
Clara played by Robin Weaver
Clara, Fred's wife is a rather minor character in the grand scheme of the whole plot but I think that the relationship that Fred and Clara is meant to represent the relationship that Scrooge and Belle could have had.
Emily Cratchit played by Miss Piggy
I really like Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit because not only does she get across the attitude of Mrs. Cratchit and her disdain for Scrooge. Even if the scene does go on a little too long but other than that, I really do like Piggy here as Emily because you truly feel the anger that she has for Scrooge for putting Bob in this helpless situation. And beyond that, you also feel the love that she has for Bob and that she will always be there for him.
My Final Thoughts
I love this movie, it's my favorite adaption of A Christmas Carol. It's the one that gives me the most joy to watch and it is a yearly tradition to watch this film every year as it is to me a Christmas classic. And easily, one of my favorite takes on the classic tale. It may not be the best or the greatest adaption out there but out of the takes on A Christmas Carol that I'll be looking at during this event, this is easily the best adaption ever released by Disney. Join me next time as I continue my look at The Muppet Christmas Carol as I look at the music of The Muppet Christmas Carol.
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. Christmas.... It's Christmas.. YAY!!!!! Excuse me, I'll calm down. Haunted Mansion Holiday is a popular Haunted Mansion Christmas lay over featuring characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas that launched in 2001. And while I know that it's super popular, I have no desire to check it out as I personally do not care for The Nightmare Before Christmas as it's not a movie for me but The Nightmare Before Christmas was not the first themed lay over considered for The Haunted Mansion during the holiday season. Rather, something that is closer to my hear was considered...
Yes, that's right, A Christmas Carol. And believe it or not, Disney has done quite a few adaptions of this beloved tale. And I've already looked at two of them including the very first one, the beloved short that came from that album. But there are many more including perhaps one of my favorite Muppets movies and what I consider my favorite take on this classic tale.. The Muppet Christmas Carol, the 2009 film adaption from Robert Zemeckis, which I do not hate.
And two episodes of TV shows based on classic Disney movies that took inspiration from A Christmas Carol featuring Disney Villains in the Scrooge role, Cruella and Hook respectively.
Oh, and if I may, I've also done my own take on a Christmas Carol for A Look at Disney. Now, why am I bringing all of these up because this month on A Look at Disney, I'll be celebrating my all time favorite Christmas story as I take a look at the various adaptions from Disney starting today with a look at the Christmas Lay Over that Disney had planned for The Haunted Mansion. Now, let's first look at why Disneyland ultimately decided against going with this theme.
Disney considered doing a retelling of A Christmas Carol, but decided against it due to the attraction's setting in New Orleans Square and the incongruity of bringing Santa Claus into the eerie environment of the Haunted Mansion.
Something that that struck me as odd was Disney wanting to keep Santa out of The Mansion because A, isn't Santa in The Nightmare Before Christmas and also I don't of any version of A Christmas Carol that features Santa Claus. Granted, I haven't seen every version of A Christmas Carol out there, so it may be that there does exist a version that features Jolly Old St. Nick. Now as for the other big reason....
decided against it due to the attraction's setting in New Orleans Square
This does make a bit more sense as A Christmas Carol is a well known story by a well known British author. So, I can see why they would think that wouldn't work. Though on the other hand, I do understand what they were probably thinking as A Christmas Carol is a ghost story. A fact that is sometimes overlooked. So, if they were going by that line of thinking then I understand how they came to the correlation.
Speaking as someone that has never experienced Haunted Mansion Holiday and has no desire, I have no idea how many scenes make up the ride but with A Christmas Carol, you have the beginning at Scrooge's place of business, Marley, the three ghosts and the ending. I feel like you'd have to stretch some of these scenes out in order to sustain a ride but then again, movies have stretched out these scenes and they work well. So, I may be overthinking this but this is more of what a could've been. I imagine that the two big highlights of the ride would be when Scrooge was visited by Marley during the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, which I imagine would take place during the Graveyard scene.
And the party at Fezziwig's would most likely be placed in the ballroom scene in the Mansion.
Now, this is just placement on my part and if I'm too be honest I don't know where some of the other scenes from this beloved tale would go because it's been a while since I've been on The Haunted Mansion but these were ones easy to place because the graveyard and the ballroom are two of the most well remembered parts of The Mansion.
And man, could you just imagine how cool the audio-animatronics would look? I have to imagine that both Jacob Marley and the Ghost of Christmas of Yet To Come would be the true highlights. I almost feel like that the Marley on this ride could have surpassed what The Muppets did with Marley and Marley.
Disney Imagineers have shown impressive feats with effects on the rides with the Mansion having some of the best effects on any Disney ride.
There truly isn't too much more on this that I could say other than I wish that it had happened as I know that I would've loved this and it would be one of my most anticipated things on my trip to Disneyland, this year. Having said all of this, I can't fault Disney for choosing to go with The Nightmare Before Christmas as while I may not like that movie, it does have a bit of a loyal following and it does seems that the popularity of that film has only been helped by the Christmas lay over. So, while I would've love this Christmas Carol lay over, Haunted Mansion Holiday in the long run was the better decision to go with as Nightmare is a bit more popular than Ah well, join me tomorrow as we look at one of my favorite takes on A Christmas Carol as I look at The Muppet Christmas Carol.
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. This week is the 5th Anniversary of Tangled. And I've made it no secret that I am a fan of this movie as I've done quite a number of reviews including a Top 6 Rapunzel Moments,a Power of The Princesses on Rapunzel and a Villains Profile on Mother Gothel. And countless countless others. But I've realized that while I've talked about this movie quite a bit in the past, I've neglected Flynn Rider as I've only done article on him in the past in one of the earliest Vs. articles as I pitted him up against Aladdin. So, I thought that to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of one of my all time favorite Disney movies, I'd return to a segment that I introduced during my Lion King event. Heroes of Disney. I did the first Heroes of Disney on Simba and as I made mention there, this is meant a counter series to Villains Profile. And while I was happy with how that one turned out, I do think that there are some other categories that also need to be addressed such as Introduction and that is alongside the other categories that will be explored that include Voice Actor, Personality Song, Sidekick, Heroic Moment, & finally What Makes Flynn A Hero. Now, if you read the previous entry, you'll notice that I left one category out, Climatic Battle and that is because that category didn't feel apt for the type of hero that Flynn is. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Voice Actor
Zachary Levi
I'll be honest and say that I'm not overly familiar with Zachary Levi's body of work. Sure, I saw him in Thor: The Dark World and I've seen a couple episodes of Chuck but couldn't get into it. So, Flynn Rider is the one character of his that I am the most familiar with. And well, Flynn isn't my favorite Tangled character, I still feel Levi does a fantastic job portraying the swashbuckler.
Introduction
We technically hear Flynn before we meet Flynn as he narrates and the first shot, we get of Flynn is on that of a Wanted Poster. And they just can't get his nose right. We first see in action with his soon -to-be former comrades, The Stabbington Brothers as he betrays them.
It's a great set up for what's to come with Flynn throughout the movie.
Personality
Flynn at the start of the movie is smug and a bit of a jerk. I remembered when I first saw this movie that throughout a good chunk of it that I didn't like Flynn Rider. I found him extremely loathsome and annoying. I was about ready to mark him as one of my least favorite Disney Princes but then we got the reveal...
Yeah, well, I'll spare you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert. It's a little bit of a... It's a little bit of a downer.
Huh. There was this book. A book I used to read every night to all the younger kids, "The Tales of Flynnagan Rider." Swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not bad with the ladies, either. Not that he'd ever brag about it, of course.
Well, no. Actually he had enough money to do anything that he wanted to do. He could go anywhere that he wanted to go. And - and for a kid with nothing, I don't know. It just seemed like the better option. You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation.
And I realized that was the point because Flynn is an act or rather that Eugene wore to hide from his past. After Flynn reveals this story and we get to know Eugene, we learn that he's not putting on this act that is so fake, we get the chance to know the real person and learn that he is an all right guy and I've always agreed when Rapunzel said this.
For the record, I like "Eugene Fitzherbert" much better than "Flynn Rider".
In a way, the movie wanted us to know Flynn before it felt we were ready to meet Eugene. And I think that was handled rather well. And Flynn's arc in the movie is about him accepting that it's okay to be Eugene.
Song
Flynn didn't get his own in the movie but instead just a love duet between him and Rapunzel but let's look at Flynn's lyrics.
All those days chasing down a daydream All those years living in a blur All that time never truly seeing Things, the way they were Now she's here shining in the starlight Now she's here suddenly I know If she's here it's crystal clear I'm where I'm meant to go
In many respects, this Flynn or Eugene rather finding his new dream and putting his days as Flynn Rider behind him because with Rapunzel by his side, he doesn't have to be just Flynn Rider anymore as Rapunzel brings out the best in him, i.e., Eugene. Now, if you want a Flynn Rider song, Tangled: The Musical can supply you with that.
And I'll just repeat what I said in my Tangled: The Musical Music Fridays.
There couldn’t be a better song than this for the charmer that is Flynn Rider. It’s a bit cornbally and cheesy but so was Flynn Rider. And that is part of why I love Flynn so much. This song in many regards reminds me of a more pop version of One Jump Ahead. And in that regard, it works really well. And while I do like that Flynn got a song, I do wish that they had given Eugene, a song but then again, you could argue that I See The Light is Eugene’s song and this is still Flynn before he accepts that it’s okay to be Eugene. This song is so silly and cheesy but I love it for that. It’s just a lot of fun.
Sidekick
Maximus
I know I know... he's not really Flynn's sidekick but you can't talk about Flynn Rider without talking about Max. The relationship that these two have is one of the strangest and funniest that I've seen in a Disney movie as Max is so dead set on capturing Flynn at all costs. And their journey is learning to trust one another throughout the movie and by the end, they kinda do.
Heroic Moment
I'd say in many respects that Flynn's heroic moment is easily when he goes back to the Tower and when Rapunzel is about heal him, he cuts her hair.
This moment as small as it may seem shows that Eugene has come to care for someone else and is finally ready to look out for someone other than just himself. This one moment is where Eugene steps up to the plate to show that he can be more than Flynn Rider. And it works wonderfully.
What Makes Flynn Rider A Hero?
Flynn Rider isn't a hero. Eugene Fitzherbert is. And in a way that is what this character such a great hero as he goes from hiding his past behind the Flynn Rider facade and using that to commit crimes and be a sleazebag but as his journey progresses throughout the film and we get to meet Eugene, we get to learn that underneath the Flynn Rider persona, there is a good person that is willing to grow and finally look out for the needs of others as observed above. And I think that is why I've come to like Flynn or rather Eugene so much over the years because I love watching this arc of growing and accepting who he is and to me that is what makes him a hero. Peace!
