Why The Muppet Christmas Carol is the Best

December 2025’s newsletter: “Why The Muppet Christmas Carol is the Best”

The Muppet Christmas Carol main cast: Miss Piggy as Mrs. Cratchit, Rizzo, a penguin, Kermit as Mr. Cratchit, Michael Cain as Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Fozzy Bear as Fozzywig, and Gonzo as Charles Dixkens.

Ask me what is the best Christmas movie of all time, and I’ll tell you: The Muppet Christmas Carol.

I’ll also tell you The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of this classic novel’s best adaptations around.

No, for real.

And here’s why.

A Loyal Adaptation

It’s easy to believe this is my personal favorite Christmas film, but is it really one of the best Christmas Carol adaptations? Seriously? The Muppets?

Yeah, seriously.

It’s easy to look at this movie and see the felt characters, jokes, and songs, but the next time you watch it, pay close attention to what the characters are saying. You may be surprised to find the dialogue is taken straight from the book.

This is particularly true for Gonzo’s character, the narrator “Charles Dickens” himself. You would think adding a narrator and his comedic relief side-kick (who’s credited playing himself) would stray from the original work. Instead, this inclusion allows the film to add the book’s original narration into the script, word for word. Gonzo is basically reading the book to the audience, while his banter with Rizzo helps hold the kids’ attention.

The movie also does what any good adaptation does: it stays loyal to the original’s themes and feel, even when it has to change details for the new medium. For example, during the opening song “Scrooge,” a chorus muppet sings the line: “There’s nothing in nature that freezes your heart than years of being alone.” This line emphasizes the idea that Scrooge is mean because he isolates himself and clings to money rather than people. He isn’t just a Christmas hater. He’s a lonely person. And his loneliness is exacerbated during the holidays because it’s a time when one should be around family, which translates into his hatred of Christmas. This is a clarification that adaptations can miss, but the Muppets get right.

The only part of the film I would say strays from Dicken’s intent is during Christmas Past. Young Scrooge is depicted hating Christmas as a child and young man, while in the book, he came to hate it when he was older. This undermines the point of the Christmas Past visions: reminding Scrooge that he used to be a kind person, the sort of person Belle could love, before he changed. In the film, he never really changed, because he was already money focused to begin with.

So it’s not perfect. Yet, the Muppets do their best to stay true to the Christmas Carol’s feel and themes overall, with a few details changed here and there. They do a great job balancing Christmas’s heartfeeling and joy with the darker, gothic atmosphere of Dicken’s original work. A tricky balance for any adaptation to hit just right.

A Christmas Carol Made for All Ages

Kids often associate the term “classic” with “boring.” Sit through any grade school English class and you’ll be bombarded with old “classics” that’ll put you to sleep.

The Muppet Christmas Carol’s hijinks and songs trick kids into watching and enjoying an old classic. It introduces them to the story in a way that will keep them engaged.

I’ve seen other movie adaptations that people claim are “more faithful to the book.” Not only do they take as many liberties with the plot as the Muppets do, but they’re also dry as anything. They certainly aren’t going to make a child appreciate the tale. And that’s a shame, because this story is a classic for a reason. It’s good. It deserves to be appreciated by younger generations.

The Muppets are genius for presenting the story in a way that will allow younger generations to appreciate it, without changing so much that it’s unrecognizable. As I said before, their adaptation is shockingly faithful when you stop and compare it to the original text. Yet many people will dismiss it as “childish” simply because it has humor, songs, and felt characters.

It’s also not an adaptation that’s so overly childish that adult audiences can’t enjoy it, as many media aimed at children are. The humor isn’t low-brow. It’s clever. My family quotes many of the jokes on a regular basis. “Thanks for making me a part of this.” “Light the lamp, not the rat! Light the lamp, not the rat!”

The Muppet’s Christmas Carol is truly a family film: it’s something that all ages can love.

In addition, they know when to stop the laughs. The hijinks cut out during the movie’s heavy moments. For example, Gonzo’s narrator character and his comedic sidekick Rizzo abandon the audience when the Ghost of Christmas Future shows up. The humor doesn’t overwhelm the original story. It’s merely there to entertain.

The Actors

Michael Caine plays his role like he’s in a Shakespearean play.

If he didn’t take the movie seriously, and instead acted like he was winking at the camera in every scene, it would undermine the story. Why should we take the story seriously if they aren’t themselves?

And the Christmas Carol is often a very serious story. Its heavy moments need to hit, even as the Muppets throw in their usual humor and entertaining songs. One of the main reasons the heavy moments do hit so hard is because Michael Caine– and all of the actors– act their fullest and take them seriously. Yes, even the muppets themselves. We’re allowed to sit with their sadness, their pain, their fear. It feels real– despite the ghosts and felt characters.

Michael Caine, the other human actors, and puppeteers make the muppets feel real.

And because this movie has such real, heavy moments, the joyous and hilarious moments feel all the more real too. The happy ending is earned.

Costumes

I was curious how accurate the period costumes in this movie are, so I watched some historian video essays.

Turns out, they’re pretty darn accurate!

Even the muppets are wearing the right outfits. (They had a separate costumer for the muppets!) From their coats and dresses, to their bonnets and sideburns, they’re right for the 1840s. One dress historian mentioned Charles Dickens himself was known for wearing bright outfits, and they put Gonzo’s Charles Dickens in a bright coat. A nice touch! His coat is red, too, so it’s especially Christmas-y.

Another historian pointed out how the film makers used the characters’ outfits to orient the viewers in time throughout the movie. For example, in the opening, Rizzo and Gonzo’s main ensembles are fit to old Scrooge’s 1840s “modern” time period. In comparison, their lamplighter outfits are 1790s since this takes place during Christmas Past, Scrooge’s time as a young man. Another example is Belle’s outfits in the party scene versus the break-up scene. Her party dress is a green and white-lace 1790s style, while her break-up coat is an empire-waist 1810s. No one said in-movie how many Christmases passed between their meeting and break-up, but her outfits gives the audience an idea of the passage of time.

(If you want a deep dive into the costuming, watch Abby Cox’s video analysis, linked at the end of this article.)

One costuming detail my untrained eye appreciated is how Scrooge dresses in all black until he’s given his first Christmas present: a bright red scarf. This introduces the first pop of color to his outfit, and it’s the color of both Christmas and love at that!

Filming

I’m not an expert on filming, but I wanted to highlight some of the clever directing, filming, and color and lighting choices made throughout the film that adds to the thematic and visual storytelling.

Scrooge holds and exerts power over those around him due to his status and wealth. The filmmakers emphasize this point by casting Scrooge as one of the few human actors among muppets. Michael Caine towers over the muppets surrounding him. (With the exception of the spirits, who are either taller or hover at eye level.) He is more solid and has a stronger body than those he’s acting cruel towards. And yet, in the opening scenes, who is the one other human actor? Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, who’s also the one character Scrooge has no power over. Scrooge can’t fire him, evict him, or throw him out of his office. Oh, Scrooge tries to tear him down verbally, but as Fred says: “It is no use, Uncle. I shall keep my Christmas humor until the last.”

The filming angles throughout the opening scenes also emphasize Scrooge’s power. He’s filmed at an upward angle, making him seem taller than he is. He’s also introduced at a dutch angle, an intimidating and off-kilter shot compared to the solid and cheerful view we had of the London street before he entered. His very presence changes how we view the scene. This use of dutch angles continues throughout the movie: they often set the mood even before we know something is wrong. For example, during Christmas Future, an extreme dutch angle is used outside the Cratchit house before we learn the news of Tiny Tim’s death.

The film makers also use color and lighting to set the mood throughout the movie in clever ways. During the introductory scenes where Scrooge is still a villain, and during the dark and dreary Christmas Future, the colors are grey and washed out. During Christmas Present and the present post-spirit visions when Scrooge is saved, the colors are saturated and the lighting bright and cheerful. For an example of this, compare the scenes where Scrooge is with a spirit outside the Cratchit house. With the Ghost of Christmas Present, the street is snowy, the lighting bright, and even the bricks themselves are full of color. With the Ghost of Christmas Future, it’s rainy, dark, and everything is grey. We don’t know what’s happened inside yet– that Tiny Tim is dead– but the mood tells us something is terribly wrong.

Music

I struggled to write this section because I found I didn’t have much to say beyond: “the songs in this movie are fantastic.”

Yeah. I could end it there.

What makes them fantastic? I dunno. I’ve been a musician since the third grade, but I’m not a music theorist. All I know is that the moment “Scrooge” starts, I’m vibrating in my seat with joy. My family sings along with “Marley and Marley” and “Thankful Heart,” and cries to “When Love is Gone” and “Bless us All.” It never feels like Christmas until we’ve heard “One More Sleep ‘till Christmas” and “It Feels Like Christmas.”

Whether it’s joy or sadness, these songs make you feel.

In Conclusion

If you go to YouTube and search something along the lines of “the muppets christmas carol analysis” or “why the muppet christmas carol is the best,” you’ll find a million video analyses from YouTubers of various backgrounds explaining why this movie is amazing and an amazing adaptation. Many go so far as to say it is the best adaptation of Charles Dicken’s The Christmas Carol around.

Clearly, the Muppets have done something right to inspire so many people into analyzing what makes this film so great. Including me!

My family watches this movie every Christmas Eve without fail. If you haven’t seen it, I would super, super, SUPER recommend it.

And whatever holiday you celebrate this season, I hope your time is happy and full of love, laughter, and great songs.

God bless us, every one.

Thanks for reading!

– S. Labrecque

Reference Videos

Most used:

How Accurate Is “The Muppet Christmas Carol”?: The London History Show by J Draper

The Unsung Perfection of THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL by In/Frame/Out

The Costumes in The Muppet Christmas Carol Deserved an Oscar | A Dress Historian Analysis by Abby Cox