| A Muppet Family Christmas | |
|---|---|
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| Based on | The Muppets byJim Henson |
| Written by | Jerry Juhl |
| Directed by | Peter Harris |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Eric Robertson |
| Country of origin | United States Canada |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jim Henson |
| Producers |
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| Editor | Gordon Stoddard |
| Running time | 52 minutes |
| Production company | Jim Henson Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | December 16, 1987 (1987-12-16) |
A Muppet Family Christmas is aChristmasmusicaltelevision special starringJim Henson'sMuppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on theABC television network in the United States. Its teleplay was conceived by longtime Muppet writerJerry Juhl, and directed by Peter Harris. This television special was filmed at9 Channel Nine Court inToronto,Ontario. The special features various Muppets fromThe Muppet Show,Sesame Street,Fraggle Rock, andMuppet Babies.[1] It also starsGerry Parkes asDoc from theNorth American wraparound segments ofFraggle Rock, and Henson as himself in acameo appearance at the end. In the plot, the Muppets surpriseFozzie Bear's mother with a Christmas visit to herfarmhouse, unaware of her planned getaway toMalibu.
Due to licensing issues with songs featured inA Muppet Family Christmas, some scenes have been cut from subsequent home media releases.[2]
Fozzie Bear invites himself and the rest ofthe Muppets to his mother Emily's farm for Christmas, unaware that she has already planned a trip toMalibu and rented out her farmhouse to Doc and Sprocket. The Muppets' arrival cancels her trip and disrupts Doc and Sprocket's plans.Miss Piggy callsKermit to let him know she will be delayed, leaving Kermit worried that they won't all be able to spend Christmas together.The Swedish Chef invites a turkey to the farmhouse to serve as the Christmas turkey; the turkey tries to avoid him and flirts with Camilla, earningGonzo's ire. Fozzie builds asnowman that comes to life and performs a music and comedy act with him. TheSesame Street gang arrives singing carols, and perform a Christmas pageant of'Twas the Night Before Christmas for the others. The Muppets watch some home videos ofwhen they were babies. A sudden snowstorm hits, further delaying Miss Piggy's arrival and leaving Kermit worried for her safety.
The turkey convinces the Chef to try to make a meal out ofBig Bird instead; Big Bird, unaware of the Chef's intentions, gives him a gift and cheers him up by singing "The Christmas Song" with him, convincing the Chef to make something else. Fozzie and the Snowman attempt to perform their new comedy act for the other Muppets, but quit after being heckled byStatler and Waldorf, who are friends with Emily. Seeing Kermit worried about Miss Piggy, Doc kindly offers to go out into the storm to look for her.Robin discovers a passage toFraggle Rock in the basement; he and Kermit venture inside and meet the Fraggles, who share their own holiday traditions.
As the storm lifts, Miss Piggy finally makes her grand entrance on a dogsled with Doc. The Muppets, theSesame Street gang, and Doc and Sprocket all gather in the living room and sing a medley of carols (exceptOscar the Grouch); the Fraggles, hearing the music from below, also join the Muppet family. The Muppets all swap presents, and Doc dresses up as Santa Claus to hand out presents as everyone sings "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".Jim Henson and Sprocket watch from the kitchen while washing dishes. Kermit and Piggy share a kiss under the mistletoe and wish the audience a Merry Christmas along with the rest of the Muppets.[1]
This is one of the very few Muppet productions to feature Muppets associated with all four of the major Muppet franchises as a crossover:The Muppet Show,Sesame Street,Fraggle Rock andMuppet Babies (who are seen as actual puppets here instead of animated counterparts).[1] This special also features an onscreen guest cameo byJim Henson; he can be seen in the kitchen doing dishes with Sprocket towards the end of the special. Additionally, the United Kingdom broadcast which aired onBBC One on 26 December 1989,[3][4] marked the first appearance of Doc on British television, as the UK version ofFraggle Rock featured new "Outer Space" segments, in which Sprocket's owner was a lighthouse keeper.
A Muppet Family Christmas has never been released in its entirety on either VHS or DVD in North America. Several songs were licensed specially to only air on TV, and thus had to be cut from home video versions.[2]
A Muppet Family Christmas ranked 24th out of 69 shows in the Nielsen ratings the week it aired, with a 16.1 rating and a 25 share, and was watched by around 19.3 million viewers.[6][7]
TV Guide ranked the special at number six on its '10 Best Family Holiday Specials' list.[8] In his coverage of the special forThe A.V. Club, Myles McNutt stated thatA Muppet Family Christmas is "a love letter to the Muppets as a wide-ranging, meaningful part of viewers’ childhoods." He further praised the special's emphasis on family and the Muppet characters over "cheap celebrity cameos."[9] Sean Edgar ofPaste described the special as "a grand culmination of the altruism that stands at the foundation of Henson’s oeuvre."[2]
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