Starring The Muppets, Nathan Lane, Madison Pettis, and Jane Krakowski
Directed by Kirk R. Thatcher
Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you're all having a music-filled holiday. Having enjoyed Muppet Haunted Mansion back in October, I thought I'd take a look at an earlier Muppet holiday special. How does this compare to the earlier shows and later films? Let's start in the very real New York City, as the Muppets prepare to send their gift lists to Santa at their local post office, and find out...
The Story: After a mix-up at the post office, Gonzo (Dave Golez) discovers three letters ended up in his coat pocket. One is from his young neighbor Claire (Pettis), who is disappointed all her friends are going away for the holidays. Determined to make sure the letters make it to Santa, he recruits Kermit (Steve Whitmire) and Fozzie (Eric Jacobson) to help.
The Song and Dance: Sweet special gets quite a bit of help from its surprisingly realistic production. The opening sequences in front of the post office was filmed in the real New York, and that's the actual mayor at the time, Michael Bloomberg, whom Piggy demands to make the line move faster. Uma Thurman and Nathan Lane have some very funny moments as a gorgeous airline clerk who sells the Muppets tickets to the North Pole and a bullying security guard who is on Santa's Naughty List.
Favorite Number: Jesse L. Martin pops up as a postal clerk to sing about how important "Delivering Christmas" on time is for the post office...right before Gonzo accidentally speeds up the package conveyor belt. Gonzo, Kermit, and Fozzie each admit "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus" when they're at the North Pole and learn they've missed Santa. The Muppets join Claire and her mother (Krakowski) at their home in the finale to realize that what Claire really wanted was "My Best Christmas Yet."
What I Don't Like: Short and cute...maybe a little too short. I actually wish they'd fleshed this out a bit more, maybe done more with their North Pole travels and when they arrived. Miss Piggy in particular only shows up at the beginning and the end and is sorely missed. The four songs are cute, but not especially memorable, and not even up to the ones in the later two Disney-backed films.
The Big Finale: Not as memorable as some other Muppet programming, this is still enjoyable enough for Muppet fans and families to run before Santa arrives on Christmas Eve or as kids wait for dinner on Christmas Day.
Home Media: The DVD is out of print, but it's easily found on streaming, including Disney Plus with a subscription.
No comments:
Post a Comment