For Meredith Braun, who played Scrooge\u2019s once-fianc\u00e9 Belle in the film, this annual tradition is never something she anticipated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just never occurred to me. I\u2019m a bit like that goldfish going round being constantly surprised by it, which is just lovely,\u201d Braun says. \u201cIt\u2019s gorgeous, how can you not love being associated with the Muppets? I\u2019m just really proud of it. I took it very seriously doing it but it was a delight, it was just a pleasure. And how often can you say that of anything in life?\u201d<\/p>\n
For the film\u2019s director Brian Henson, the emotions around the film are slightly more complex. When I ask him whether it\u2019s a lovely piece of work to look back on at this milestone anniversary, he says: \u201cYeah, I guess.<\/p>\n
\u201cExcept I also feel it\u2019s quite possibly the best thing I ever did. And so when you\u2019re 59 years old, and you go, \u2018gosh, the best thing I ever did was when I was 28\u2019, it\u2019s a little weird. I\u2019ve done a lot of other really good things that I\u2019m proud of as well, but maybe none that I\u2019m as proud of as Christmas Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-162839420-dba2bd6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Braun and Henson are both speaking with RadioTimes.com<\/a> exclusively over Zoom to mark this special occasion, giving us all the insights that come with 30 years of rewatches and ruminations.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s take this back to the beginning. I ask Henson where the idea for the film first came from, for which he is only too happy to admit the credit lies elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, to be perfectly honest, it was my agent\u2019s idea, Bill Haber,\u201d he admits. \u201cHe said, \u2018Oh, The Christmas Carol with the Muppets would be fantastic\u2019. And I think at first I was like, \u2018Oh, but it\u2019s been produced so much\u2019. It\u2019s probably the most produced story in film, and I was a little bit worried.\u201d<\/p>\n Henson continues: \u201cAnd then Jerry Juhl [screenwriter] and Alex Rockwell, who was head of development for me, we got together and started hashing it out. Initially, it was a TV special, so we thought it would maybe be a parody of the Christmas Carol, and then we thought, \u2018oh no, Christmas Carol is way too good to parody, so we really need to do it properly\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time Jerry wrote the first draft we knew this was really going to work wonderfully well. And then it moved to Disney. Disney got a hold of the script because somebody snuck it to them, and Disney said \u2018don\u2019t do this for TV, let\u2019s do it as a movie\u2019, which was super exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n So what was it that made this movie such a surefire hit from the off?<\/p>\n Henson explains: \u201cIn The Great Muppet Caper, [the Muppets] were playing parts in a movie, but they weren\u2019t really, they were really just themselves. And I think when we realised if we really committed to the Muppets really playing their roles in the story, that they could actually do it very faithfully but in a Muppety way.<\/p>\n \u201cSo they could do all of the Dickens dialogue, we didn\u2019t have to alter it very much at all. And I know some people say The Muppet Christmas Carol is the most<\/em> faithful adaptation because it has Charles Dickens doing all of his prose in and around the scenes. It was clear that it was going to be a whole new tone for the Muppets, but we felt like it was gonna work.\u201d<\/p>\n However, it seems that not everyone agreed \u2013 a feeling which ultimately led to a certain cut song which we\u2019ll talk about later.<\/p>\n \u201cDisney, I think, wanted it to be funnier, funnier, funnier,\u201d says Henson. \u201cThe Muppet movie formula was \u2018be very funny, tell two jokes a page\u2019, the old school comedy formulas, and we really veered from that. We actually told the story dramatically \u2013 it\u2019s a drama, The Muppet Christmas Carol, with wonderfully humorous moments in it and wonderfully humorous characters, but the scenes aren\u2019t designed as comedic.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the movie was up and running, it was time for casting. Braun was cast in the role of Belle when she was 19 and performing in Les Mis\u00e9rables in London as \u00c9ponine. When the opportunity to audition for the film came up, she was elated.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m such a big fan of the Muppets,\u201d she says. \u201cAs a child growing up, every Sunday night in New Zealand, I remember at 6:30 or something like that was The Muppet Show. And I was just the biggest fan.\u201d<\/p>\n The audition process was \u201cvery, very simple\u201d, and the subsequent shoot \u201creally lovely\u201d. She didn\u2019t have to take much time off from Les Mis. In fact, Braun remembers going daily \u201cfrom the happiness of the Muppets to kind of the unbelievable angst and dying with blood all over me every night in Les Mis.\u201d<\/p>\n During the days she would be in Muppet land, or certainly the Muppets\u2019 version of Dickensian London. I wanted to delve deeper into just what it was like on those sets in 1992.<\/p>\n First and foremost, the look of the sets was created by Val Strazovec, the film\u2019s production designer who pushed for them to be created using force perspective, so the locales look far bigger than they really are.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you walk down the street in Muppet Christmas Carol, in 60 feet the building next to you is now eight foot tall and it\u2019s a three story building,\u201d says Henson. \u201cSo it\u2019s force perspective everywhere, which is sort of old school filmmaking in a lovely way. That whole look was Val, and then the enormous talent of British art departments in general.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, in a practice used consistently by Muppets creator Jim Henson, the sets on which the actors shot were raised. This meant the puppeteers could be stood up and operating their characters to full effect from below.<\/p>\n Henson explains: \u201cRaising the sets is something that my dad had always done, because a puppeteer standing under a puppet can do a much better performance than a puppeteer sitting on the ground on a little chair and trying to roll around.<\/p>\n \u201cI was very old school about that, I almost never let a puppeteer sit on the floor, I would always take the extra time to pull up a section of the platform and let them stand underneath.\u201d<\/p>\n Braun recalls how this practice meant that in between takes when shooting Fozziewig\u2019s Christmas party, she would talk idly not with the puppeteer, but with Fozzie Bear, now out of the Fozziewig character.<\/p>\n She explains: \u201cThe puppeteer didn\u2019t come into it, it was Fozzie the actor, who then when the cameras started rolling again would go back into being Fozziewig. That was a really weird experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, being an actor I kind of accept that as normal, but what was weird was having grown up with [the Muppets] and then wearing a fairly low cut top and sort of flirting with Fozzie in between shots. It never occurred to me to talk to the puppeteer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was disturbing to flirt with Fozzie because I\u2019d grown up as a child knowing him. But of course, Fozzie\u2019s ageless\u2026 I don\u2019t even want to get into that now, it was very odd. But they were so serious about it, they were actors, just as Michael Caine was.\u201d<\/p>\n Ah, Michael Caine. For an actor so prolific and so acclaimed, it\u2019s perhaps unfathomable that one of his most lasting and beloved performances would be in this film. Yet the depth of emotion he brings to the role, and the gravitas and weight he grants the film are what have sustained it all these years.<\/p>\n For Henson, Caine\u2019s casting was one of the key components which made the movie\u2019s disparate parts and melding of tones fit together.<\/p>\n He explains: \u201cThe entire film is the contrast of Charles Dickens and Jim Henson,<\/span> and the character of Scrooge was going to be leading the charge of Dickens and the character of Bob Cratchit was going to be leading the charge of Jim Henson<\/span>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole movie was going to be that contrast \u2013 you feel it in the scoring, in the lighting, in the production design, it\u2019s all the contrasting of Dickens and Henson<\/span>. And we knew that we needed an actor who was a skilled comedian, to understand that the dynamic would work if they played it straight.\u201d<\/p>\n Enter Caine, an actor who had previously switched between comedies such as The Italian Job and Alfie, and more dramatic pieces such as The Ipcress File and A Bridge Too Far. From their first meeting, Henson knew that Caine just got<\/em> it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of the first things he said to me the first time we met, he said \u2018I\u2019m going to play this utterly, utterly straight\u2019. And I was like, \u2018yes, that would be great\u2019,\u201d explains Henson. \u201cBecause up until Muppet Christmas Carol, actors in Muppet movies were mostly cameos AND it was an opportunity for them to do things a little bit outrageous and to tell big jokes. And it was terrific that he got it \u2013 he got how this was going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n So what was it like working with him from an actor\u2019s perspective? \u201cJust lovely,\u201d says Braun. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen somebody cry instantly like that, he\u2019s a genius, and he was a gentleman.\u201d<\/p>\n Given how seriously Caine wanted to play the role, did he go full method Scrooge on set? \u201cHe wasn\u2019t overly serious no, just absolutely professional,\u201d says Braun. \u201cYou know when you need to be quiet, to concentrate, focus, to give someone space to get into the right place for what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n She continues: \u201cHe was just respectful and it\u2019s his professionalism and experience that shows, but he certainly wasn\u2019t overbearing or taking himself too seriously, not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Ah, but cover your eyes, Michael \u2013 you might not want to read this next part.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I was more starstruck by the Muppets to be completely honest,\u201d says Braun. \u201cAnd Miss Piggy is not a diva. She doesn\u2019t deserve the reputation, she\u2019s really not a diva at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, another aspect of the production we have to mention, something which has most definitely helped to secure the film\u2019s legacy, is it\u2019s toe-tapping, ear-wormy songs.<\/p>\n I\u2019m aware when asking that this must be like choosing between your children, but I have to ask Henson \u2013 which is his favourite?<\/p>\n Henson is conflicted, yet candid: \u201cI guess it\u2019s the Ghost of Christmas Present song, It Feels Like Christmas. It Feels Like Christmas I think is probably the most uplifting song. But One More Sleep Till Christmas \u2013 Kermit\u2019s song \u2013 is fantastic as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The music was written by Paul Williams, known for composing the score to Bugsy Malone and writing the lyrics to Evergreen, the love theme from Barbara Streisand\u2019s A Star is Born.<\/p>\n Hiring Williams was \u201csort of a no-brainer for me,\u201d says Henson. \u201cI couldn\u2019t understand why my father had only done two projects with him because I just felt like Paul Williams\u2019 songs in Emmet Otter\u2019s Jug-Band Christmas and the first Muppet movie are unbelievably powerful, and so well-suited to the Muppets.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cHe\u2019s mostly a folk songs writer, which is an odd mix to stick into Dickensian London, but again, I thought \u2018this is really going to work because Paul Williams\u2019 songs will be that Jim Henson<\/span> side versus Miles\u2019 scoring of the rest of the scenes which are very dramatic and very Dickensian.\u201d<\/p>\n As it turns out, Henson also believes the film took on an extra layer of significance for Williams.<\/p>\n Henson says: \u201cPaul had had a few bad years \u2013 he\u2019d gone off the rails and had become an addict, and had only just recovered. And it turned out that was probably why my dad had not been working with him, because his life had gone in a dark direction.<\/p>\n \u201cBut this was his first project after getting over his addictions and it was wonderful because it\u2019s a movie about redemption, and Paul felt like in his life he was looking for redemption. And so it touched him very deeply and it became a very important project for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course one of the songs we haven\u2019t yet mentioned is When Love Is Gone, Braun\u2019s big moment which for many years was cut from most versions of the film. This was due to a deal made between Henson and producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who wanted the song cut from the theatrical version, but agreed that it would remain on the video release.<\/p>\n Henson and Braun both recount to me separately the story that Katzenberg also wanted Part of Your World cut<\/a> from The Little Mermaid.<\/p>\n Henson explains: \u201cYou could tell, he was just somebody that didn\u2019t think movies needed a love ballad, because it bores little kids. And it does, it bores them. And so in the test screening when I was showing the movie, Love Is Gone would start up and the kids wanted to use the bathroom.<\/p>\n \u201cSo Jeffrey just wanted Love Is Gone cut out for the theatrical version. That was the agreement, that only in the initial theatrical release will the song be gone, and from then on the movie will always have the song in. And then Disney lost the negative and that created this big old upheaval.\u201d<\/p>\n Henson reveals it was one of, if not the only scene which ended up on the cutting room floor. \u201cI was so young and inexperienced, I didn\u2019t shoot extra scenes,\u201d he explains. \u201cI had Jerry\u2019s script, I had input into the rewrites but once I had the script, we didn\u2019t change anything on set.<\/p>\n \u201cThere wasn\u2019t improvising that was going on, there might have been improvising in terms of physical comedy and stuff like that, but not really on dialogue or anything. So that\u2019s really the only scene that was lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Ever since the scene was lost, Henson has publicly called and battled for it to be found and reinstated. The fight paid off, as in 2020 the lost piece of film was found<\/a>. This year is the first time fans will be able to stream the full-length cut on Disney Plus.<\/p>\n Henson\u2019s passion to restore the lost song and his fight for its inclusion in the first place has not gone unnoticed by Braun, who remembers him sending her a letter after the decision had been made.<\/p>\n She explains: \u201cI remember not being that bothered, which is really funny, because to me it was a couple of weeks of a really nice job, and then I went back into Les Mis. I knew it was still on a video and it still existed, so I was kind of like, \u2018OK cool, fine, whatever\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he obviously understood the implications more than I did because he was really lovely about it, saying \u2018I\u2019m fighting, it\u2019s going to stay in there and it\u2019s essential to the storytelling\u2019; which, of course, it kind of is. In terms of storytelling, it\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n So how does Braun feel about the restored version of the film (which is available in the Extras section of Disney Plus now) and the efforts made throughout the years to see her big moment back on screen?<\/p>\n \u201cI know that there were these campaigns through the years,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m not much of a social media kind of person, but that was so funny. So thank you, Brian, for finding it and putting it back in, we will be sitting down and watching it, probably with some sloe gin and something \u2013 roast potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n Thirty years. For a film to be watched year on year for that long is quite an achievement, especially when love for it, particularly among young viewers, seems to continue to grow.<\/p>\n Braun released an album in 2017 titled When Love Is Gone<\/a>, which features a new version of the song \u2013 she certainly still holds that tune very close to her heart. But how about the film as a whole and, that all important question, how does it rank alongside other Christmas films?<\/p>\n \u201cI like Arthur Christmas, I love that one. But it\u2019s got to be the top one though, hasn\u2019t it? I watched it last Christmas again, for the first time in a while, and it\u2019s really good!<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a gift for me, it\u2019s been the gift that just carries on giving. My children have grown up with it too and I just find it so funny. I\u2019m very, very happy to be known for that and I\u2019m just really grateful to Brian and Paul for casting me and that it\u2019s part of my life.\u201d<\/p> And what about for Henson? As noted above, his response looking back isn\u2019t one of absolute, unadulterated joy. There\u2019s a complicated mix of emotions in there, but when it comes down to it, it seems that the film still holds a special place in his heart.<\/p>\n He says: \u201cDo I have fond memories looking back? Absolutely. Was it a rewarding experience making it? Yes. Was it terrifying? Absolutely, it was terrifying to me.<\/p>\n \u201cI was 28 and I was helming a Muppet movie after my dad died, and the press, the world in general thought \u2018you can\u2019t do Muppets anymore without Jim Henson<\/span>\u2019. So it was a scary time, but also ultimately very rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n The Muppet Christmas Carol is available to stream on Disney Plus now.\u00a0Sign up to Disney Plus for \u00a37.99 a month or \u00a379.90 for a year<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our\u00a0Film<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong>For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the<\/strong>\u00a0Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By James Hibbs Published: Thursday, 22 December 2022 at 12:00 am For some films, a 30th anniversary is truly a big deal. It will often mean plenty of fans rewatching the film for the first time in years, and a whole new group of fans discovering it through those rewatches. However, for The Muppet Christmas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27624,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/brian-henson-on-30-years-of-the-muppet-christmas-carol-its-quite-possibly-the-best-thing-i-ever-did.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/brian-henson-on-30-years-of-the-muppet-christmas-carol-its-quite-possibly-the-best-thing-i-ever-did-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/brian-henson-on-30-years-of-the-muppet-christmas-carol-its-quite-possibly-the-best-thing-i-ever-did-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/brian-henson-on-30-years-of-the-muppet-christmas-carol-its-quite-possibly-the-best-thing-i-ever-did-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/brian-henson-on-30-years-of-the-muppet-christmas-carol-its-quite-possibly-the-best-thing-i-ever-did-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/brian-henson-on-30-years-of-the-muppet-christmas-carol-its-quite-possibly-the-best-thing-i-ever-did.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/12\/brian-henson-on-30-years-of-the-muppet-christmas-carol-its-quite-possibly-the-best-thing-i-ever-did.jpg",1280,853,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By James Hibbs Published: Thursday, 22 December 2022 at 12:00 am For some films, a 30th anniversary is truly a big deal. It will often mean plenty of fans rewatching the film for the first time in years, and a whole new group of fans discovering it through those rewatches. However, for The Muppet Christmas…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/27623"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/12\/100982714-2670x3400-16d0c30.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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