It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Infobox Film
name = It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie


caption =
director = Kirk R. Thatcher
producer = Brian Henson
Bill Barretta
writer = Tom Martin
Jim Lewis
starring = The Muppets
David Arquette
Joan Cusack
Matthew Lillard
Whoopi Goldberg
music = Desmond Child
Davitt Sigerson
cinematography = Tony Westman
editing = Gregg Featherman
distributor = NBC Television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Jim Henson Television
released = November 29, 2002
runtime = 100 min.
country = United States
language = English
budget = $20 million
preceded_by = "Muppets From Space"
followed_by = "The Muppets Wizard of Oz"
website = http://www.henson.com/muppets_content.php?content=merrymuppetchristmas
imdb_id = 0329737

"It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" is an NBC television film released by Jim Henson Television and Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 2002, starring Jim Henson's Muppets.

Plot

The plot of the movie revolves around the old Muppet Theater going through financial hardship, and the entire Muppet cast looking towards Kermit the Frog for guidance. Kermit eventually feels he's not useful to anyone, and an angel (David Arquette) is sent to help him out. The movie then follows the formula of "It's a Wonderful Life", as Kermit is shown what would have happened to his friends if he had not existed.

In the world without Kermit, the evil NBC producer Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) has changed the park near the Muppet Theatre into a shopping center. Gonzo is now homeless, and Rizzo the Rat stars in an episode of Fear Factor where a woman has to eat him alive. Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem perform Irish stepdance. Doc Hopper's French Fried Frog Legs, from "The Muppet Movie", has become a famous restaurant franchise (this is ironic, since Doc Hopper thought he needed Kermit to make that happen). The biggest change is the Muppet Theatre, which has become a dreadful nightclub called Club Dot. Dr. Honeydew became a rapper, Beaker became a nightclub bouncer, Scooter and Sam are club-dancing ravers, and Fozzie is now a pickpocket living on the streets. Miss Piggy is a spinster who lives in an apartment with a series of cats, working from home as a phone psychic with a fake Jamaican accent.

Prior to the parody of "It's a Wonderful Life", the film parodies several other elements of pop culture, including the movie "Moulin Rouge!" (the Muppet Theater's Christmas "Spectacular Spectacular" opens with a number set at the "Moulin Scrooge," which climaxes as Miss Piggy dons the role of Saltine and performs "Santa Baby"), the Cirque du Soleil (feebly adapted by a pathetic choreographer as the "Cirque du So Lame"), "A Beautiful Mind" (when Dr. Honeydew works out the money needed to save the theater's finances by doodling on a window, and, after listening to Beaker squeak, responds, "Why, thank you, Beaky, I think you have a beautiful mind, too"), and the old Gift of the Magi comedy routine (coming to a crashing halt in this film when one of the participants forgot to sell or buy anything). Trying to get the money to deposit, Fozzie also has to face a crazed nature-show host (a clear parody of the Crocodile Hunter), a laser array (from such spy films as "Mission Impossible") and, after being dyed green at a Christmas tree lot, a gang of Whos (from the live-action version of "Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas").

A small sub-plot also features Pepe the King Prawn, who leaves the Muppets (and gives up on his plans to spend the winter in the beach, "shaking my bon-bons with Ricky Martin, okay?") because he has fallen in love with Miss Rachel Bitterman, the banker and real estate agent trying to foreclose on the Muppet Theatre. When he sees her with another boy-toy, however, he leaves her and eventually get his revenge, ultimately saving the Muppet Theatre by getting it declared a historical landmark.

The film contains an original song, "Everyone Matters", performed by Kermit and Gonzo as part of Kermit's dream, and then reprised at the end. It was nominated for an Emmy Award. The film also makes reference to the Muppet classic song "The Rainbow Connection", featuring a statue of Kermit in a park, erected in dedication "for the lovers, the dreamers and you."

Cast

The Muppets

* Steve Whitmire as Kermit the Frog/Rizzo the Rat/Beaker/Bean Bunny/Mr. Poodlepants/Statler
* Dave Goelz as Gonzo the Great/Dr. Bunsen Honeydew/Zoot/Waldorf
* Bill Barretta as Pepe the King Prawn/Dr. Teeth/Rowlf the Dog/Swedish Chef/Johnny Fiama/Bobo the Bear/Lew Zealand/Howard
* Eric Jacobson as Miss Piggy/Fozzie Bear/Animal/Yoda
* Brian Henson as Scooter/Janice/Sal Manilla
* Jerry Nelson as Robin the Frog /Pops/Floyd Pepper/Announcer
* Kevin Clash as Sam the Eagle
* John Henson as Sweetums

Human Cast

* David Arquette as Daniel, an angel who appears to Kermit at Christmas
* Joan Cusack as Rachel Bitterman, a spoiled, rich young villainess
* Matthew Lillard as Luc Fromage, a foppish French choreographer
* Whoopi Goldberg as God, Daniel's boss
* William H. Macy as Glenn, an angel
* Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog as Himself
* Mel Brooks as Voice of Joe Snow

Themselves

* Bill Lawrence
* Carson Daly
* Kelly Ripa
* Molly Shannon
* Neil Flynn
* Zach Braff
* Sarah Chalke
* Judy Reyes
* John C. McGinley
* Jon Stewart (deleted scenes)
* Joe Rogan

External links

* [http://www.henson.com/muppets_content.php?content=merrymuppetchristmas Official site]
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