My FAVORITE SPECIAL EVER-- so I have to be brief, or else I'll be overly verbose. Seriously, this special is exactly like curling up under a warm blanket and catching up with dear friends. It's the only time ALL THE MUPPETS were ever ALL together.
Bootlegs of this special are very precious, because not only does it not air on TV anymore, it has never been released on dvd in its entirety. A version was released at some point in the 90's, but it was missing FIVE SONGS, y'all. Which caused a massive outcry among fans. And now, all the Muppet franchises within are owned by different companies, so it would be a copyright nightmare to try and release it again.
Begins with the Muppets singing "We Need a Little Christmas" on their way to Fozzie's mother's house, where they will arrive without calling. Unbeknownst to them, Mrs. Bear is planning to spend Christmas in Malibu while renting her house out to Doc from Fraggle Rock.
Animal has two Crowning Moments of Funny in a row-- first "Peace on Earth-- Gimme Presents!" then answering the phone only to declare "oh. Pig." and throw it down. Meanwhile, Sam the Eagle wonders "Why am I here?" I have found myself quoting that more than once.
The chef doesn't want rats and chickens in his kitchen, so they send them up to his bedroom. A turkey has arrived for the holiday, and Gonzo tries to warn him, but the turkey doesn't listen to Gonzo. Kermit and Robin sing "Jingle Bells" which then blends into an Electric Mayhem rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock."
Fozzie builds a snowman and quickly bonds with him, forming a comedy team. They sing a song that kind of resembles "Sleigh Ride." All the woodland animals are chuckling, and so is Doc. Also, by now the "careful of the icy patch" running gag has been established. Just go with it. Oh, and also, it's cold enough to freeze your Winnebago. I always say that when it's really cold, and for some reason, people look at me funny.
Classic line! "I don't care if the turkey says the dog's the turkey! The dog is not the turkey! The turkey's the turkey, you turkey!"
They all watch a video of when they were the Muppet Babies, which defies all laws of continuity, but the Muppets have always played fast and loose with continuity. The baby Muppets sing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
The Sesame Street gang arrives caroling (singing "Deck the Halls"), which then leads to my favorite exchange.
"Hi there, we're Ernie and Bert!"
"Well, hi there yourself, I'm Doc."
"Did you know Doc starts with the letter 'D'?"
"Yes."
"And yes starts with the letter 'y'!"
"True..."
"And true starts with the letter 't'!"
"What is this?"
"Where we come from, this is small talk."
The turkey diverts the chef's attention to Big Bird. There is thunder.
The Sesame Street gang puts on a play of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," which leads Sam the Eagle to cry out, "Is nothing sacred?"
Bonds are forming-- Oscar the Grouch welcomes Rizzo the Rat into his can, Animal likes Cookie Monster.
Kermit's starting to worry about Miss Piggy, who hasn't made it to the farmhouse yet, and the weather is starting to get bad. Fozzie wants to cheer Kermit up with a comedy routine, but this plan is ruined by Statler and Waldorf, who have appeared out of nowhere to visit Fozzie's mom, Fozzie just stands there, all "Is my mom having tea with Cthulhu?"
Big Bird gives the chef a gift and they sing "The Christmas Song" together, so the chef decides there will be no bird-eating this Christmas, instead they will all have shredded wheat and cranberry sauce.
Doc sets off to find Miss Piggy, showing what a sweet guy he really is, which always surprised me when I was little- for some reason, I always thought Doc would be mean. I don't know why I thought that, except that the Fraggles were always trying not to be seen by him. Speaking of the Fraggles, Kermit and Robin go through a Fraggle hole and meet them. Robin describes Christmas to the Fraggles as "when you gather together with those you love, and wish each other peace on Earth," which I have always liked, and it sounds like what Jim Henson would have said. The Fraggles are also celebrating an unnamed holiday, which involves them taking turns giving each other the same nice shiny pebble. This year, Mokey gives it to Boober, who then gives it to Robin. They sing a song called "Pass It On," which is an original to the Fraggles, but not to this special.
Miss Piggy arrives, not freezing and sickly like Kermit expects, but in a dog sled, with a fancy white coat and Doc in a costume with a tall fur hat, that I feel like there ought to be a term for, but I don't know what it is. She and Kermit have an actual romantic moment as she sings "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays," and then she slips on the icy patch.
All the Muppets have a massive carol sing, which is so loud that even the Fraggles come out to investigate. But the special doesn't end there-- first Kermit gives Miss Piggy a live mink (who claims to be her biggest fan) and Robin gives Grover the Fraggle pebble that Boober gave him. And I just now realized that my bootleg is missing a tiny scene of Fozzie's mom hanging his stocking. Well, that's very disheartening. I really thought I had the whole thing. But wait- I have another bootleg around somewhere. I'll have to check that one.
BUT the most important part comes after all of that, after Doc has come in dressed as Santa and the Muppets have begun singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" when Jim Henson pokes his head out of the kitchen and says to Sprocket, "Well, they certainly seem to be having a good time out there, Sprocket. I like it when they have a good time." And I tear up a little, because I imagine him saying that now as he looks down at his creations and fans still enjoying his work. Jim Henson cameos were always rare, so this special is a rare and precious gem indeed.
Visuals: 4 out of 5
Spirit: 5 out of 5
Nostalgia: 5 out of 5
Humor: 5 out of 5
Music: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5
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