The Muppet Christmas Carol was also the first theatrical release during The Muppets’ troubled partnership with Disney. Despite Disney’s lacklustre legacy since their full takeover of The Muppets brand in 2004, A Christmas Carol enjoys a unique place in the Muppets chronology, benefitting from that sweet House of Mouse money yet enjoying more creative control. This concoction of incredible production value from Disney alongside the imaginative and creative prowess of The Jim Henson Company was the perfect storm. As such, The Muppet Christmas Carol is a chart-topping showstopper, considered by many to be the best of all Christmas films.

In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, all of The Muppet Christmas Carol has been put under the microscope and evaluated. Having explored each individual moment to see why this particular Muppets movie has become such a special festive favourite over the last 30 years, we have compiled a list of the most fun, emotionally resonant, powerful and beloved bits, for these: the 10 Best The Muppet Christmas Carol Moments.

Follow @thefilmagazine on X (Twitter).

10. Christmas Scat

By 1992, the technological innovation of the Jim Henson Company had come a long way since Jim himself had cut up his mother’s dressing gown to make his first sock puppet. The Muppet Christmas Carol is distinct from the previous cinematic releases of the Muppets as the direction took a bold step from camera angles akin to ‘The Sooty Show’, finally having the CG technology available to erase away pesky visible puppeteers. No more shots exclusively from the waist up! Thus, far more dynamic and exciting shots were finally achieved to truly fool us that the Muppets can inhabit our human world.

This technological innovation reaches its peak in this single scene of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim returning home from church whilst singing to each other. It’s hard to believe that this cute little scene was the most challenging to film, but the efforts in creating a free standing and dancing puppet will convince children that Kermit the Frog is just as real as Santa Claus.

Recommended for you: ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ at 30 – Review

9. One More Sleep ’til Christmas

For those who share in the tradition of watching The Muppets Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve, it is very likely due to this single song. Nothing is guaranteed to get young children as hyped and excited for Father Christmas’ imminent arrival as much Kermit the Frog does. After our first introduction to Michael Caine’s frankly terrifying Scrooge, no wonder his book-keeping staff are overjoyed by the prospect of having a day off.

This moment doesn’t just capture the excitement of the season, but also the solemnity. As Kermit sings the final notes of “One More Sleep ’til Christmas”, staring into the distance as a shooting star streaks by, a tangible melancholy fills the screen. The anxieties and hopes of the season come to a fruition for this single moment; will peace finally reign this Christmas? The whole mood is made more palpable knowing that Kermit’s performer Steve Whitmire was full of anxiety, filling his beloved mentor’s boots in the first feature film since his passing. Kermit’s pensive moment is as if a reassurance that Henson’s legacy is in safe hands.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Director: Brian Henson
Screenwriter: Jerry Juhl
Starring: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Steven Mackintosh, Meredith Braun, Robin Weaver, Raymond Coulthard

Even on its 30th birthday there remains a melancholic touch to the opening moments of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Its immediate dedication to Muppets creator Jim Henson and fellow performer Richard Hunt (the voice behind Scooter), each of whom had died before the film’s production in the January of 1992, has grown more bittersweet over the years in lieu of Disney’s complete takeover of the Muppets franchise (even owning the rights to the word “Muppet”). In witnessing these dedications in the current era, it is difficult to not think of the words of Jim Henson’s close friend and long-time collaborator Frank Oz, who in an interview with Hadley Freeman of The Guardian in 2021, said: “The Disney deal is probably what killed Jim. It made him sick.”

Disney only gained full ownership of The Muppets in 2004, but they had pursued the frog and pig show since the late 80s: according to Oz, Jim had expressed interest in selling the company so that he could focus more on creation as opposed to running a business. However, in getting into talks with Disney’s head at the time, Michael Eisner, a Pandora’s Box of greed swung open, with Disney’s intent being to buy ‘Sesame Street’, which Henson was vehemently against. Jim Henson died suddenly in 1990, not soon after the beginning of these talks. The cause: toxic shock syndrome from a streptococcal infection.

‘Sesame Street’ remains out of Disney’s grasp to this day (though it has sadly been messed around with by the HBO and Warner Bros. merger), but Disney has indeed massively benefitted from its Muppet purchase with their massive backlog of movies, TV specials and numerous episodes of ‘The Muppet Show’ fleshing out their Disney+ streaming service library. Of course, since its purchase, Disney have helmed their own Muppet productions with one of their latest series ‘Muppets Now’ being lauded as the Muppets renaissance; but Oz in the same interview doesn’t pull his punches with regards to this latest output. The original voice behind Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy hasn’t worked on any Muppet productions since 2007 and believes there is a stark difference between the Henson and Disney era of the Muppets:

“The soul’s not there. The soul is what makes things grow and be funny. ” 

Indeed The Muppet Christmas Carol finds itself in the middle of this claim – it is often revered as the hallmark of Muppet film productions and hasn’t been surpassed critically or in popularity since. Made in the shadow of his father’s passing, Brian Henson was the one in the director’s seat and (in accordance with Frank Oz’s claims) struggled with protecting his vision from the criticism of the Disney overseers. Thus, The Muppet Christmas Carol very much remains in the Henson era camp, and represents the importance of creativity and soul when it comes to creating truly memorable Muppets moments.

As it celebrates the big 3-0, now is the best time to examine how and why The Muppet Christmas Carol remains the perfect Muppet movie.

Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol” is one of the most adapted works of English literature in history. It has featured prominently throughout the entirety of film and television, from the silent short films at the very beginning of Hollywood to a BBC and FX-collaborated mini-series starring Guy Pearce in 2019 and a number of feature releases in the 2020s. It truly is a timeless tale.

Recommended for you: A Christmas Carol Films Ranked

The story of a cruel and miserly money-lender’s reformation and redemption by learning the importance of kindness and generosity during yuletide – via a series of hauntings from the ghosts of Christmas’ past, present and future – has become as integral to telling the true Christmas message as the actual Nativity story. But, as Dickens’ festive tale has become so memorable that any Christmas lover could tell it as easily as describing the back of their own hand, how does one make a truly unique re-telling?

Frankly, the whole production of The Muppet Christmas Carol is nothing short of genius; the very idea of using Muppets to tell one of the greatest fables of all time is beautifully subversive. The creative team’s self-awareness of the Muppets’ association with goofy fun made the shattering of expectations of an asinine re-telling that much more brilliant. Of course, every opportunity to make a gag is taken and, despite this laugh-a-minute approach, the authenticity of the production team’s handling of the source material means The Muppet Christmas Carol certifies itself as one of the most evocative and dark film adaptions of them all. Consequentially, children are never pandered to but instead thrilled, leading them to be enthralled by re-watches as adults.

“Boy, that’s scary stuff! Should we be worried about the kids in the audience?”

“Nah, it’s all right. This is culture!”

The Muppet magic begins instantly as the opening credits present the Muppets themselves credited in the different roles (with Rizzo the Rat as Himself), alongside the correct listings of the human players, such as Michael Caine as Scrooge. This seamless blending of humans and Muppets, in not just the principle characters but also in the numerous extras, succeeds in the creation of a little world ripe to be immersed within. As such, both the zaniness of the Muppets and the seriousness of the humans are normalised, allowing for rapid but not jarring switches in tone.

The film’s MC is Gonzo the Great in the role of Charles Dickens, who is essentially the guide of the story through his narration. This is one of the key features that contributes to this adaption’s distinctiveness (and why it is also lauded as the best version); for by taking the story-teller approach there are no issues with exposition, so no awkward plot backflips are made to address key literary points. It also leads to greater authenticity, as the film is consequentially littered with direct quotes. There is no awkward out-of-time modern dialogue, just the atmospheric narration of one of England’s greatest wordsmiths.

Gonzo and Rizzo’s narration is largely responsible for the changing tone throughout the runtime, providing comic relief amongst the dark themes of the narrative. Unlike many modern children’s movies however, intense emotional moments are not ruined by unnecessary quips or sarcasm. The narrative vehicle complements sorrowful story beats, such as Gonzo comforting an upset Rizzo after witnessing a younger Scrooge lose the love of his life, and at times even completely stands back to let a heavy atmosphere breathe, such as in the sequence with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in which both narrators are completely absent. Conversely, their continuing shenanigans in trailing behind Scrooge during his ghostly journey helps to entertain younger viewers who may not be able to understand the main storyline, thus consolidating its universal appeal.

Gonzo and Rizzo being one of the main sources of the film’s comedy illustrates the intuitive casting of The Muppet Christmas Carol: human and Muppet. This is the first of the Muppets’ feature length movies in which the fuzzy puppets aren’t the narrative focus of the plot; the movie is more akin to ‘The Muppet Show’ in which the Muppets are the talented ensemble supporting the human guest star, and here they are used to their full potential. Many of the beloved Muppet characters have quite a short appearance (as many original puppets were necessary for the telling of this particular story), but they make their impact instantly, i.e Fozzie Bear’s simplistic optimism and Sam Eagle’s austere air (and his continuing American Patriotism even when trapped in a British novella).

Kermit the Frog has not only been the long-time straight man of the gang, but has also been the heart of most of the Muppet productions. The Muppet Christmas Carol is no exception. Here, our little green friend is cast in the role of Bob Cratchit, Ebenezer Scrooge’s underpaid clerk. If the magic of this film is to be summarised by one screen capture, it would be that of Bob Cratchit singing the last few notes of “One More Sleep ’til Christmas” whilst watching a shooting star fly past in the wintry cityscape. It is Kermit as Bob that steers the plot through its most poignant and saddest moments, soothing his family with wisdom relevant to those experiencing grief in real life.

Additionally, it is Kermit as Bob Cratchit who embodies the true meaning of Christmas through his joy. The joy of being able to spend time with his family, to share in their excitement of sharing a simple meal (but one prepared with love), and to feel pride in his children, particularly for their developing kindness and empathy. Even the usually flamboyant Miss Piggy manages to bring an understated tenderness and domesticity to her role as Emily Cratchit, pairing with Kermit in moments of sadness and the joy of family life (although she does manage to fling an insult at Scrooge’s fashion taste). And yet, the most ingenious Muppet casting of the film is Kermit’s nephew Robin as Bob Cratchit’s son, Tiny Tim.

Dickens had the unfortunate habit of making some of his main sympathetic characters absolutely detestable through their unnervingly sweet nature (looking at you “Oliver Twist”), so any depiction of Tiny Tim tends to be in danger of being utterly despicable. Luckily, when your cast is made up mostly of Muppets, nearly all of the characters have some guaranteed charisma, and quite frankly Robin as Tiny Tim is nothing short of adorable, the undisputed cutest performance of all adaptions.

Bob and Tim’s performance in the “Christmas Scat” is endearing, charming and joyful. Even when Tiny Tim leads the family in a song of “Bless Us All”, Robin’s performance avoids a sanctimonious air and is instead convincing as having a genuine love for his family and of those around him (especially as he seconds his father’s choice to name Mr Scrooge the founder of the feast). In what could have been something overly pious, unrelatable and cringe, the music and lyrics are inclusive through a non-denominational approach, with the prayerful intentions heartfelt and simple: the hopes for a happy Christmas and a happy family.

Credit must also be given to The Muppet Christmas Carol for portraying Tiny Tim as actually being sick: this lifts the adaption from clichéd disability inspiration into a fable of the injustice of poverty. Through his journey with The Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge is able to witness how his miserly ways and cruelty has a direct impact on the innocent people (and Muppets and creatures) around him. His wilful underpaying of his employees has threatened the health of innocent children and has potentially drastically shortened their life expectancy, and the guilt is etched all over Scrooge’s face. This represents the sincerity of this adaptation – Charles Dickens for all intents and purposes was the 19th Century equivalent of a modern-day social justice warrior who used his talents to channel his outrage over the poverty and mistreatment of the vulnerable throughout his society. In kind, The Muppet Christmas Carol makes every choice to give Dickens’ message as much impact as possible with no waste on dramatics and operatics.

The greatest shred of evidence of the production’s dedication to an authentic re-telling of Dickens’ story is the casting of Sir Michael Caine in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Michael Caine has admitted that he’d been dying to be a part of Muppet chaos since ‘The Muppet Show’ first aired in the 70s, which he was sadly never available to guest star on. As soon as he heard that a Muppets version of “A Christmas Carol” was in the works, he had his agent badger the production daily until he was offered an audition. He was duly offered the role that would become the most memorable to Sir Michael Caine himself, and would be the introduction to his incredible career for all generations that have been raised with this movie.

A common frustration with later Muppet features is the way human characters interact with The Muppets, often treating them as novelties or freaks, which can shatter the illusion. The same cannot be said of The Muppet Christmas Carol: Sir Michael Caine told director Brian Henson that he had the intention of acting as if he was doing a production for the Royal Shakespeare Company, which aligned precisely with what those behind the camera were reaching to achieve. A Scrooge acting as if it’s completely normal having a frog and rats work as his book-keeping staff is indeed the perfect recipe for top notch comedy. This is a key factor in the careful orchestration of this film’s tonal changes, allowing tension to be broken and giving young audiences a deeper insight into an often frightening story whilst providing them with raucously funny moments.

It is this sincere performance by Sir Michael Caine that carries most of the emotional weight of the movie and elevates Caine himself above other on-screen depictions of Scrooge. Many an actor’s version of Scrooge has been frozen into a curmudgeonly glower, particularly those offered by Albert Finney and Jim Carrey. In stark contrast, Michael Caine’s Scrooge is boasting the entire range, from cool derision to fiery rage and even a touch of gleeful sadism. Furthermore, his Scrooge lacks the initial twinkle in his eye that has often been employed in other adaptations, including Bill Murray’s and Kelsey Grammer’s; instead Caine employs the use of his iconic cold stare, the likes of which made him an unmissable movie star in violent films throughout the 70s and 80s, such as Get Carter. Michael Caine’s Scrooge is not only formidable but genuinely quite frightening, and therefore the progression of his character’s arc proves to be quite the wild ride as Caine’s performance through Scrooge’s tragedies and regrets is nothing short of incredibly moving. As Tiny Tim leads the Cratchit family in a round of “Bless Us All”, we melt as Scrooge melts; we see him fill up with guilt, regret, and even love and fondness – it’s etched all over his face. Scrooge’s redemption is not a case of us finding out what we knew all along, that Scrooge was a decent man deep down – Caine’s Scrooge is an actual transformation that had to win our sympathy through his moving experiences.

Thus it proves to be extremely frustrating that one of the most poignant scenes that provides significant backstory as to why Scrooge had become so cold is cut from the film. Meredith Braun as Scrooge’s fiancée Belle sings “When Love is Gone” when she ends her engagement with the young Scrooge as Caine looks on and shakily joins in with the last verse only to break down in tears. This scene was cut in the original theatrical release as Disney had thought it was too upsetting to younger audiences. It was subsequently included in the VHS version but was again excluded for the DVD, Blu Ray, television and streaming releases, much to the protest and dismay of those who grew up with the VHS version (especially at the news that the original master recording may have been lost, and especially as its exclusion leaves a jarring cut). Brian Henson revealed in 2020 that this version had been located and that the scene was hopefully going to be added back into later editions.

Ultimately, the cutting of this scene represents a lack of vision from Disney and supports their current reputation for preferring the least offensive and most lazy filmmaking, often coasting on the creativity of other innovators like Jim Henson, Stan Lee and George Lucas. When thoroughly examining the production choices of The Muppet Christmas Carol, it quickly becomes apparent that such powerful storytelling could never come from a boardroom, Disney or otherwise. The film’s message is not merely a reminder of being kind and generous during Christmas, it promotes the transforming power of kindness and preaches that the unfair hoarding of wealth is immoral, evil. Scrooge’s death in the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’s vision is portrayed as brining joy to the townsfolk; the song “Marley and Marley” explicitly states Scrooge’s late partner’s greed as the cause of their damned afterlife (doomed to drag around heavy chains for all eternity). It really is a song many of us would want some of the current world leaders and public figures to sit down and listen to.

As such, the creative team behind The Muppet Christmas Carol have become a part of the rallying cry that has continued for well over a century since Dickens’ death. It is a film in defence of the vulnerable in society and denounces the greed of the super-rich. This is something that the tax dodging and anti-LGBTQ+ lobbying suits of the Walt Disney Company could never meaningfully achieve.

Score: 22/24

Recommended for you: The Muppets Movies Ranked

Funnily enough, this has proven to be a difficult article to complete, with this now being the third request from our editor to attempt this piece. I’ve been trying to be objective, but in light of Jim Henson Pictures’ new found infamy with the sugar snorting, silly-string-jizzing antics of The Happytime Murders, I feel I have nothing to lose in tossing out my controversial Muppet opinions. The latest effort of Brian Henson’s Razzie-winning cynical satire, and the last failed ‘Muppets’ TV series consolidates the basic truth that Americans don’t deserve The Muppets. Seeing the cornerstone of my childhood kicked about and unappreciated boils my blood. So, whilst possessed by the spirit of an enraged Lord Grade, and with the equal ferocity of when I rip the wax-strip from my underarm, I dive into this piece with well documented evidence for my shocking prejudices.

Author’s note: all films listed are based on cinematic release only (sorry The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz).

8. The Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

This is the exact kind of movie that makes you despise Disney’s monopolisation of Hollywood and international media.

After the massive success of The Muppets (2011), it was of course time to cash in on the hype with a sequel. The problem with this was not necessarily Disney’s involvement in the continuation of the franchise, but more how The Muppets Most Wanted is the laziest and sloppiest attempt at film-making I’ve ever seen: they make the plot up as they go along. The World’s Most Dangerous Frog, Constantine, swaps places with our beloved Kermit as The Muppets set off on their comeback world tour, orchestrated by an evil Ricky Gervais who is in cahoots with Constantine in a plot to steal the English crown jewels and frame the Muppets for the crime. It’s a silly enough idea, but the execution stinks, resulting in an instantly forgettable movie.

With nowhere near enough focus on The Muppets themselves, the audience’s attention is directed towards new characters, a risky move for a newly re-established franchise, especially as it was the dynamic between the central Muppet characters that made them such a success in the first place. Even worse, whilst The Muppets upheld traditional puppetry and special effects, Disney couldn’t resist the temptation of CGI in the sequel. Honestly, I’m seething… it looked as convincing as Gerry Anderson’s wooden puppets.

There is an attempt to cover up the lack of strong plot and puppetry betrayal with hark backs to The Muppet Show, but the distinct lack of variety and vaudeville routines does not justify these empty nostalgia trips and the vapid “celebrity” cameos. Once was more than enough for me. I won’t be revisiting The Muppets Most Wanted any time soon, and no wonder the franchise came to a resounding stop at this point. You could even put the blame for The Happytime Murders firmly on the shoulders of this entry.

Recommended for you: Top 5 Moments from ‘The Dark Crystal’ (1982)

7. Muppets from Space (1999)

One reason I’ve avoided writing this particular piece for so long is because I knew it would hurt. I’m so sorry Muppets From Space, I love you but I can’t justify putting you at a higher spot than second from worst.

After two book adaptions in the musical tradition, Jim Henson Pictures took a rather odd turn in deciding to focus on Gonzo’s origins story – and apparently, he’s from outer space! I remember being over the moon when this movie came out, and to this day it is the only Muppets feature that I have seen in the cinema. It does hold a special place in my heart beyond this shallow nostalgia: Gonzo has always been my favourite out The Muppets as I related to his natural weirdness – my mam always affectionately referred to me as her little weirdo.

At times people weren’t always very kind to me or my idiosyncrasies which can really make you feel like you don’t fit in, but I always eventually realised that the people who mattered still loved me, and this is Gonzo’s story in this movie: feeling terribly out of place in the world, pinning his hopes on a long-lost family from space, and after nearly getting his brain sucked out he finally realises The Muppets were his family all along.

However, my perspective has been massively distorted by rose-tinted glasses (and the devastating panache of Pepe the King Prawn) and compared to other productions it does, I must reluctantly admit, fall flat.

Clearly, there was a massive drop in production value after Muppet Treasure Island (cramped sets, lacklustre production designs, mediocre star appearances and underwhelming location shoots). Despite a popping soundtrack, it was still rather disappointing to be deprived of original Muppet music which was always an integral part of the franchise. Oddly enough, unlike the other lower ranking movies in this list, the imbalance between humour and drama is caused by too much wackiness and not a powerful enough plot (or a dramatic plot not delivered effectively). Muppets From Space benefits from nostalgia but it won’t impress newcomers, landing it at number 7 on this list.

Jareth’s protruding codpiece, most prominent in the Magic Dance scene, has raised questions and eyebrows since 1986. Why would Henson place such a large phallic image in a children’s film? Why does Jareth come with such pronounced sexual baggage?

In an attempt to put to bed, once and for all, a subject that is very close to my heart – I am going to explain that burning question; who is Jareth, and why has he got a massive penis bulge?

The poster child for teenage angst, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) is struggling to come to terms with her new family dynamic. Fed up of babysitting, she wishes her step brother Toby would be taken away by the goblins in a fit of pique. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Jareth (Bowie) rocks up to take Toby away.

Sarah instantly regrets her decision and accepts Jareth’s challenge; she has 14 hours to complete his Labyrinth and find her baby brother before he turns him into a goblin forever.

The truth behind Jareth is revealed in the opening scenes of this musical masterpiece, for those who are clever enough to spot it (or for those who analysed the film shot for shot as part of their dissertation).

Labyrinth may have initially been viewed as a simple fairytale fantasy film for children to enjoy, but with mature eyes this message soon transforms into a coming of age caution; one filled with sexual tension. Bowie’s previously overlooked ‘Major Tom’ practically bursts out of the screen at the adult viewer.

He’s going to have someone’s eye out with that thing.

This re-reading affect is a common trait amongst fairytales, whose subtexts ripen with the reader and offer an alternative moral on life.

Sarah is a teenager in a state of arrested development, unwilling and unable to view her life as anything other than a fairytale. Caught up with the wicked step-mother archetype, she pushes away her new mother’s affections, bristles when she suggests that Sarah should be going on dates, and despises her interloper step-brother Toby.

Sarah’s room is key to understanding the film and its message, but most importantly, it holds the secrets to Jareth’s true identity.

Aside from half of the friends she makes on her journey appearing as toys in her shelves, placing it firmly in the metafiction fantasy sub-genre, the most interesting thing in Sarah’s room is her scrapbook and the photographs on her mirror.

The camera pans over the scrapbook and pictures of a glamorous woman with “Mom” written next to them. The cuttings read “On Stage Kiss” and the man pictured with Sarah’s mother is David Bowie, who of course plays Jareth the Goblin King.

Yes, it really is true.

This really is a thing, and Jim Henson really put it there for everyone to see. Jareth is Sarah’s biological mother’s new boyfriend. I sense a massive Elektra complex occurring behind that massive… you know.

Her mother is having a public relationship with Bowie who plays the villain in Sarah’s fantasy world; Jareth is the obstacle that Sarah has to overcome, much like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (a book seen in Sarah’s room) and the wicked witch – the villain in her fantasy is the villain in her reality.

The details of this relationship are up for interpretation at this point, but seeing as Sarah has no contact with her mother and is forced to accept her new family – I think it’s safe to say she resents Bowie for taking her mother away from her, while also idolising him.

That penis bulge is starting to make a bit more sense now, huh? One could say it, “practically broke down the door.”

With that massive revelation settling in the dust, can we jump forward to when Sarah goes to the masquerade ball after Jareth essentially date rapes her?

That was a rhetorical question. Prepare to jump.

Sarah is placed inside an ostentatiously Freudian masquerade full of dripping candles, oversized noses and giant wands as Jareth teases her with his presence. One masquerade baller can be seen to rampantly stroke his oversized nose at Sarah, perhaps offering her some tips for later in life…

This scene has been cited by many women as their favourite moment, and held responsible for turning them on to the ever attractive Bowie in the first place.

This kind of lure is translated perfectly in the masquerade ball, as Sarah is both fearful and curious about Jareth’s attentions.

It is perhaps the most hard-hitting of scenes as it is one of the only moments in Labyrinth that isn’t heavily laden with Henson’s puppets (puppets ain’t sexy). This is real, Jareth is a real person and his intentions are ‘masqueraded’ behind a fantasy that can never come to pass.

The suggestion that Bowie took Sarah’s mother away from her with an on stage kiss shows that the allure of the bulge is the real enemy in Labyrinth (I have looked and unfortunately, Henson did not place a giant penis in her room).

The appeal of over-exaggerated masculinity is something Sarah will have to learn to control as a blossoming woman – whether she wants to accept it or not.

Curiously, it has not been overlooked that Jareth’s relationship with Sarah is part father figure, part abusive boyfriend.

“Love me, fear me and I will be your slave,” is a loaded statement, delivered by Jareth, as Sarah starts to grasp her own power. How many other girls have had siblings, or rather family, snatched away from them? How many other women have been promised the earth, if they can only abide by Jareth’s rules?

Typical of a child, Sarah thought the grass was greener on the other side of this divorce. If only she lived with her mum and cool showbiz boyfriend, she wouldn’t have to look after a baby.

Running parallel to this is Sarah’s reluctant understanding that her mum perhaps should have been at home with her, and not gallivanting off with Bowie’s bulge.

When she delivers the final blow, “you have no power over me”, she begins to truly understand that his diamond dong is nothing more than an over-inflated ego.

It will take more than a seemingly large penis to lure her away from her family, and she is not like her mother. If Jareth is the goblin king, then Sarah is queen of her own narrative, and she decides when.

What has been trashed as inappropriate for a young audience, or misplaced, the bulge has a larger than life message to send out: when you own yourself, you have the power to control anything.

As Jareth constantly reminds us… don’t take anything for granted; especially when it comes to a misplaced penis bulge.

Knowing how much of a beloved cult this movie is, I thought I’d indulge in some discussion on the moments that make The Dark Crystal a classic.

Let us know your favourite moments in the comments at the end of this article, and be sure to follow us on Twitter to keep informed of new articles like this one.

5. Mmmmmm Watcha Say

The first 10 minutes of The Dark Crystal features some pretty intense exposition to get everyone on board with what the movie’s wacky world is all about. Upon first viewing, I felt pretty cautious at this point as there hadn’t been any proper character reveals yet, but then BLAM! They hit us with some sweet-ass Mystique humming, harmonising. I was instantly hooked from this moment. Why do the Mystique’s do this? Communicaiton? Prayer? I don’t know but it sounds pretty cool, and you’re guaranteed to try it out for yourself with your mates a few times after watching.

4. Crazy Witch Lady

There are some characters in cinema that charm the socks off audiences and find a place in the hearts of cinephiles forever. Augrha – The Dark Crystal’s one-eyed, foul-mouthed troll witch creature – is such a beloved individual. She is the most quotable character in the film, and one of the coolest, giving children a good thrill in her first appearance by popping out her single eye to get a good look at Jen before dismissing him with a good “Bouji Bouji Bouji”. She is the woman who has got the gear and knows the business, and is eternally bored of all these ignorant noobs with whom the fate of the world rests with. In the face of an eternity of misery, she remains composed and seemingly not arsed.

Recommended for you: Once More with Feeling – 10 More of the Best Remakes

When Netflix released their teaser trailer for a prequel series to the 1982 film, The Dark Crystal, with an all-important flash of an animatronic Skeksi, I screamed. This film has been embedded into my psyche for as long as I can remember; all the way back to when I used to scream “Kamalaiah!” as I ran under a South Shields overpass when I was three. Needless to say, I’m one of the many people who is incredibly excited for this project.

It does leave the question however… what’s with the our current nostalgia for the 1980s, especially in TV and Hollywood?

Well it’s probably down to the current generation of film and TV show makers either growing up or enjoying their youth in that decade, but I feel like there may be more to it; I mean… my God the mainstream cinema of this decade has been rammed with remakes and reboots, with the likes of the Disney Corporation announcing live-action remakes of all their animated classics as well as a new Star Wars trilogy. Many of these reboots have been an enjoyable and even an incredible watch, but the lack of original output is now grating on audiences and critics alike, and that’s not even acknowledging the movies that have been straight-up insulting (yeah, you may have all have laughed at me and my plain refusal to watch Beauty and the Beast, but you’re all crying now that Mulan is being messed around with). Unfortunately, I believe that laziness and the want of a cheap buck is playing a major role in such executive decisions, with the art of the whole thing taking a backseat. But, with some of the more outstanding movies, the quality of the art communicates a real love – a misty-eyed trip down memory lane to what seem like simpler times.

Whenever I’ve been taking about all the cool films I’ve seen in the cinema, my Mam has often commented on how crap cinema was in the 70s. Now… before all you film nerds rise up in horror at such a statement, I am fully aware of how much of an important time the seventies was for film – independent and horror movies especially – but consider this: my Mam was a kid and then a teenager in the 1970s, so apart from Disney movies there wouldn’t have been many films that would attract that demographic in that decade, apart from Grease or whatever. Even so, my Mam’s claim to fame is that she saw the first Star Wars in the cinema while on a date, and funnily enough, I feel like that movie is one of the first of the Lucas/Scott/Gilliam/Spielberg movement of the 1980s which has been burnt into the minds of children of many a generation for years to come. It was these movies that ensured that as the 70s came to a close, everyone cheered up a bit and films stopped being so sepia, instead welcoming a cavalcade of colourful movies reminiscent of the 1950s, making this a new and exciting time.

There are so many movies that encapsulate the iconic fantasy and sci-fi feel of the eighties, but the most original and fantastical is The Dark Crystal, directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, the same guys responsible for The Muppets.

The Dark Crystal’s inception, in a way, was a bit of an accident, with the conceptual designer Brian Froud working on an unfinished script and having a misunderstanding of the film’s title, which was supposed to be ‘The Dark Chrysalis’. As a result, Froud presented a rather bamboozled Jim Henson with the concept art of a crystal, and without this simple miscommunication we may not have such a unique and epic fantasy adventure.

The setting is completely alien: “another world, another time, in the Age of Wonder.” A planet enjoys bounty and beauty until the mystical Crystal which somehow governs the land is damaged, and a single piece is lost. Upon the cracking of the Crystal two new races come to being: the Skeksis and the Mystics. The Skeksis are power-hungry and cruel, and it is they who take over the castle, using the now Dark Crystal to ravage the land for their own needs, terrorising and enslaving all other races. After their millennia rule, the world is now a wasteland devoid of beauty. The Mystics, which were driven from the castle, instead live a simple, gentle life of peace, practising natural sorcery, a source of wisdom and kindness to all. However, after a thousand years both races are nearly extinct with only a handful surviving, and now a prophecy is soon to be fulfilled. The leader of the Mystics tells the Gelfling boy, Jen, whom he has rescued and raised, that it his destiny to find the Dark Crystal’s missing shard. It is Jen’s task to use it to heal the Crystal before the three Suns in the sky meet to form “The Great Conjunction”. If he fails, the Skeksis will become immortal and will rule forever.

As you can see from that plot summary, The Dark Crystal does draw on common tropes, being that it is very much a typical Quest story, but it succeeds in taking these common ideas and making them completely its own. Now, I do have a penchant for fantasy: I am one of the new generation that completely fell in love with the Lord of the Rings series, but one of my pet peeves of fantasy is that they all seem to imitate Tolkien’s formula of men, elves and dwarves; it’s boring and overdone. In The Dark Crystal however, all the races and creatures are completely unique to their own world. Yes, they are inspired by our own mythology and nature, but the genius of Brian Froud manages to take familiar images and features and mix them up enough to create something entirely new. Some of them are awe-inspiring, some of them are terrifying. The Skeksis look like vultures with desiccated flesh and porcupine spines – I defy any adult to not be scared by the Skeksi Emperor’s death as his face and body crumbles into dust. And it’s not just the main characters who are their own original designs. Each random creature, like Fizzgig and his two rows of teeth or the Land Striders with their freakishly huge shoulder blades – even plants like the bushes that shy away from Jen as he walks past – each have their own special idiosyncratic design born from Froud’s mind.

This movie boasts the amazing creativity of the conceptual design from the characters to the sets, which can be argued for most modern movies (though you can’t rule out that the impact of Froud’s design work in many movies since), but the greatest difference between The Dark Crystal and modern fantasies is the execution.

I don’t want to insult the huge amount of skill, patience and stress that goes into CG effects, but my God puppeteers and performers in the extraordinarily heavy Garthim costumes (the Skeksis’ soldiers) having to be hung up on to racks every 5 minutes just so they could rest… that’s just something else; that is dedication to the art. In fact, one of The Dark Crystal’s claims to fame is that it is the first motion picture to exclusively feature puppets (with only the odd human performer for some wide shots). All those fantastical creatures and terrifying beasts, every amazing courageous feat our heroes performed, every bloody scene in that movie was a careful orchestration and choreography of performers who were slugging their guts out in heavy costumes or operating complex puppets, and they didn’t shy away from the action despite all the obstacles they would have had to overcome. As such there were some very energetic scenes featured in the movie – all of the Garthim battle scenes in particular – which is remarkable considering how numerous these scenes are and how difficult they must have been to shoot.

So yeah… puppets. People would probably expect something terribly hokey and laughable, but I’ll say to all you haters right now, this isn’t a Thunderbirds affair of jaunty, flailing limbs and dead eyes rolling around in their sockets [sorry Gerry, I actually really love your shows], this is a visually stunning film that will suspend your belief and take you on a mad, emotional ride. Yes, you can tell the characters are puppets and in some instances you can easily discern how some of the creatures are operated – for example, the land striders are clearly actors walking on all fours on stilts – but that doesn’t take anything away from the movie. As a kid, you’re so taken by how freaky these creatures look that you’re too busy being in awe to notice they’re just guys in suits; and when you’re an adult, you’re too impressed by those actors being able to run using stilts, on all fours no less, to care that they are puppets.

Also this is the Jim Henson Production Company we’re talking about – the people who bring such character and life to their creations. The whole world consider the characters to be actual people and celebrities in their own right (and I defy anyone who claims they were not upset over the break-up of Kermit and Miss Piggy). The Dark Crystal is no exception to the Henson magic, with each character having their own mannerisms: Jen who has never left the Mystic’s home is clumsy and is a touch unsure on his feet, whilst Kira, another Gelfing Jen meets on his journey, is graceful and far more confident in her movement. The effect of this, and the whole world being solely inhabited by puppets, is that it looks believable. This was cutting edge, and would continue to be so for the coming 30 years, with the Jim Henson Workshop being the authority on puppets in TV and film. The realness and tangibility of all the creatures in The Dark Crystal means they have hardly aged and can hold up against some of the major blockbusters of today in terms of realism.

The major blockbusters that quickly come to mind are the recent DCEU releases – another dirty film confession of mine is that I actually enjoyed Batman v Superman, but I cannot deny that the last half hour wandered far into the domain of sheer stupidity; that Kryptonian glob monster looked absolutely atrocious. The CG was just plain crap! It looked like the cave troll from The Fellowship of the Ring, which came out 15 years previously! Then in Wonder Woman this year, some of Diana’s more death-defying leaps looked suspiciously like PS2 game-play. And you know what, these underwhelming special effects didn’t make me smile like the goofiness of the special effects in many classic 80s fantasy flicks. I was unimpressed, because both of these films were major blockbusters yet they still couldn’t manage to deliver decent CG effects, and that screamed of laziness and cost-cutting which is something The Dark Crystal can never be accused of.

This is essentially why I am so excited by this current 80s obsession, as I feel it is part of a desire to go back to better cinematic times. Yeah nostalgia can be blinding and misleading at times; using CG effects allows the creation of spine-tingling visuals and high-charged action sequences without the danger and difficulties of physical effects. However, as CG has become normalised, all those movie bosses will question the use of alternatives because relying on computers is cheaper and easier, essentially killing a craft. Personally, I love these older techniques and the filmmakers willing to exert themselves for their craft because they visibly, and undeniably, love the craft and the act of producing art for consumption, and I favour movies in which love has been squeezed into every frame because it nurtures creativity, giving the films a greater lasting impact.

Take the likes of Sam Raimi and his series of horrors in the 80s – it involved dragging cameras across forest floors, chasing its stars with a motorbike, and Raimi recording the sound of wind to create terrifying demonic voices. Raimi was so focused on his creation, he took inspiration from his surroundings which is simply wonderful. Furthermore, with JJ Abrams and his favouring of practical effects taking the wheel for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the franchise was now miles away from the dark days of the prequels and all its amorphous CG creations – he made the effort to strike a more perfect balance between computer wizardry and physical effects, resulting in a cleaner and more realistic look. In fact, I felt a tiny bit convinced that what I was witnessing was indeed a story from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Then of course there’s Jim Henson, possibly the greatest children’s entertainer in the world, who respected his audience and trusted in what they wanted to see: ‘Sesame Street’ is the face of educational TV, the Muppets are the epitome of silliness that both children and adults can enjoy, and his fantasy creations were terrifying enough to not alienate children but instead capture a place in their hearts forever. He never reduced his productions to minimal effort – The Dark Crystal took itself very seriously – and he always managed to avoid the feeling of a hackneyed production on his way to making special, fantastical pictures.

So, if film-makers of today are imitating some of the great movies from that decade, then good. All artists copied the works of past masters before becoming geniuses in their own rights, and with the likes of the new Dark Crystal series embracing animatronics and puppets in all their glory, we could be witnessing the beginning of a re-emergence in the so-called ‘old’ techniques that rose the original to prominence, and that can only be a good thing for all of us who appreciate the craft of cinema and its many forms of art.