10 Best The Muppet Christmas Carol Moments

2. When Love Is Gone

This could be the most controversial entry in this list for the simple reason that this musical number is not included in several different releases of the film.

“When Love is Gone” was cut from the original theatrical release as Disney deemed it too upsetting for younger viewers. It was included in the VHS release, the medium in which the film’s true popularity was cemented, but then removed from the DVD. It was still missing when the film first became available on streaming. More frustrating than the omission, however, was how poor the editing was to achieve the cut.

Belle and a Young Scrooge sit in a snow-scape arguing over their upcoming (or rather massively delayed) nuptials, until Scrooge tries to bring the discussion to an end with a weak declaration of love. The reply he receives: “You did once.”

In the edited versions, this is where the scene ends, cutting to a sobbing Rizzo and a red-eyed Michael Caine. The previous conversation lacks any emotional intensity.

As of 2022, Disney Plus streams the full version of The Muppet Christmas Carol, with the full sequence of “When Love is Gone” included, and it has done so with much acclaim. Meredith Braun’s rendition is the definitive version of the song, filled with tenderness and melancholy as Raymond Coulthard’s Scrooge gently tries to follow her before giving up and turning away. The beauty and the emotive power of this moment crystallises when Caine’s Scrooge approaches the vision of his lost love and joins in with the final lines only to falter and crumble into tears.

This is the first major and most significant step in Scrooge’s redemption, and it is also the first moment he garners sympathy and compassion. It is finally understand how the decades of loneliness have chipped away at his soul, how his pain has transformed into cruelty. The experience of The Muppet Christmas Carol is much richer for its inclusion, so thank goodness it’s here to stay.

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1. Scrooge’s First Christmas Present

It is only right that this list should end alongside the end of Scrooge’s redemption arc.

So much as the disenfranchised working class of today like to trivialise tales such as this in an “Eat the Rich” fashion, Dickens’ original novella was genuinely concerned with Scrooge’s salvation. He is not redeemed for the mere benefit of wealth distribution, but for the sake of his own welfare. It is the beating of an oft unpopular opinion that everyone is deserving of forgiveness and of love. It is when the ways of love are fully embraced that the wider rewards are reaped.

The final minutes of The Muppet Christmas Carol are packed with so many joyous moments it is hard to discern the key narrative moments in all the excitement. But it is this quiet moment that stands out.

When Scrooge takes to the streets to spread his newfound Christmas cheer, he spots the Gentleman from the Victorian Fund and sees the opportunity to make reparations – not only for his previous manners towards them, but for his lifetime of greed. Dazzled by his generosity, they are taken by a spontaneous moment of gratitude: Beaker removes the scarf around his neck and offers it as a gift to Scrooge. As Scrooge tentatively takes the scarf, almost unsure if it is truly his now, it becomes damningly evident that Scrooge has never received a Christmas present in his life. How could he have understood before that which he did not know himself. This is the moment Scrooge is fully healed – in experiencing the joy of receiving, he is now prepared to give freely and with so much more love.

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The Muppet Christmas Carol is a widely adored Christmas feature, with so many great moments and nuggets of information that we have no doubt you may have your own that have failed to make this list. Why don’t you let everyone know about them in the comments below? And, be sure to follow @thefilmagazine on Facebook and X (Twitter) for more insightful movie lists.

Merry Christmas!

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