“My name is Charles Dickens,” the Muppets’ Great Gonzo tells us.
“You’re not Charles Dickens,” Rizzo the Rat replies.
“I am, too.”
“No, a blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat?”
“Absolutely!”
Well, Gonzo may not actually be Charles Dickens. But he does seem to know the 19th-century novelist’s tale A Christmas Carol like the back of his hand. In fact, he proves it.
Gonzo narrates the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly old grump with love for nothing but money. As London’s citizens put it, “If they gave a prize for being mean, the winner would be him.”
But on Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by several spirits who warn him that if he doesn’t change his ways, he’ll suffer the consequences of his sins.
And it all starts with this famous line:
The Marleys were dead to begin with …
Scrooge’s neighbors sing a song detailing his meanness and greed. The man throws objects at beggars, slams the door in the faces of charity workers and even threatens to lay off his staff when they ask for more coal for the fire.
However, as those familiar with Dickens’ story already know, after Scrooge learns how his cruelness has impacted those closest to him—and realized just how much his grim attitude has isolated him—he turns his life around. He donates his time and money generously. He makes things right with his employees. Indeed, by the film’s end, it’s said that no one knew how to keep Christmas in his heart better than Scrooge.
But Scrooge isn’t the only inspiring character in this story. Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s poor but dutiful assistant, is kind to Scrooge despite the miser’s mistreatment of his employees. Bob implores his family to treat Scrooge with compassion and forgiveness. And he encourages them to spread love and joy even in the toughest of times.
Bob’s young son, Tiny Tim, embodies these hopes completely. Despite walking with a crutch and living with an unnamed illness, Tim never has a cruel word for anyone. He lifts his family’s spirits and is genuinely grateful for all he has.
Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, is another man who refuses to let the old man’s humbug spirit get him down. He invites his uncle to Christmas dinner, gives generously to the poor though he’s low on funds himself and is kind to everyone he meets.
The Marleys (Scrooge’s now-deceased former business partners) admit that they took advantage of the poor when they were alive. In death, they seem to regret these actions. Although it’s too late for them, they do come back to help Scrooge change.
The Muppet Christmas Carol—and the novel it’s based on—is filled with Christian themes: to give generously with a grateful heart; to spread love and joy; and to be thankful for all we have.
Many song lyrics in this movie adaptation directly reference prayer and faith. Tiny Tim’s “God bless us, everyone,” is possibly one of the best-known phrases in literature and cinema. And we also hear about Christ (if not by name) when Bob tells his wife that Tim hoped his presence in church would remind folks of the One “who made lame men walk and blind men see.”
But Christian families should still exercise a note of caution since the story is wrapped around the five spirits (four in the original tale) who visit Scrooge.
The first two are the ghosts of Jacob and Robert Marley, Scrooge’s former business partners. The ghoulish brothers appear to Scrooge wrapped in chains. These chains, they warn, were forged by their evil deeds in life and now imprison them in death. And Scrooge himself is destined to endure the same dreary fate unless he changes soon.
Next is the Ghost of Christmas Past. This spirit takes the form of a child. She glows brightly, and a touch of her hand allows Scrooge to fly into the past. She says she can remember every Christmas for 1,900 years (which suggests that her existence began when Jesus was born), and she says she is there to ensure Scrooge’s salvation.
The Ghost of Christmas Present materializes after that as a large, Muppet man. He’s able to change his size at will and seemingly teleports Scrooge through the streets of London. Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows up, a dark, shrouded figure that emerges from a magical fog. This ghost never speaks but takes Scrooge through portals to different moments in the future, showing the effects of Scrooge’s continual greed.
Gonzo says that storytellers, such as himself are omniscient, prompting Rizzo to call him “Mr. Godlike smarty-pants.” One song likens the Christmas season to “magic.”
A woman’s gown shows some cleavage. Emily, Bob’s wife, is affectionate with her husband. Gonzo and Rizzo each briefly ogle some female characters.
We learn that Scrooge was once in love with a woman named Belle. They were engaged, but Belle ended the relationship after Scrooge kept delaying their nuptials.
Gonzo and Rizzo both find themselves in some dangerous situations, experiencing more than a few tumbles. At one point, Gonzo accidentally sets Rizzo’s tail on fire and pushes the rat into a bucket of ice water to extinguish him. Unfortunately, this freezes Rizzo solid, and he has to be broken out of the ice later on. But these incidents are played for laughs and don’t result in any serious injuries.
Scrooge throws some objects at people who annoy him (and many of those characters are frightened of him as a result). He actually throws one character out the door. He also issues several somewhat graphic death wishes.
The ghosts of the Marleys can be a bit scary. One first appears to Scrooge through Scrooge’s doorknocker, shouting wordlessly at the man. Scrooge is so unnerved by this encounter that he searches his home, beating a dressing gown with a fire poker after mistaking it for an intruder. The Marleys warn that because they caused pain in life, they are now tormented in death.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, though never physically harming anyone, is a fearsome figure that feels inherently violent. In fact, Gonzo and Rizzo are so frightened, they temporarily abandon the audience. The ghost is essentially an embodiment of death, showing Scrooge futures where several characters have died as a result of Scrooge’s cruel inaction.
There’s no profanity, but we hear many name-calling insults, such as “idiot” and “stupid.” Scrooge is also called “Mr. Humbug,” “Mr. Skinflint” and other unkind names as his neighbors describe his cruel and miserly ways. We also hear a play on words that uses the word “assets.” Someone exclaims, “Good heavens.”
Adults drink what are likely alcoholic beverages at parties and dinners.
Although Scrooge eventually remedies his cruel actions, he’s initially unkind to many people, yelling at them and taking delight in their misfortunes. He believes that since his taxes pay for prisons and poor houses, he shouldn’t have to give to charities that help the homeless, too. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows Scrooge a future where people equally as greedy as Scrooge delight in his death, laughing that he got what was coming to him and pawning off his belongings.
A Muppet cabbage cries out for help when someone attempts to steal it. Scrooge initially believes that most people use Christmas as an excuse to “pickpocket” himself and other bankers.
Elsewhere, we see a Muppet character freezing in the cold, wrapped in newspapers. And when Scrooge accuses the Marleys of criticizing him, they claim they were only “heckling.” Gonzo uses Rizzo as a rag, grabbing the rat and wiping a window clean. When people Scrooge cares for say some unkind things about him, his feelings are hurt.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is one of the most popular adaptations of Charles Dickens’ famous novel. And even though most of the characters are portrayed by Muppets, this version is also one of the closest to the original tale.
There are so many good messages to be derived from this tale: We’re encouraged to spread love and joy. We’re told to give generously with a thankful heart. And we’re implored to keep the spirit of Christmas alive year-round.
Those messages certainly align with a Christian worldview. And we even see a bit of a Christian transformation in Scrooge, from a “covetous old sinner” to a man who treats everyone as family, showing love and kindness to everyone he meets.
The inclusion of ghosts in A Christmas Carol may cause some families to approach the tale with caution—and rightly so. Besides the fact that they offer a story of salvation separate from Jesus Christ, they’re also “creepy and spooky,” as Rizzo puts it.
In fact, Rizzo asks Gonzo: “Should we be worried about kids in the audience?”
“Nah, this is culture,” Gonzo replies (even though he later hides offscreen when the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come scares him).
Well … sure, it’s culture. But I’ll just say that as a child, The Muppet Christmas Carol freaked me out a bit. With the exception of Christmas Present, the film’s ghosts were nightmarish to my young mind. And while the rest of this G-rated film may have felt light, funny and hopeful, those scary elements stuck with me some nights.
These are all important things to consider—and they shouldn’t be taken lightly. But most families who watch The Muppet Christmas Carol will likely still find plenty of Christian messages to help navigate some of those murkier moments.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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