The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) reviews

The Fuzzy Mushroom take on The Muppet Christmas Carol

By Fuzzy Mushroom · Updated 12 November 2026 · The Pros 71 · The Punters 88 · Spore Score 75 · How we write our takes

Why The Punters love it more than The Pros

The Muppet Christmas Carol is a film whose reputation has grown with its audience. The Punters give it 88, The Pros 71, and the Spore Score is 75, with a mostly clear tag. In 1992 reviews were warm but not ecstatic; since then, generations of families have made it a Christmas ritual, and many people now call it the best screen version of Dickens's story. That 17-point gap is the sound of a film that audiences took to heart.

What it is

Brian Henson directed this adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, the first Muppet feature made after the death of his father, Muppets creator Jim Henson, in 1990. Michael Caine plays Ebenezer Scrooge entirely straight, surrounded by Muppets: Kermit the Frog is Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy is his wife, and Gonzo plays Charles Dickens himself, narrating the story with Rizzo the Rat. The songs are by Paul Williams, who also wrote songs for The Muppet Movie.

What it does well

The big decision was to keep Caine serious. He plays Scrooge as if he were in a straight period drama, and that makes the comedy around him funnier and the ending more moving. The film sticks surprisingly closely to Dickens's own words, mostly through Gonzo's narration, and it does not shy away from the darker parts of the story. The ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is genuinely eerie for a family film.

Where The Pros have a point

Some of the songs are stronger than others, and the Muppet gags occasionally pull against the mood. A ballad called When Love Is Gone was cut from the original cinema release, which left a gap in the story that fans noticed for years; later releases restored it.

Who it is for

Families, Muppet fans, and anyone who wants a Christmas Carol that children will sit through and adults will enjoy. It works just as well for viewers who know the book well.

The Fuzzy Mushroom verdict

Worth a watch, with a Spore Score of 75. Funny, faithful and more moving than it has any right to be. The Punters are right: this is the Christmas Carol to watch.