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We’ve all got our own pick for the best Christmas movie ever and mine is “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” Ever since I was a kid, this movie has helped me get into the holiday spirit, making me laugh, cry and sing along all in equal measure every time I watch it.
It’s a telling of Charles Dickens’ iconic story that only the Muppets could pull off, with Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Statler and Waldorf as the Marley brothers (there’s only one Marley in the original tale), Gonzo as Dickens himself and Rizzo the Rat as the narrator. It follows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, played by the great Michael Caine, as he is confronted with his own misdeeds by a series of ghosts on Christmas Eve.
Now, nearly 30 years after the film first hit theaters in 1992, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” has been made into an illustrated children’s book. And it is a thing of beauty!
The new illustrated adaptation was written by Brooke Vitale, who has written other books from Disney properties like “Olaf’s Journey” and “Happy Birthday, Mickey.” It was drawn by Luke Flowers, illustrator of the bestselling book “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers.”
Anyone who has seen the movie knows how vivid the images are, including the 1800s period costumes the Muppets all wear and the snowy backdrop of London. Flowers really did the film justice with his stunning artwork that can be seen on all 40 pages of the book.
The story stays true to the spirit of the original 1843 novella and the Muppet movie version, making it a joy for grown-up fans of the film to share with their own kids at the holidays.
There’s so much detail to be found in every drawing that children will love peering across the pages to see the characters they can pick out. Like this great scene from when Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past and sees a moment from his youth. Is that a rooster playing banjo? Of course it is!
The book has all the emotional highs and lows of the movie, including the beautiful Christmas dinner scene at the Cratchit house, where Tiny Tim delivers his famous line as his family is gathered around their humble meal.
That’s the part where I always have to grab a tissue …
“The Muppet Christmas Carol” is now on sale wherever you get your books. It retails for $18.95 but is currently on sale for $13.37 at Amazon and for $17.06 at Barnes & Noble.
In the words of the Marley brothers, “I loved it!“
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