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It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002, Dir. Kirk R. Thatcher)

Kermit is enjoying their Christmas with their usual selection of shows at the Muppet Theatres, but then trouble starts. Miss Bitterman enters the Theatre and demands that the money on the Theatre is paid back to her bank, or the Theatre is hers. Problems arise, and the money does not make it to Miss Bitterman in time. Up in heaven, Daniel has been watching Kermit and asks Daniels 'Boss' to deal out some much needed discipline. Will Kermit get back the Theatre?

It's a shame that Muppet films have gone such downhill since their last cinema outing. 'It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie' is not a bad Muppet film, but it's not exactly the greatest. The acting as always was good, with some wonderful cameos, such as Matthew Lillard, who was just funny. The story was different, but could have been better organised. They should have had the problems with the Theatre shown should have been placed at the beginning, before they showed the visit to God etc. There wasn't many musical numbers either, which was quite disappointing. The Muppet films are known for their songs and dancing. I counted about two songs playing in this film, and both wasn't fantastic. If you are a Muppet fan, you are probably gonna enjoy this.

I wish i've never been born! - Kermit (Steve Whitmire)

I first saw this movie last year on NBC and was very pleasantly surprised. I'm not really a big Muppet fan. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I've never watched them that much. So why was I interested in this movie in the first place? I'm not really sure. Maybe because Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was in it! Nevertheless, I had some good laughs watching this last year.

Fast forward to the present time and I saw this on sale, so I had to get it. Watching it a second time, I'm a little more conscious about concerns that some scenes were too "adult" for this movie. For example, the whole rave scene might get people upset where lovable Scooter is grinding in a cage!! Another example is the character Pepe who swoons over Joan Cusack's character and uses the terms, "sexy" and "topless."

So I could kind of see how people can get upset with this movie, but I definitely don't think it tarnishes what the Muppets are all about, unlike what's being done in 'The Cat in the Hat' movie. The Muppets still provide family-friendly laughter and moments to people of all ages. Fozzie's Grinch scene was pretty funny, Pepe steals the show, the spoof on 'It's a Wonderful Life' is great, and I like the jabs at NBC's corporate synergy (I'm a business major and a former Disney employee, so I know this stuff well!) I also found the song between Gonzo and Kermit, "Everyone Matters," to be very nice and sweet.

Overall, this is a very nice and funny Christmas movie. I wouldn't necessarily label this as a classic or really all that memorable though, because honestly, are we going to remember some of their references (Scrubs, Ricky Martin, and Moulin Rouge) ten years from now? By the way, I've never seen Moulin Rouge, so that spoof went way over my head!

This movie is good for the current time period, but I'm afraid it won't live on much longer unlike other Christmas classics (Rudolph, A Christmas Story, Mickey's Christmas Carol). Now is a good time to see it though.

My IMDb Rating: 7/10. My Yahoo! Grade: B (Good)

I am a big fan of the Muppets, I love their show and with exception of Muppet Wizard of Oz, I like/love their movies. It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is not brilliant and could have been much better, but it is not bad at all. Some of the innuendo is smutty, Eric Jacobson lacks the vibrancy and charm that Frank Oz brought Fozzie and Miss Piggy to life with(he wasn't awful just bland), the pacing is rather slow and some of the Muppets are underused and out of character for my liking. However, the set design is great, the song EveryOne Matters is very touching, the Moulin Scrooge send-up is very inspired, colourful and amusing and the music is good. Plus the take on It's a Wonderful Life is a nice touch, Joan Cusack seems to be having fun as the Scrooge who threatens to close the Muppet theatre and the cameos from Matthew Lillard, William H Macy and Whoopi Goldberg are fine. Out of the Muppets, Kermit, Pepe and Fozzie especially acquit themselves well and David Arquette is good as the angel. So overall, could have been better but not bad. For a better seasonal offering though, see Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooge, Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alones 1 and 2 and the granddaddy of them all It's a Wonderful Life. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I think that the people who made this film had the people who grew up with the Muppets (people in their 20's and 30's) in mind. But that's the problem. We watch the Muppet movies to "escape" from the crap that other movies dish out, not wanting to see a movie that celebrates it. Basically, instead of using a plot, the movie tries too hard to use "pop cultural references" (such as referring to Britney Spears, or Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) and also uses inappropriate characters and situations (such as using seemingly gay characters; a rave scene where they have Scooter dancing as a cage dancer in a club, the Shrimp, Pepe, even using the word "sexy", etc.) It's not that we viewers can't "handle" more mature and modern Muppets, it's just that we don't want to. And I don't think parents want their kids to watch this. I just think this kind of stuff would confuse them. Plus the violence, although mild and cartoonish, is unnecessary. They have characters who say "let's go beat up" Fozzie, and fight scenes between humans and Muppets, and Muppets and Muppets, that are uncalled for, and not humorous at all. Bizarrely enough, the humans in this movie (except for one) all have these bizarrely happy smiles on their faces, and don't talk. It's just weird. It's almost like the Muppets are acting worse off than the innocent-looking humans. This movie just failed with me. I was upset how the people who wrote this tried to "sell out" and break something that don't need to be fixed. I will never watch this again, and I would not want to let kids see it. The Muppets have little personality in this, and any plot is substituted with references to other movies, as if the Muppets don't have any worth of their own. Which they should.

Ah how I do love the muppets. They are always so fun and joyus and there are about five different films set at christmas, each of which is great. In this movie the gangs beloved thetre is thretened with closure from a horrible tyccoon played by joan cusack. David arquette sees kermit down in the dumps and talks to god, an apperance by whoopie goldburg. They dont help but are more there for the cameo part. Matthew lilard also plays a strange french fella. Theres fun and excitement and good songs as always as the gang set about to make the money up. I akways enjoy seeing them and am amazed by the pupperty. Overall a very good christmas film.

As I watch this movie, I am reminded of the original Muppet Show, and how much it made me laugh. Of course, I was all of nine years old. If the risque jokes that were in this movie were in the original show, I certainly didn't get them. Likewise, a handful of gags were meant only for mom and dad. Besides, the kids would not have gotten them anyway. Pepe getting a permit to open a topless joint. (Kermit is never with shirt, in case you missed that joke.) Miss Piggy asking Kermit to sleep with her (in French, again, only for those mature enough to understand it.) Those a just a couple of examples of adult humor that seem to mire this Muppet holiday offering. Once they got past that, it was really quite funny. This is not a bad movie by any standards. However, I feel that the crew was too busy trying to capture their former audience, and didn't spend enough time concerning themselves with their real target audience... ...the nine year old kid watching television.

I haven't watched the Muppets in years and was looking for The Muppet Christmas Carol when I came across this version of It's a Wonderful Life. Now, I'm not saying that Kermitcan capture the magic of Jimmy Stewart, and Fozzie certainly is not Uncle Billy, but this was an enjoyable trip down memory lane with some outstanding music, a great song (Everyone Matters), and some really funny bits that referenced other shows.

Joan Cusack was marvelous as the mean financier who wanted to drive Kermit and the Muppets out of town. Whoopie Goldberg was a great god figure and she had the ultimate accessory - a coffee shrub that produced hot coffee.

The funniest bit for me was the old men Statler and Waldorf. i had forgotten how funny they were.

An enjoyable Christmas tale.

Given the fact that The Muppets had already tackled the Yuletide perennial "A Christmas Carol" in 1992, this would seem like a redundant effort (even if we stick to a contemporary setting now, with the various popular characters playing themselves rather than re-incarnated as literary figures) – which may also explain its relegation to video. Incidentally, the star cast (including David Arquette as an angel and Whoopi Goldberg as God!) roped in for this venture is perhaps the least impressive ever, with only Joan Cusack as a Scrooge-like tycoon entering into the spirit of the thing (since she gets the sole substantial role here). The premise, as can be gathered from the above description, is a variation on that other Christmas classic IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), so that we have Kermit The Frog being shown what life would have been like without him after wishing he had never been born; as would be the case with THE MUPPETS' WIZARD OF OZ (2005), which I watched recently, the climax involves a duel between the villainess and Miss Piggy (where she was actually the baddie) – and, once again, the one to get the most screen-time is Pepe the playboy-ish and laid-back King Prawn (which is not in itself a bad thing). Tolerable enough as a kiddie film, then, but a long way from the best Muppet movies out there.

This is, without a doubt, the best Muppet movie in a *long* time. And the Muppets are back to zany form with parodies, such as "Moulin Scrooge", taking place in their classic Muppet Theater. Most of the newer Muppets are nowhere to be found, while older favorites have returned, and Fozzie has been brought back to the foreground. Welcome back!

The plot, basically a Muppet version of "It's a Wonderful Life" (I guess we can get used to Muppet versions of classics now, since the more original "Muppets from Space" failed), pits Kermit and the gang against a corporate shark who intends to turn their theater into a nightclub. All is fine until everybody's favorite bear fails to get their money to the bank on time. Now, the theater is gone, everyone is out of work, and Kermit is despondent. Time for a little Divine intervention.

The strange thing about this movie is that it maintains a "G" rating, but just barely. The Muppets have always had bizarre and sometimes risque humor (Gonzo's chicken fetish has always been, well, odd), but the ante is upped in this outing, with Scooter cage dancing and Pepe being promised a special bonus as a woman focuses his eyes on her chest. (No cleavage, though. Either you know what she's talking about, or you don't.) It goes a little too far, but just a little, and not enough to destroy the film.

The other problem, really, is that the director seemed more intent on making a feature film than one for television. Many of the segues into commercials feel forced, like they suddenly hit the time limit and had to end the scene prematurely with artificial suspense, or perhaps they wanted to cut to another scene directly but time wouldn't allow. Whatever the reason, the commercial breaks feel very out-of-place. (There's also one too many NBC plugs, but it never really got annoying. Network TV; what're ya gonna do?)

Still, this film is far too enjoyable to nitpick. The Muppets truly are back to form. Let's hope they stay there.

This movie was cool, as warped as THE MUPPET SHOW that I remember but with a lot of modern touches. It borrows liberally from all the Christmas movies, including A CHRISTMAS STORY, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and, though it's not a holiday film, MOULIN ROUGE.

Very funny.

I am and have been a serious collector of Christmas related movies, TV shows, holidays specials, etc., for over twenty-five years. Please heed my warning and do not be mislead by sterling reviews & media hype about this movie. This is not a Muppett movie as we have come to know them, and is certainly NOT for children. The fact that this was produced for a major TV network is/was no surprise considering their level of operation at this time. What is hard for me to believe, is that The Jim Henson organization stooped so low to become involved in this travesty of Christmas.I wish there had been reviews for me to read that would warned me before I wasted my hard earned money on this piece of trash.

It's a Muppet Christmas movie. Kermit fears that he has lost their theater to Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) with only one show before Christmas. In heaven, Daniel is desperate to save him. Daniel's boss joins him to review the case.

The premise is trying to be "It's a Wonderful Life". This is very 2000's. Scrubs is still a thing as they start their second season. It's messy. I don't like heaven. Unlike Wonderful Life, Kermit is the author of some of his own troubles. The constant calculating of the debt makes it a problematic math quiz. Despite the issues, this is still The Muppets. It's nice to be in the theater especially the iconic backstage. It's Christmas. It's not their best, but it still works.

I used to love the Muppets. The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan were good family movies, cleverly written and fun to watch. I never thought I would see the day when they would jump on the Hollywood sleaze bandwagon, but here it is: Scooter as a caged rave dancer, Pepe making lewd and suggestive comments every five minutes -- this is not your father's Muppets. It's not Jim Henson's Muppets anymore, either.

This "It's A Wonderful Life" themed movie has its moments, but not enough to save it. I cringed while watching this with my children. I still have hope for their next movie, but this one was certainly a disappointment.

On Christmas Eve Kermit sits alone on a park bench - a broken frog. His lost cries reach the angels but they can do nothing, until one of them, Daniel, takes the case to God herself and shows Her what brought Kermit to this state in the hope that She will send an angel to help him.

While the TVM status of this film might suggest that it is a lesser product that the Muppet movies that used to be cinema draws, let me assure you that this is not the case and that this film actually benefits from being on TV and keeping the humour of the show rather than having the pressure of becoming a big screen outing. The overall plot is `It's A Wonderful Life' however the back story watched by the angels and us holds spoofs of Moulin Rouge and Scrubs as well as references to A Beautiful Mind, The Grinch, Entrapment and lots more. The downside of this is that the plot is very episodic, but the plus side is that the film is funny and will easily engage adults as well as children.

Opening with the stage manager removing a snowman narrator by calling him a `Burl Ives wannabe' the film keeps this sense of humour that you've come to expect from the TV show. My favourite line from the whole film is Bunsen replying to Beaker with `thank you Beaker - I think you have a beautiful mind too'!

The cast of muppets are very good - with all the new characters from the television show having a bit of time, including Pepe, Risso the Rat, Johnny Fiama and his monkey etc. The voices are not done by the original cast for a variety of reasons but they are still very good - I had to look at the credits to spot that it wasn't Frank Oz doing Fozzie (and Yoda!). The human cast is amusing even if it doesn't all work. The cast of Scrubs are wasted and not funny apart from showing up but cameos from Arquette, Macy, Goldberg and Lillard are all amusing and Cusack seems to enjoy herself.

Overall this was a fun festive film, it has the usual message to it and it has moments that just don't work and the plot really is just a salvage job from other films, but it still works and is surprisingly funny with lots of film references. The downside of this I suppose is that the film won't stand the test of time as the topical references get forgotten over time, but that's why it was a TVM I guess, cause that won't matter.

I was a little leary when I heard that the Muppets were doing a TV remake of "It's a Wonderful Life." I mean, let's face it, that story has been done to death, and I wasn't even that much of a fan of the original movie.

But I have been a fan of the Muppets since I was a toddler watching "Sesame Street" so I was willing to give it a shot. And I have to say, I was at first somewhat disappointed.

The first half of the movie drags quite a bit. The jokes just weren't very funny. But then they kick into their musical number "Moulin Scrooge" and it's uphill from there. The "Moulin Scrooge" number was hysterical, not only spoofing the "Moulin Rouge" costumes & sets, but the camera angles and the kinetic style of the music (at one point Miss Piggy orders everyone to stop singing different songs at the same time because she can't remember which one she's singing).

The second half is vintage Muppet zaniness, and well worth sitting through the first hour to get to it. And just as the original "Wonderful Life" tugs at your heartstrings, I guarantee you'll get a lump in your throat when Kermit discovers what a difference he made in the world and to his Muppet friends.

Highly recommended for Muppet fans!

I've been a fan of Jim Henson and his characters since the very beginning. The most beguiling thing about them was the love and innocence and camaraderie shown. Kermit was a role model of deep thinking and problem solving. A spiritual character, yet sweetly and believably so. All the other characters were slightly eccentric but it demonstrated how different kinds of beings can co-exist in a caring manner together, respecting each other's difference.

Following movies have somewhat kept the same vibe. Yet this "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" would have Jim Henson spinning in his grave. These characters have been completely re-written to be horny, nasty, selfish, and cheesy.

The cast goes on to portray God as an uncaring corporate head, with a mean streak. Angels as spineless, non-spiritual corporate staff, and the movie was so bad I had to stop watching. I had bought it for my great-nephew but fortunately I preview anything I give a child.

This movie deserved the trash bin instead and has no socially redeeming content or charm.

Shame, shame on the people who re-wrote the characters and departed from Jim Henson's original heart-centered, socially conscious version. It does a terrible disservice to a great hearted man who is no longer around to defend his creations.

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS) This movie was fun, but it was nothing special. It was loosely based on the Frank Capra classic "It's a Wonderful Life". The guest stars were fun and the Muppets were their usual crazy selves. Joan Cusack was especially good as a miserly bank executive. I did not enjoy this film as much as the Muppet's Christmas Carol, but it was still worth seeing. Also the "Muppet's Christmas Carol was a theatrical release while this was a made for TV movie. Muppet fans will enjoy it for obvious reasons; while other folks will enjoy it for its light-hearted spirit and the reminder of what is really important in life. 6.5/10

I saw this movie for the first time on NBC Friday 11-29-02. It was a pretty good movie, but I don't think it would be the kind of Muppet movie Jim Henson would make. I mean first of all, Pepe' using the word "sexy" every now and then, and Pepe saying "it would suck?" And I defenitly know Jim Henson wouldn't allow Kermit yelling "I WISH I'D NEVER BEEN BORN!" thirteen time a minute. This movie just isn't like a classic Muppet movie. Sure I can understand Nicky Holiday stealing the baseball diamond from "The Great Muppet Caper," but a business lady cheating the Muppets in a contract for their theater to turn it into a smoker's nightclub. If Jim Henson was here today, he would HATE this movie!

I will say, this was quite a good movie, full of fun and pleasure for the whole family. It did remind me of Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life", in part. This movie holds up on its own too, with a storyline just its own. Some good actors make cameos in this movie, and small parts, most notably Whoopi Goldberg, and Joan Cusack. Whoopi plays the all mighty Lord, but not the best. Cusack on the other hand plays her part great as a SCROOGE like person. Seeing all the MUPPETS in a new Christmas movie makes you feel GOOD all over. Kids will enjoy this movie more than adults, except those adults who grew up with these characters. This movie definitely deserved the 10/10 that I gave. And going with my Summary title, it would have to be a DRAW between Kermit and Jimmy Stewart, just because in all fairness, you can not judge two great Christmas movies.

This one's a modern (well, early 2000s) Muppet twist on It's a Wonderful Life. Kermit hits a low point, and through some holiday magic and mayhem, he gets a look at what the world would be like if he'd never existed. Classic setup, but done the Muppet way: full of chaos, cameos, heartfelt moments, and plenty of fourth-wall-breaking nonsense.

The tone is definitely a mix-there's heart in there, but also a lot of fast-paced comedy, absurd moments, and some sly jabs at pop culture of that era. The Muppets are still themselves: Fozzie's floundering, Piggy's extra dramatic, Gonzo's doing who-knows-what, and Kermit's trying to hold it all together. It's got songs, of course, and a few moments that genuinely tug the heartstrings.

It's not quite the warm-and-fuzzy vintage Muppet stuff like The Muppet Christmas Carol or Muppet Family Christmas, but it's got its own charm-sort of a chaotic holiday special with a dose of early 2000s.

7/10.

This movie is pretty much what you would expect of a modern Muppet's movie: Has its share of cute moments, but is certainly not to be mistaken for a classic. Really, it's the kind of movie that gives you a few cheap laughs around Christmas time. It's got celebrity cameos, rip-offs of about every popular Chistmas movie you can think of, a bunch of play on words and puns, and a decent performance by Joan Cusack. So you can go ahead and break out the egg nog and watch this with friends; just keep in mind that this one is more for pre-teens and children than it is people who can recall the actual muppet show... If you're looking for that genuine Christmas Spirit with a pleasant dash of Muppet craziness, go for A Muppet Christmas Carol.