With Thanksgiving week upon us, what better time to revisit the brilliance of The Muppet Christmas Carol? Filmed a few years after Jim Henson’s death, it is a remarkably faithful version of Dickens’ classic, superbly funny/clever in its Muppet-ness yet also unflinching when it comes to the more religious aspects of the story. Of course, gratitude as a response to grace will never have a better poster-boy than Scrooge, played here by Michael Caine; a forgiven heart is a thankful heart, and a thankful heart is a generous heart – exorbitantly and spontaneously so. There’s no “should” or “how” here, no “if” or “when” even, Scrooge simply loves much because he has been forgiven much, making it up as he goes along, a delight to behold. I’ve always felt that the closing song captures the joy that is synonymous with such soul-deep thanksgiving – or maybe I just love the sight of Fozzie all John Quincey Adams’d up! To watch the scenes leading up to it (which include a beautiful moment of repentance), click here, then here.
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpb9EbmvM5M&w=600]
While we’re at it, we give you Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s excruciatingly spot-on “This Is How Michael Caine Speaks”, albeit with a slight language warning:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFIQIpC5_wY&w=600]
COMMENTS
3 responses to “Michael Caine Has a Thankul Heart (and an Impressive Voice)”
Leave a Reply
'…and you DON'T do the broken voice…' classic
Its great to see the Mockingbird luv for Muppet Christmas Carol. My brothers and I used to watch it every Christmas.
That was the best part of The Trip! Hope you all had a soul-deep Thanksgiving 🙂