- All the scenes with Kermit.
- Several lines of dialogue between Emmet and Ma after singing "The Bathing Suit That Grandma Otter Wore:"
Ma: Nice, I should say it did Emmet. Why you can hear the fish appauding.
Emmet: I think you're right. Maybe I should pass the hat.
Ma: Pa used to say, "If you pass the hat to fish, all you get is a wet hat!"
Both laugh
Ma: Still, I suppose the fish have just about as much money as any of us this year.
Emmet: Couldn't have much less.
Emmet starts rowing
Emmet: Ma, what are we gonna do about Christmas this year?
- A couple lines of dialogue after Ma hands Gretchen Fox her laundry:
Ma: ...you'd fall off the dock.
Emmet: Way to go, Ma!
- A few lines before Emmet and Ma sing "Ain't No Hole in the Washtub":
Ma: Oh, "There Ain't No Hole in the Washtub!" That's what you call your basic 'keeping-warm-while-you're-rowing-home' kinda song.
Emmet: I'm rowin', where's the singing?
- A short talent show scene after Yancy Woodchuck sings "Barbecue":
Mayor Fox: Welcome if you will, George and Mellisa Rabbit! [Rabbits dance]
Possum: Well, It's gonna be a long night.
John Denver and the Muppets:
A Christmas Together
(1979)
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together was originally produced for ABC and aired on December 5, 1979.
Highlights include:
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- Denver and the Muppets sing "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
- Denver sings "The Pleasure of Your Company."
- Kermit the Frog and Denver reminisce about past Christmases with their friends and families, and sing "The Christmas Wish."
- Miss Piggy confronts Denver in her dressing room about their presumably mutual attraction.
- Denver and Rowlf the Dog sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
- Denver recites the story of Jesus' birth.
- Miss Piggy, as a doll named Fifi, sings "I Will Wait for You" to Denver, who plays a wooden soldier trying to stay in step with a line of marching soldiers.
The program concludes with a sing-along with Denver and the Muppets which inludes "Stille Nacht," and children in the audience join in for the English version, "Silent Night."
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together has never been released commercially.
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A Muppet Family Christmas
(ORIGINAL UNEDITED ABC BROADCAST)
(1987)
(2 versions available: with or without original commercials)
In this Christmas special, Fozzie Bear surprises his mother Emily on Christmas Eve by bringing the entire Muppet gang to her farm to celebrate the holidays. Doc and his dog Sprocket, who had planned a quiet Christmas, end up joining the Muppets in their holiday activities and preparations.
The Sesame Street regulars, including Big Bird, Bert, Ernie and others, join the festivities. Kermit and Robin even celebrate the holidays with the Fraggles. But to Kermit's dismay, the only one missing from the festivities is Miss Piggy, who has been caught in a snowstorm.
My Muppet Family Christmas DVD is the original, unedited version which aired on ABC in 1987.
It includes:
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- The snowman musical and comedy number with Fozzie were deleted from commercial releases. They sing "Sleigh Ride" in this original version. Rowlf begins the song by playing "Sleigh Ride" on Emily Bear's out-of-tune piano. Rowlf says he "loves out-of-tune pianos" while Sprocket watches him play. Fozzie, the Snowman, and penguins sing outside.
- The Muppet Babies film "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" was deleted in commercial releases. In the edited commercial release, the film begins and Animal immediately bursts through the screen. This unedited version of the film includes the baby versions of Piggy, Kermit, Fozzie, Rowlf, Scooter, Fozzie, and Gonzo singing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town."
- Miss Piggy and the Muppets singing "Home for the Holidays" is shown in this unedited version when she arrives at the farmhouse. Miss Piggy falling on the icy patch is also included. When Kermit mentions that Miss Piggy always likes to make an entrance, the commercial release cuts immediately to the beginning of the Carol Sing Medley.
- A brief segment where Fozzie and Elmo light the Christmas tree only appears in this original 1987 version.
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", edited out of the commercial release, are included during the Carol Sing Medley in this "unedited" version.
- This version includes a scene with Fozzie and Ma hanging stockings that was removed from subsequent airings and commercial releases. In the scene, Emily Bear (Ma) hangs Fozzie's stocking on the fireplace. Fozzie mentions that he's a grown bear, alluding to the fact he doesn't need it anymore. When Emily reaches to take it down, Fozzie decides it's OK to leave it up.
- This original 1987 airing includes a Muppet Family Christmas bumper with Kermit the Frog in front of a Christmas tree saying "A Muppet Family Christmas will return in a moment" as Fozzie Bear is seen behind Kermit playing with two little stuffed animal bears as if they were puppets.
The quality of the DVD is excellent. It includes a chapter menu as well as bonus features:
- Michael Eisner's intro with Kermit from "The Magical World of Disney" airing of A Muppet Family Christmas.
- A 1987 "Entertainment Tonight" segment previewing A Muppet Family Christmas.
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The Great Santa Claus Switch was a Muppet television special that first aired on CBS on December 20, 1970.
Jim Henson's Muppets had made several successful guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and in Christmas of 1970, when Sesame Street was starting to become popular, Ed gave Jim Henson and the Muppets a whole hour of his show as a Christmas gift.
Kermit the Frog narrates the story of Alice Otter and her son, Emmet, who struggle to make ends, but this Christmas they dream of having enough money to buy each other a special gift.
The Otters enter a local talent contest in the hope of winning the fifty-dollar prize to buy Christmas gifts for each other.
In The Christmas Toy, Christmas Eve is celebrated at the Jones' home, where the toys in the playroom magically come to life when people are not around.
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree is a 1995 half-hour TV special starring Robert Downey Jr., Leslie Nielsen, Stockard Channing and a family of Muppet Mice. Based on Robert Barry's 1963 book of the same name, the special follows a family of mice as they search for "The Perfect Tree," and unwittingly wind up in Mr. Willowby's own perfect tree inside his house.
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa is an hour-long Christmas special starring the Muppets, which first aired on December 17, 2008 on NBC. The plot involves the Muppets mistakenly intercepting three letters sent by children to Santa Claus and their attempts to fix the problems created by their mishap.
