Box office
Walt Disney Pictures appeared to have high expectations for the film, being their widest-released film of the holiday season and the second-widest release under the Disney banner that year.[14] However, the film opened in sixth place, initially reported to have collected $5.9 million in box office estimates,[15] which was later revised to $5 million.[16] Ultimately, The Muppet Christmas Carol grossed a total of $27.3 million in North America.[4] Despite being a modest box office success, The Muppet Christmas Carol did not have a large effect during its theatrical release, having to face competition from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Disney's own Aladdin.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 77% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's consensus states, "It may not be the finest version of Charles Dickens' tale to grace the screen, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is funny and heartwarming, and serves as a good introduction to the story for young viewers."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[18] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[19]
Janet Maslin, reviewing for The New York Times, said that there wasn't "great show of wit or tunefulness here, and the ingenious cross-generational touches are fairly rare. But there is a lively kiddie version of the Dickens tale, one that very young viewers ought to understand."[20] Kathleen Carroll of the New York Daily News gave it three and a half stars, calling it "a delightfully imaginative musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale" and noting that "it's a measure of Michael Caine's talents as an actor that he's able to give a straight-faced, remarkably convincing performance as the notorious tightwad Ebenezer Scrooge while surrounded by pint-sized veteran scene-stealers", though she did write that "the songs by Paul Williams tend to sound exactly alike."[21]
Peter Rainer of the Los Angeles Times said that "die-hard Muppet fans may get a boost from the film but Dickens lovers will fare less well. Somewhere along the way—'round about the Ghost of Christmas Past stuff—the magic has fallen out of the story. The treacly score by Miles Goodman, with songs by Paul Williams, doesn’t help. The Muppets are at their best when they’re anarchic, without all this soggy whimsy."[22] Norman Wilner of The Toronto Star, in contrast, called the film "one of the most loyal renderings of Dickens", writing that "Caine, who has always been able to fully become the characters he plays, delivers an unexpectedly strong performance as a human being who plays every scene with hand puppets [and] makes us believe he's been relating to the little fuzzies all his life"; however, he had a mixed review of Williams' songs in the film, and was particularly critical of its closing number.[23]
The Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, who gave the film three stars out of four, praised the technical achievements, but felt it "could have done with a few more songs than it has, and the merrymaking at the end might have been carried on a little longer, just to offset the gloom of most of Scrooge's tour through his lifetime spent spreading misery."[24] On the television program Siskel & Ebert, his partner Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel, who did not review the film in print, gave the film a Thumbs Down although he was favorable towards Michael Caine's performance.[25] Also from the Chicago Tribune, Dave Kehr reviewed the film as "a talky, plodding film that seems likely to bore children and adults in equal measure." Nevertheless, Kehr praised Val Strazovec's production design and John Fenner's cinematography believing its "shadowy, naturalistic lighting creates a new look for a puppet film," but derided Paul Williams's songs as unmemorable.[26]
Likewise, Variety praised the production design and criticized Williams's songs, writing Muppets Christmas Carol is "not as enchanting or amusing as the previous entries in the Muppet series. But nothing can really diminish the late Jim Henson's irresistibly appealing characters.”[27]
Giving the film three stars out of five, Almar Haflidason of the BBC wrote the film is "liberal but fun adaptation of a classic" that "turns out to be quite touching as Muppet movies go. Less pleasing are the forgettable songs that offer both clumsy word construction and dire music that eats away at the aesthetic quality of the movie. But you'll be too busy looking out for the assorted Muppets to care much."[28] Anthony McGlynn of Screen Rant called The Muppet Christmas Carol "a work of genius on every level" and "the greatest Christmas movie ever made," praising the original songs that were written for the film and Michael Caine's performance as Scrooge.[29]
In London, the Evening Standard's Alexander Walker said that "the Muppets pass their first screen test playing characters other than their felt or furry selves with great exuberance."[30] Derek Malcolm of The Guardian was less welcoming, saying that "Scrooge's nightmare is rendered silly and so his turning from swine to saint hasn't the required kick. Not only that, but the jokes are thin on the ground, as if only a certain amount of piss-taking was thought appropriate."[31]
The film has grown in critical acclaim in subsequent years, attracting a cult following, and was declared "the greatest Christmas film ever made" as well as "among the most glorious of all Dickens adaptations" by The Guardian in 2023.[32]
Home media
This is the first Muppet film co-produced and released by Walt Disney Pictures—and the rights to the Muppets featured in the film would later be purchased by the studio's parent company. In addition to theatrical releases, the film has also been made available on home video formats. It was first released on VHS in the US on November 5, 1993, in the UK on November 15, 1993, and later on DVD in both countries. The first US DVD release on October 8, 2002, was in a full-screen-only format. Walt Disney Home Entertainment released the film in the US on DVD on November 29, 2005, in conjunction with Kermit the Frog's 50th anniversary celebration; this time the DVD contained both full-screen and widescreen presentations. The UK has also had similar DVD releases.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released a 20th anniversary collector's edition on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy on November 6, 2012.[33] The release does not include the film's extended cut. However, the song "When Love Is Gone" and its accompanying scene can be viewed in its entirety on the full-screen version of the anniversary edition of The Muppet Christmas Carol, though it is cut in the widescreen format.[34][35]
On December 9, 2022, Disney+ released a 30th anniversary edition via streaming media which includes the song "When Love Is Gone" as an option in its menu.[36]
A story album of the movie was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 1994.[37]
