It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)

On Christmas Eve, an angel petitions God to send help for Kermit the Frog who has lost all hope after losing the Muppet Theatre.

Director:

Kirk R. Thatcher

Writers:

Tom Martin, Jim Lewis

Stars:

Steve Whitmire, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Whitmire	...	Kermit / Rizzo the Rat / Beaker / Bean Bunny / Mr. Poodlepants / Statler - Assistant (voice)
Dave Goelz	...	The Great Gonzo / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Waldorf (voice)
Bill Barretta	...	Pepe the Prawn / Rowlf the Dog / Swedish Chef / Johnny Fiama / Bobo the Bear / Howard / Lew Zealand (voice)
Eric Jacobson	...	Miss Piggy / Fozzie Bear / Animal / Yoda (voice)
David Arquette	...	Daniel
Joan Cusack	...	Rachel Bitterman
Matthew Lillard	...	Luc Fromage
William H. Macy	...	Glenn
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Daniel's 'Boss'
Carson Daly	...	Himself - Cameo Appearance
Kelly Ripa	...	Herself
Joe Rogan	...	Himself - Cameo Appearance
Molly Shannon	...	Herself - Cameo Appearance
Robert Smigel	...	Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (voice) (as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog)
Zach Braff	...	Dr. John 'J.D.' Dorian

Storyline

The owner of a bank (Miss Bitterman) wants to own the Muppet Theatre so she can build a nightclub over it. After she tricks Pepe into giving her the only copy of the contract between her father and the Muppets, she changes it so the Muppets have very little time to pay a debt they owe. Meanwhile, the Muppets are trying to put on a Christmas show. After the Muppets are confronted by Bitterman, they make a lot of sacrifices to save up so they can keep the Theatre.

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Plot Keywords:

campy | nbc | the muppets | christmas | angel | 

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Taglines:

More holiday fun than humanly possible!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Henson.com

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

Filming Locations:

Lion's Gate Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Broadcasting Company (NBC), The Jim Henson Company, Jim Henson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 85 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first Muppet movie where Eric Jacobson does Frank Oz's roles of Fozzie, Piggy and Animal. (Sam The Eagle is performed by Kevin Clash). Frank Oz has been inactive in the Muppets lately to pursue directing.

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Goofs

When Miss Bitterman is showing Pepe her Club Dot, her head changes position in front of the window between shots.

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Quotes

Lew Zealand: Yep, someone has had a little too much egg nog, kissing a pork on the chops like that.

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Crazy Credits

Muppets (tm)\,mu-pets\ 1: a trademark of The Jim Henson Company for a fanciful troupe of famous puppet characters created and performed exclusively by, and/ or for goods and services coming exclusively from, the characters at The Jim Henson Company [var Muppet; The Muppets]; 2: none

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Connections

Follows The Muppet Show (1976)

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Soundtracks

Everyone Matters
Composed by Desmond Child and Davitt Sigerson

User Reviews

An OK Muppet Film

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)