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

Steve Whitmire, who was beginning to perform Statler around this time, puppeteered him while his current performer, Jerry Nelson, was out sick. Nelson later looped Statler's lines, but one of them ("Historical landmark!") remained unlooped.

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Goofs

Kermit's hand shifts on and off the back of the bench between shots during Gonzo's song in the alternate universe

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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

References Scrubs (2001)

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Soundtracks

Everyone Matters
Composed by Desmond Child and Davitt Sigerson

User Reviews

Okay, I guess.

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!