‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’s Most Heartbreaking Moment Was Deleted From the Original Film — but You Can Still Watch It on Streaming

The Muppet Christmas Carol isn’t just in contention to be the greatest film starring The Muppets, but one of the most faithful Charles Dickens adaptations ever. While the role of Ebenezer Scrooge has been played by such great actors as George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart, Bill Murray, and Guy Pearce, no one has quite nailed the role like Michael Caine, who gave a dramatic performance that ranks among the best human roles in any film inthe Muppetsfranchise. While it incorporates all the humor and visual splendor that one would expect from a film by Jim Henson Productions, The Muppet Christmas Carol is a terrific musical that features great original songs. However, one of the most moving sequences in the entire film was only made available when the film was released on home media.

A pivotal scene in The Muppet Christmas Carol occurs when Scrooge is taken back in time by the Ghost of Christmas Past (Jessica Fox), who shows him a moment when his younger self (Ray Coulthard) had his heart broken by his lover, Belle (Meredith Braun). The Muppet Christmas Carol was the first film in the franchise to be produced by Walt Disney Productions, which had acquired rights to the characters shortly before the tragic death of Henson himself. Henson’s son, Brian Henson, directed the film and insisted on the scene’s importance, but Disney decided to remove the scene featuring the song “When Love Was Gone” because the studio felt that the scene would be too slow for younger viewers. The scene became the subject of some controversy before it was finally restored for the current iteration of The Muppet Christmas Carol on Disney+

“When Love Was Gone” Was Restored for the Streaming Release of ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’

The Muppet Christmas Carol was released on LaserDisc and VHS in the ‘90s, in which the scene featuring “When Love Was Gone” was included before copies went out of print. A 2002 DVD release of the film included multiple cuts of the film, including a 90-minute full-screen version of the film that ran an extra four minutes longer than the widescreen cut. However, “When Love Was Gone” was not included on the initial Disney+ release of The Muppet Christmas Carol, as Disney had claimed that the original film negatives had been lost, making it impossible to be restored to the appropriate definition. Thankfully, a public outcry over the loss of one of the most iconic scenes in any Muppetsfilm led Disney archivists to uncover a copy of the negative that could be edited back into the film as a bonus feature.

Although Disney may have shied away from showing such a dramatic scene, A Christmas Carol is an inherently dark story, and any proper adaptation would need to include a moment that humanizes Scrooge. Ironically, Caine was able to bring a depth and latent warmth within the character that was absent within other iterations that were supposedly more “serious;” for example, Jim Carrey’s role in Robert Zemeckis’ nightmarish 2009 animated film feels like a complete caricature. “When Love Was Gone” helps to explain why Scrooge has become so stringent about money, as he feels that he could have offered Belle a better life had he had the funds to provide for her. It’s one of the more purposefully ambiguous moments in the film that helps to make it such a great adaptation; even if Scrooge is redeemed by the end of the story, there is no confirmation of what happened to Belle.

“The Love We Found” Is Essential to ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’

Beyond the fact that audiences of all ages should be willing to appreciate the terrific song, the removal of “When Love Was Gone” disrupts the flow of The Muppet Christmas Carol as a musical because of its ending. The final song, “The Love We Found,” involves Scrooge returning to meet Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) and his family and providing them with a Christmas dinner, which allows the entire community to gather and celebrate. The song “The Love We Found” is an inverted take on the same chords and themes of “When Love Was Gone” that signifies that Scrooge has taken his most painful memory and used it as a means to ensure that no other family should experience the same feeling. Although it’s a fun song in its own right, it’s not nearly as moving without knowing why it is so meaningful to Scrooge. Henson clearly understood the characters as well as his father did, and recognized that the series was not purely aimed at children in the same way that Sesame Street is; in fact, many mature moments in The Muppet Show may have flown over children’s heads entirely.

It’s fulfilling that the intended version of The Muppet Christmas Carol is now available when considering how rare it is for streaming services to incorporate the type of bonus features that would have traditionally appeared on home media releases. The fact that Disney have restored an essential piece of the franchise’s history does show they’re interested in maintaining Henson’s legacy. However, The Muppet Christmas Carol stands out as not just an extension of Henson’s genius, but one of the finest Christmas films ever made. Dickens may be played by Gonzo, but that doesn’t make The Muppet Christmas Carol any less of an adaptation.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

Release Date

December 11, 1992

Runtime

85minutes