Listen to the Gobbledygeek Season Finale, "The Muppet Christmas Carol"

Gobbledygeek episode 458, “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” is available for listening or download right here, on Spotify, and on Apple Podcasts.

It’s only one more Gobbledygeek ‘til Christmas! (NOTE: This episode has been on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for several days, but real life woes prevented it from being posted here. So that sentence was technically true!) This year, instead of discussing the weird or cynical sides of the holidays, Paul and Arlo are embracing sincerity with a look at 1992’s The Muppet Christmas Carol. The first Muppets feature film following the death of Jim Henson is a faithful adaptation of the classic novella, with Gonzo as Charles Dickens himself and none other than Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge. The boys discuss why Caine’s decision to play things straight is key to the film’s success, the film’s technical wizardry, the beautiful songs by Paul Williams, and why it’s the greatest Christmas film of them all. Plus, Paul and Arlo recount a very strange year and get honest about the difficulties of the holiday season.

NEXT: have a safe and merry holiday, regardless of what you celebrate, and a happy new year. We’ll be back in 2022 with the long-awaited discussion of The Americans season 4 featuring Wesley Mead.

BREAKDOWN

• 00:00:50  –  Intro
• 00:14:00  –  The Muppet Christmas Carol
• 01:42:05  –  Outro / Next

LINKS

• “A meta-masterpiece: why ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ is the perfect festive film” by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, The Guardian
• “A Grand Yuletide Theory: ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ is the Best Adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’” by Ethan Warren, Bright Wall / Dark Room
• “Long Lost ‘Muppet Christmas Carol’ Song Has Been Rediscovered and Will Be Included in 4K Release” by Hoai-Tran Bui, Slashfilm
• “The makers of ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ break down the movie’s lost musical number” by Tyler Aquilina, ew.com
• “How we made: The Muppet Christmas Carol” by Ben Beaumont-Thomas, The Guardian

MUSIC

• “Scrooge” by The Muppet Cast, The Muppet Christmas Carol (Original Soundtrack) (1992)
• “When Love Is Gone” by Meredith Braun, The Muppet Christmas Carol (Original Soundtrack) (1992)
• “It Feels Like Christmas” by The Ghost of Christmas Present, The Muppet Christmas Carol (Original Soundtrack) (1992)
• “One More Sleep ‘til Christmas” by Kermit the Frog, The Muppet Christmas Carol (Original Soundtrack) (1992)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 
• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/
• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
• Advocate for writers who might be owed money due to discontinuance of royalties: https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/ 
• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/
• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/