Muppets Keep Film Tradition

I used to enjoy the Muppets when they were on TV a few years ago. The best part, the most surreal part, was watching the guest celebrity react to getting worked over by inanimate objects with attitudes.

I always wondered what they were thinking (“My God, I’m playing straight man to a pig, and not even a real pig!” or “Hmmm, Kermit’s not as green as he used to be; isn’t he feeling well?”) and what kind of concentration it took to look natural around jiving hunks of plastic foam, rubber and cloth. I appreciate professionalism, and the best stars always won my respect.

Michael Caine should get our respect for his Scrooge in “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” He never seems more than a guest celebrity in a really extended skit, but at least he looks comfortable. Caine aside, the movie just goes on too long. Kids may enjoy all the cuddly shenanigans, but their parents will probably get squirmy.

Adults tend to like a lot more humans in their films based on Dickens’ famous story, and most movie studios have agreed over the years.

A couple of famous examples can be found on video and are sure to turn up on TV in coming days. The earliest, an American version, was released in 1938 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, followed by a 1951 British entry. The first isn’t bad, especially if you like mush with the holidays, but the second is far better.

In the latter “A Christmas Carol,” director Brian Desmond-Hurst shows loyalty to countryman Dickens by presenting a properly literal adaptation of the story. This is a relatively somber treatment, known for its dark humor and few side excursions into seasonal mawkishness.

Social injustice, a consistent theme in Dickens’ story, figures big, and that helps to make Scrooge’s rebirth (with its commitment to the moral path) a touching one, even to those who groan at the piousness of this familiar tale. Besides, Alastair Sim is so good as Scrooge, his performance has become something of an archetype for the old miser.

The 1938 “A Christmas Carol” is clumsier in its sentimentality, but it too gets the job done. Director Edwin L. Marin and actor Reginald Owen present Scrooge in less complex ways (Owens’ reactions are predictable, where Sim surprises every now and then), but at least they don’t dawdle. It’s only 68 minutes, which some people consider its greatest virtue.

Another diverting adaptation, as much for curiosity value as holiday interest, is “Scrooge,” a British musical released in 1970.

The funniest thing about this one is Albert Finney, a first-rate actor, bulldozing his way though the forgettable score. He just runs right over everybody and everything, and it’s amusing to watch him take no prisoners.

This seasonal guilty pleasure is a combination of outrageous miscasting, garish looks and overall holiday chutzpah-- minus the Muppets.