‘Carolers’ Sing the Praises of Those Cute Little Dickens, the Muppets

In “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” the holiday chestnut is narrated by the Great Gonzo as a blue furry Charles Dickens, who explains the moral transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) to his pal Rizzo the Rat. (Rated G)

Clearly, it’s a challenge for children to grasp the great grown-up themes in “A Christmas Carol”: that greed can forge chains around your heart, that regret is unbearably painful, that youth is fleeting, and death permanent.

But it’s a snap to appreciate the sweet hilarity of Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as his wife, and the various singing animals and vegetables.

“It’s cute,” said Meryl, 11, who was familiar with the story. “They added a lot of funny lines into it.”

What most children said they liked about the Muppet version were the silly pratfalls of their favorite character, Rizzo the Rat.

Scott, 8, said, “I liked the part where he said, ‘Light the lamp, not the rat.’ That was funny.”

No one gave it an unqualified thumbs up, and two babies had to be carried out squalling. A few toddlers moved to grown-up laps.

“Yeah, they were so scared they cried,” said Kevin, 6. “Some of it was real loud.”

Some complained that the movie spent too much time describing the nastiness of Scrooge and his despair confronting his own grave with the Ghost of Christmas to Come.

Amanda, 11, who has seen and read various versions of the story nearly every holiday, said her favorite parts are the parties at the end, and at the nephew’s house. “I like the plays better, because they show more of that.”

(Acknowledging that the depiction of Scrooge is pretty rough, Rizzo says, “That’s scary stuff. Should we be worried about the kids in the audience?” Gonzo replies, “Naw, it’s culture.”)

“I didn’t like the part when he was with the Ghost of Christmas Future and they went to the graveyard,” Meryl said. “I thought for kids it wasn’t that good because he was, like, crying and stuff and it made it look really scary.”

But perhaps the worst of it, said Matt, 8, was that “the singing was boring.”

If they remembered any of the poetry of redemption laced throughout the special effects, period costumes and puns, it was that it’s good to be kind, particularly at certain times of the year. “Scrooge learned he should be nicer to people or else his future will turn out really bad,” Meryl said.

He learned “that he should be nicer on Christmas Eve,” Scott said. “That town wasn’t very rich, so he should let people off (work). Because some people could have died.” He said some parts were over his head.

But it’s a safe bet he could understand such lyrics as these: “The world is at its best when people love and care.”