Brian Henson, the director of The Muppet Christmas Carol, explains the reason behind Gonzo taking the center stage as the narrator in the film instead of Kermit.
The 1992 film, The Muppet Christmas Carol marked the fourth appearance of the Muppets on screen. It was directed by Brian Henson, the son of Jim Henson, who created the Muppets. The film starred Michael Haine as Charles Dickens’ iconic literary character, Ebeneezer Scrooge, along with an ensemble cast of Muppets.
Kermit starred as Bob Chatchit, while Gonzo played Charles Dickens, the writer and narrator of the story. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly celebrating the 30th anniversary of the iconic holiday classic, Henson spoke at length about his decisions regarding the film.
In the interview, Henson explains why he didn’t let Kermit take a central role in the film. He mentions that screenwriter Jerry Juhl had come up with the idea of making Gonzo the narrator in the film. Henson immediately implemented the idea, as it would enable them to invest more time in the right representation of Kermit.
Getting Kermit’s characterization right was of utmost importance for Henson and his crew, as The Muppet Christmas Carol was released soon after Jim Henson’s death in 1990. Read what Henson had to say below –
Jerry [Juhl] had the idea, because he was a big fan of Gonzo. I was a big fan of Gonzo, so we were totally in sync there. Kermit was going to be tough because Jim had just passed away, and Steve Whitmire was maybe going to be ready to do Kermit. But I knew Kermit was going to be really hard work on set. We were going to have to do it very carefully.
Basically, we had Frank’s characters, we had Piggy, Fozzie, but we knew we were going to have to be very careful about Kermit and what he does. So Jerry had the idea of letting Gonzo be Charles Dickens and to actually do the prose and basically have a narrator who’s there on screen.
Steve Whitmire, who has been working on The Muppets Show since season 3 in 1978, played Kermit in the holiday classic, and went on to represent him for many seasons and films after that. He was fired in 2017. Whitmire played the iconic character in several theatrical ventures, including Muppet Treasure Island (1996) and Muppet’s Most Wanted (2014).
But in The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, Whitmire played Kermit for the first time, so it made sense to give him some space to master the character. In other words, making Gonzo the narrator was a practical and logistical necessity.
Apart from it being the most realistic decision, it also worked well for the film’s version of A Christmas Carol. Gonzo as the narrator brought the perfect blend of absurdity and humor into the film that has worked for the audience ever since.
About The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a 1992 American Christmas musical comedy drama film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, it stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz.
Although artistic license is taken to suit the aesthetic of the Muppets, The Muppet Christmas Carol otherwise follows Dickens’s original story closely. It is the fourth theatrical film in The Muppets franchise, and the first to be produced following the deaths of the Muppets creator Jim Henson and the performer Richard Hunt; the film is dedicated to both.
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