Happy holidays everyone. For our second annual non-horror Christmas movie deep dive, we're covering the greatest adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic. What do you get when you cross a miserly, penny hoarding, vindictive Scrooge with the loveable Muppets? You get the absolute holiday classic The Muppet Christmas Carol.  Featuring Michael Caine in the starring role, it was the first Muppet motion picture after the tragic passing of Jim Henson in 1990. By playing Dickens' material mostly straight, Brian Henson manages to capture the ghostly, and often downright scary elements of the story, and hammering home the timeless message of charity, goodwill and community. Featuring a secret weapon in the form of music from a rejuvenated Paul Williams, the picture bangs out incredible songs such as "It Feels Like Christmas" "Marley and Marley" and "Thankful Heart." The Muppets themselves, from Kermit as the put upon Bob Cratchit, Fozzie Bear as Fozziwig, and Gonzo the Great as our author and narrator Charles Dickens are perfectly utilized as well.  

Mike and Stephen are joined by first time guest Rachel Schwebach  (@indysmutpeddler) to discuss the above, our own love for Henson's creations, the sadness Christmas can sometimes bring, whether or not Michael Caine was tripping balls the whole time he was filming and interacting with the Muppets like they were real and as a special bonus you can hear about Mike's real life beefs with Kerry Von Erich and Fugazi's Ian Macaye. 

Hey, if you enjoyed Rachel on this episode, you should check out her shibari and BDSM photography by becoming a patron of hers here: https://www.patreon.com/rachelschwebach

 

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