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Ruahnna
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Okay--I've watched them all--ALL I TELL YOU!--and I have some random comments. (I know you're shocked.)
From the "The more you look, the more you see/The more you listen, the more you hear" file:
MCC
Do you realize that in giving Jacob Marley a brother, Robert Marley, you've inserted "Bob Marley" into this Christmas special?
I love Scooge's funny little wave when he is delivering presents at the end.
I love the way that THIS version of A Christmas Carol really shows you what Dickens' story intended--that Scrooge was sad, grasping and miserable because he had never actually "met" Christmas. When he meets the wonderful, bountiful Ghost of Christmas Present, he is bowled over by everything about him because he has never met Christmas before. It is that that changes him--not fear of dying or retribution.
Likewise, Beaker's kind gift to Scrooge and Scrooge's humble thanks are both feel-good moments.
The costuming in this entire special is exceptional. I doff my top hat, especially for the faithfulness to period costuming for the rat's attired. Gonzo--as usual--is a fashion plate I'd hang on my wall any day.
IAVMMC
This is full of great moments. I can't say enough about Dave's marvelous talent for inserting a hilarious throwaway line. I don't know if his lines were written or ad-libbed, but the delivery is brilliant (as usual).
The way that Honeydew's sticks his little brown shoe up in the air like a girl getting pinned when he makes his pitch to Rachel Bitterman. And his shocked recoil when she screams at him is dead-on.
The way the mouth movement doesn't match up with the words they are saying when Piggy is trying to give Ms. Bitterman the butt-thumping she deserves. Piggy, Kermit and Ms. Bitterman all do a turn paying homage to the old Japanese horror films that were badly subtitled into English.
I really enjoy seeing the unstoppable force (Miss Piggy) turned aside by the immovable object (Bobo). Although I always root for my girl, I found this amusing.
There were a couple of fashion things I found interesting here. Animal is wearing a really great pair of slashed jeans at the backstage party. He is a muppet whose outfit changes more than I think people realize, but the slashed jeans were a great touch. Also in this episode, Scooter's shiny green jacket is replaced with more of a school-letterman-jacket look that I find appealing. Also, this was the beginning (I'm pretty sure) of Scooter getting relatively "cool" jeans instead of the sortof generic denims he wore as a teenager. (I find that Scooter has grown up very sweet and unaffected. and found him particularly unspoiled and appealing in The Muppets--first to pick up a broom and get to work--and just darling slumbering on his stomach in his hammock that night in the theater. But I digress....)
I like the nod to A Christmas Story that they do with the tongue on the flag pole. Especially the "double-frog dare you" line.
LTS
Piggy's spanking clothes. It was the first time a long time that I thought there had been some real thought put into Piggy's fashion, which was lovely. (Well, wait--there was that appearance on the Craig Ferguson show when she looked amazing....) But her plaid skirt, adorable tights and cute little kicking feet as she gets dragged into the mail-sorting machine are wonderful. It made me feel--for the first time--that Disney was sincere in their interest in her and were willing to take care of her like the diva she is.
I loved seeing Paul Williams as an elf. He was one of Jim's most fervent collaborators and an amazingly creative artist. (He worked on Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas when they were making it into a musical.) (Interestingly, another turn I love him in is when he voiced The Penguin in Batman: The Animated Series.)
One of the things I liked best about this special was the way Gonzo got to take the lead. Gonzo is such a complete and total lunatic that a little of him goes a long way, but here, were get to see his big heart.
Interestingly, two of the human leads in LTS are ALSO in the Kelsey Grammar version of A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004)--Jane Krakowski, who plays Claire's mom, played The Ghost of Christmas Past, and Jesse L. Martin, who plays the main postal worker and played The Ghost of Christmas Present. Ahh...the classics just keep circling....
Okay--I quit--y'all start, okay? Any fun observations are welcome!
From the "The more you look, the more you see/The more you listen, the more you hear" file:
MCC
Do you realize that in giving Jacob Marley a brother, Robert Marley, you've inserted "Bob Marley" into this Christmas special?
I love Scooge's funny little wave when he is delivering presents at the end.
I love the way that THIS version of A Christmas Carol really shows you what Dickens' story intended--that Scrooge was sad, grasping and miserable because he had never actually "met" Christmas. When he meets the wonderful, bountiful Ghost of Christmas Present, he is bowled over by everything about him because he has never met Christmas before. It is that that changes him--not fear of dying or retribution.
Likewise, Beaker's kind gift to Scrooge and Scrooge's humble thanks are both feel-good moments.
The costuming in this entire special is exceptional. I doff my top hat, especially for the faithfulness to period costuming for the rat's attired. Gonzo--as usual--is a fashion plate I'd hang on my wall any day.
IAVMMC
This is full of great moments. I can't say enough about Dave's marvelous talent for inserting a hilarious throwaway line. I don't know if his lines were written or ad-libbed, but the delivery is brilliant (as usual).
The way that Honeydew's sticks his little brown shoe up in the air like a girl getting pinned when he makes his pitch to Rachel Bitterman. And his shocked recoil when she screams at him is dead-on.
The way the mouth movement doesn't match up with the words they are saying when Piggy is trying to give Ms. Bitterman the butt-thumping she deserves. Piggy, Kermit and Ms. Bitterman all do a turn paying homage to the old Japanese horror films that were badly subtitled into English.
I really enjoy seeing the unstoppable force (Miss Piggy) turned aside by the immovable object (Bobo). Although I always root for my girl, I found this amusing.
There were a couple of fashion things I found interesting here. Animal is wearing a really great pair of slashed jeans at the backstage party. He is a muppet whose outfit changes more than I think people realize, but the slashed jeans were a great touch. Also in this episode, Scooter's shiny green jacket is replaced with more of a school-letterman-jacket look that I find appealing. Also, this was the beginning (I'm pretty sure) of Scooter getting relatively "cool" jeans instead of the sortof generic denims he wore as a teenager. (I find that Scooter has grown up very sweet and unaffected. and found him particularly unspoiled and appealing in The Muppets--first to pick up a broom and get to work--and just darling slumbering on his stomach in his hammock that night in the theater. But I digress....)
I like the nod to A Christmas Story that they do with the tongue on the flag pole. Especially the "double-frog dare you" line.
LTS
Piggy's spanking clothes. It was the first time a long time that I thought there had been some real thought put into Piggy's fashion, which was lovely. (Well, wait--there was that appearance on the Craig Ferguson show when she looked amazing....) But her plaid skirt, adorable tights and cute little kicking feet as she gets dragged into the mail-sorting machine are wonderful. It made me feel--for the first time--that Disney was sincere in their interest in her and were willing to take care of her like the diva she is.
I loved seeing Paul Williams as an elf. He was one of Jim's most fervent collaborators and an amazingly creative artist. (He worked on Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas when they were making it into a musical.) (Interestingly, another turn I love him in is when he voiced The Penguin in Batman: The Animated Series.)
One of the things I liked best about this special was the way Gonzo got to take the lead. Gonzo is such a complete and total lunatic that a little of him goes a long way, but here, were get to see his big heart.
Interestingly, two of the human leads in LTS are ALSO in the Kelsey Grammar version of A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004)--Jane Krakowski, who plays Claire's mom, played The Ghost of Christmas Past, and Jesse L. Martin, who plays the main postal worker and played The Ghost of Christmas Present. Ahh...the classics just keep circling....
Okay--I quit--y'all start, okay? Any fun observations are welcome!
