2.76 |
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What a pleasant surprise this movie wasn’t vetoed. I’ve seen a few plays and movies of this same story - and I think this one may be #1. However, I’m not sure if I’m being objective - Chelsea forced me to watch this our first year dating - now it’s a tradition.
Most of you seemingly hate musicals so this may fit into that category, but my musical cap is A+ so here we go. There is some blatantly cheesy humor here and I love it - talking melons and econ jokes in the first 60 seconds hooked me. I’ve mentioned not being a fan of talking to the viewer, but I think it works for the narrators here.
The music in this is fantastic. “There goes Mr. Humbug, there goes Mr. Grim...” starts this movie off right. “One more sleep til Christmas” starts a little slow, but it’s so damn happy! “It feels like Christmas” belongs on everyone’s Spotify Xmas playlist.
The puppeteering is spot on. The design of the puppets and their voiceovers are done incredibly well. The I loved the artistry. Michael Cane is a great grump. It was nice to hear him sing at the end - anytime a celebrity opens up to sing I think of Pierce Brosnon in ‘Mama Mia’ and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
A few negatives keep this out of A territory for me. I find Kermit and Miss Piggy irritating in general. The ghost of Christmas past (edit) is incredibly creepy in a bad art decision sort of way. Also, a few of the scenes are a touch too long.
Overall, this is just a happy movie. You can tell it’s made for children, but having watched one too many Daniel Tiger episodes, it never dives into that annoying territory. Also, at 1 hour and 12 minutes it’s a good length. Opening bid is B+. I was B-, but the more I watch it (twice this year) the more small things I catch and the more I hum along.
10:1 says Jon refers to something or someone as undigested beef in the next 30 days.