‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ 30th Anniversary: How to Watch (with Deleted Scene)
God bless us, everyone! Marking its 30th anniversary on Dec. 11, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” features Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge in a musical comedy adaptation of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” featuring a full supporting cast of your favorite muppets.
If you want to snuggle up and watch Kermit, Gonzo, Rizzo, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the Muppets in this holiday classic this season, you can watch it (and its deleted love song scene) with a Subscription to Disney+.
How to Watch ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ and deleted scene
The Muppet Christmas Carol
A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
“The Muppet Christmas Carol” is available to stream for free with the deleted scene on Disney+ through a premium or ad-supported subscription. To play the movie within the Disney+ app, simply hit search and type “Muppet Christmas Carol.”
You can also find it by:
- Select the search icon within the Disney+ app.
- Click on the “All Collections” tile (usually in the bottom right corner).
- Scroll down to the “Disney” section where there is a Muppet Collection.
- Select “The Muppet Christmas Carol” tile from all of the Muppets’ movies found on Disney+.
To play the full-length film with the deleted scene:
- Go to the movie’s page within the Disney+ app.
- Scroll down below the movie’s description.
- Click on “Extras.”
- Select: “The Muppet Christmas Carol (Full-Length Film) (89m)”
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Or to watch the deleted scene only, select: “Deleted Song: When Love is Gone” from the Extras section.
Don’t have Disney+? The movie is also available to rent or purchase (albeit without the deleted scene) from Amazon for $3.79, iTunes, or Vudu.
About ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ and its deleted scene
“The Muppet Christmas Carol” is a heartwarming musical film that tells the story of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” using the characters from the Muppet franchise. In the film, Kermit the Frog plays the role of Bob Cratchit, the loyal but underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Michael Caine.
The film follows the same basic storyline as the original book, with Scrooge being visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future and ultimately learning the true meaning of Christmas. It is not only a perfect introduction to Dickens’ story for younger viewers, but also to the Muppets as well, given the film’s classic comedic elements.
The missing scene
Around the 45th minute of the original movie, a ballad titled “When Love Is Gone” is sung to a young Ebenezer Scrooge by his fiancée, Belle. The song was originally removed from the film because Disney felt it wouldn’t appeal to young viewers. When the song was cut from the cinema release, Brian Henson (Son of Jim Henson and the director of the movie) stated in 2018 that the video master was also lost and the negative could not be found.
Henson explained that at the time it was felt the film didn’t justify a love ballad and a producer thought the song was too “sophisticated emotionally” for children to relate to. Henson agreed to remove it from the theatrical release and then put it back in for all of the television and video releases from then on. As planned, the VHS copies of the film included the song, but when it was scheduled to go to DVD, only the cinematic master could be located. It wasn’t until 2020, when the film was being remastered in 4k, that the lost piece of film was discovered.
Some Interesting Facts about “The Muppet Christmas Carol”:
- It was the first Muppet film to be released after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson.
- It was directed by Brian Henson, Jim Henson’s son, and was dedicated to his father’s memory.
- Michael Caine, who played Scrooge, was a huge fan of the Muppets and had been wanting to work with them for many years.
- The film features several original songs, including “One More Sleep ‘Til Christmas” and “It Feels Like Christmas,” which were both nominated for Academy Awards. (Maybe if the deleted song “When Love is Gone” was nominated, it may have stayed in the movie.)
- “The Muppet Christmas Carol” was the first Muppets movie to be produced by The Walt Disney Company. They purchased the entire Muppets franchise 12 years later in 2004.
Also, did you know that many of the traditions that we now associate with Christmas, such as sending Christmas cards, decorating the Christmas tree, and singing Christmas carols, were popularized by Charles Dicken’s novel? Now you know.
How to Stream “The Muppet Christmas Carol” on Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Android, and iOS
There are five major streaming apps that offer the movie, but Disney+ is the only one where you can stream as part of your ongoing subscription. It is not found on Netflix, Paramount+, or Peacock.
The other four apps that provide you to watch “The Muppet Christmas Carol” for rent or purchase are Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu. You can watch any of these on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and Web. We’d suggest you stream it with Disney+.
What to watch after ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’:
If you are still in the mood for more Muppets and their holiday shenanigans, Disney+ also has A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa which came out in 2008 and runs for 45 minutes.
Other than that, check out our ongoing list of the best holiday movies to stream. There are plenty of options for everyone in the family.
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Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”
