Today we begin with one of my favorites between my sister and me: "A Muppet Christmas Carol."
Since the days of VHS tapes, (Remember when we used to rewind video tapes? Oh, those were the days.) Courtney and I have had a deep, resounding love for this movie, to the point where we would watch it even in non-Christmas months. And while the classic message of the Christmas Carol still shines through, what makes this movie worthy of countless rewatching is the magic and hilarity of the Muppets. And the songs. The songs that I can still sing, word for word, to this day.
There was one song, however, that Courtney and I hated — hatred so deep, that we would fast forward over it just so we didn't have to suffer through it. That song is "When Love Is Gone."
It was sappy; it was overly sensitive; it featured people singing meaningfully about love and loss and blah blah blah... Court and I couldn't take it. We didn't want heartwarming ballads. We wanted slapstick, humor, a rat getting his tail set on fire ("Light the lamp, not the rat!"), not a sensitive, singing Michael Caine. And don't even get me started on the girl. She's just so awkward to watch. And whiny.
Unfortunately, that VHS went the way of your other sock, car keys, my recorder memory card, and bobby pins, getting lost in that mystical vortex of misplaced things, and we needed a replacement.
Enter the new and improved DVD version!
Popping it in, giddy with the promise of that weird little brown guy sitting on the roof (You know what I'm talking about, Courtney), we watched the Muppet magic in all of its digitally remastered glory.
And then came the song. With finger placed on the skip button, I was prepared to say bye-bye to that girl and her bonnet just like she was about to do to young Ebenezer. But the scene wasn't there to skip. It was gone! Apparently, enough people loathed that song that, when it was re-released, they did away with it completely! Alive with the promise that we'd never have to listen to that song again, we happily danced along, singing with the Spirit of Christmas Present.
And that, children, is what we call a Christmas miracle.
Since then, we've watched it together every year. Except this year. I'm not going to Nashville for Christmas, and Courtney no longer goes to Harding so can't come over before she goes home. I guess this means we'll have to watch it twice next year.
Now for you: What's your favorite Christmas movie — the one you must watch every year or it's just not Christmas?
And with that, I leave you with the weird little brown guy sitting on the roof. Totally worth it, isn't he?
No comments:
Post a Comment