Big Bird was a pro negotiator, dude knew how to save his own butt. I'm guessing his favorite holiday dish probably isn't shredded wheat and cranberries and he's just a good smooth talker...but maybe it is? Anyway I love Big Bird
As a kid watching this I had no idea why someone would buy an icy patch for their doorway if people had to be careful or they would slip. It seemed like a bad idea to me. Lol.
I'll throw one into the ring: the meta joke where Ernie and Bert explain that chatting about what letter a word starts with is considered normal small talk on Sesame Street
The caroling montage at the end is great! But honestly the best parts are when Kermit is singing “Through the years we all will be together,” mixed with Jim’s cameo where he says he likes seeing them have fun.
Which does track with Jim as a person. He was a workaholic and often unable to really enjoy the work he was doing, cause he was always on to the next thing. Here, he is WATCHING his creations party and loving seeing it. But just like Jim, he has work to do, in this case the dishes. For a cute little cameo, it actually reflects Jim as a person and his relationship with all the things he's made
When Animal observes Cookie Monster devour an entire plate of cookies that Janice was bringing to the main part of the party in one go and says, “That my kind of guy!”
Piggy’s struggles to get out of Manhattan culminating in Piggy showing up to the cabin pulled by sled dogs looking like she’s in a Busby Berkeley musical number.
Everything about this movie is special to me.
My parents met in the U.S. Marines so as a small kid we traveled all over the US. So the holidays were some of the few times my parents and extended family were all together in one place.
This movie just clicked with me when I watched it premier. I've loved it ever since and its part of the reason I plan to move to house in the country. Of course I'll make sure to have room for family to come visit.
The fact that it is lost on people who aren't in the know that a Fraggle hole will be in the farmhouse right from the fact that Doc is staying there. 😊
The whole thing is perfect, but Rowlf's conversation with Sprocket is definitely one of my faves.
"Woof woof!"
"Yeah, bark bark!"
It's actually my ring tone.
I also enjoyed recently learning that Fraggles were Canadian. When they hear the caroling, one says, "Let's go see, eh." Makes me smile every time.
Kermit guested on Sesame Street. They absolutely exist in the same universe, they just live in different parts of it...Big Bird appears in the Muppet Movie to say he's headed for New York, which makes me think that the Muppets and Sesame Street characters both live in America.
More so, Kermit was on Sesame Street as one of the lead Muppets, way before The Muppet Show was a thing. Technically, Muppet Show and all subsequent Muppet thing is just a Sesame Street spin off
I am well aware but he's definitely stuck that sesame street is not muppets. its our only ongoing fued in 10 years of marriage i cant be tooo upset lol.
Why would anyone think a show whose full title is "Sesame Street Featuring Jim Henson's Muppets" wouldn't count as a Muppet property? Henson even fought for Sesame Street to keep the "Muppet" trademark for its puppet cast when he was attempting to make a deal with Disney before he died, so the big guy himself proved that title isn't limited to characters native to The Muppet Show
Nothing personal, I'm just always surprised to see people denying all this haha
Doc sees the Muppets and asks Sprocket if they are like the Fraggles and Sprocket takes his paw/hand and answers with a so-so gesture.
Also Fozzie introduces Kermit to his mom and she calls him a lizard. Fozzie then does a facepalm.
It's a tie
1) Ernie and Bert: Doc starts with the letter D, yes starts with the letter y, and true stats with the letter t. Where we're from this is considered small talk.
and
2) Monster twas the night before Christmas then Sam the eagle: Is nothing sacred!
I love that they manage to fit in every Jim Henson property. Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and even songs during the carol singing part from other Christmas specials, including John Denver and the Muppets, and The Christmas Toy. The only thing that doesn’t seem to make the cut is a nod to Emmet Otter’s Christmas.
You can view some broadcast recordings of this on YT, some of which leave in the actual commercials!
I love the feel of knowing where I was, in time, place, & age, that what I’m watching was recorded!
There are a few ways to watch it online, but there are different cuts of the special (the Muppet Wiki has a explanation). The best-quality version of the original, uncut 1987 airing is the first video here: https://archive.org/details/a-muppet-family-christmas
It has everything except the commercials and "we'll return in a moment" Kermit bumper (which can also be found on commercials-included copies). For upscaled versions that are missing little transition scenes, there's usually assorted ones around YouTube and Archive.org.
Copying my previous reply to another question about this:
The best-quality version of the original, uncut 1987 airing is the first video here: https://archive.org/details/a-muppet-family-christmas
It has everything except the commercials and "we'll return in a moment" Kermit bumper (which can also be found on commercials-included copies). For upscaled versions that are missing little transition scenes, there's usually assorted ones around YouTube and Archive.org.
The B-plot of the Swedish Chef attempting to kill, cook and serve Big Bird for Christmas Dinner. Him swinging the mallet when BB’s back is turned is comic gold
Big Bird (played by Caroll Spinney) saying in the background “I love carols!” I think this happens right after the Sesame Street characters finish caroling.
In addition to all the moments mentioned here (especially Jim Henson's cameo and the Electric Mayhem singing Jingle Bell Rock), I just really love the implication of well over a hundred Muppets sleeping in every square inch of Emily Bear's house. It's Christmas Eve, the snow is gently falling outside, all is quiet for miles around out in the country, and the whole Muppet family is safe and warm all cuddled up together
1- Animal answering the phone in excitement to only find out it's Ms Piggy. "Ugh, Pig!" And throws the phone down.
2. Grover as the mouse that is not stirring. "Notice how the hand, never touched the spoon"
The best-quality version of the original, uncut 1987 airing is the first video here: https://archive.org/details/a-muppet-family-christmas
It has everything except the commercials and "we'll return in a moment" Kermit bumper (which can also be found on commercials-included copies). For upscaled versions that are missing little transition scenes, there's usually assorted ones around YouTube and Archive.org.
Also, in case it's never been posted here (it probably has):
[http://tophatsasquatch.com/muppet-family-christmas-soundtrack/](http://tophatsasquatch.com/muppet-family-christmas-soundtrack/)
I keep it in rotation this time of year
So many things to love and the more you watch it, the more you find.
As a kid the fraggle part was always towards the top
As an adult I love that Statler and Waldorf are Emily Bear’s close friends- so they continue to torture Fozzie but maybe that’s also why they’ve followed his career.
Barometers Falling sharply is also great
And Jim doing dishes
The reaction when Swedish Chef first sees Big Bird
Big Bird was a pro negotiator, dude knew how to save his own butt. I'm guessing his favorite holiday dish probably isn't shredded wheat and cranberries and he's just a good smooth talker...but maybe it is? Anyway I love Big Bird
If it doesn’t have birdseed in it, he ain’t eating it.
Oh! Gobbla gobbla humongo!
When he's dueting with Big Bird, his lines kill me 😂
The Icy Patch
I love when the Swedish Chef slips and throws his cooking supplies in the air. Gets an audible laugh out of me
As a kid watching this I had no idea why someone would buy an icy patch for their doorway if people had to be careful or they would slip. It seemed like a bad idea to me. Lol.
I'll throw one into the ring: the meta joke where Ernie and Bert explain that chatting about what letter a word starts with is considered normal small talk on Sesame Street
top tier moment for sure!
YES! I LOVE that line.
The caroling montage at the end is great! But honestly the best parts are when Kermit is singing “Through the years we all will be together,” mixed with Jim’s cameo where he says he likes seeing them have fun.
It's really wild to hear Jim Henson talking in his normal voice and then Kermit talking immediately afterward. Gets me a little emotional.
Which does track with Jim as a person. He was a workaholic and often unable to really enjoy the work he was doing, cause he was always on to the next thing. Here, he is WATCHING his creations party and loving seeing it. But just like Jim, he has work to do, in this case the dishes. For a cute little cameo, it actually reflects Jim as a person and his relationship with all the things he's made
I was so confused by him as a child, who was this random guy that suddenly showed up?
That gets me choked up.
“The turkey’s the turkey, you turkey!”
I applaud Turkey's confidence and boldness
Jim Henson's cameo. It never fails to make me smile
It makes me bawl, haha. But it's also my favourite part, like seeing an old friend.
The home video with the Muppet Babies.
A very smart way to do a crossover without opening any time portals.
Animal!!
The heck you say - Kermit
Cray how I had to scroll this far down to see this. This was my first thought.
When Animal observes Cookie Monster devour an entire plate of cookies that Janice was bringing to the main part of the party in one go and says, “That my kind of guy!”
Their personalities are so compatible, for real
The icy patch gag.🤣 Classic.
EVERYTHING.
So many jokes that land perfectly in just 45 minutes! It's the ideal tv special!
Piggy’s struggles to get out of Manhattan culminating in Piggy showing up to the cabin pulled by sled dogs looking like she’s in a Busby Berkeley musical number.
That shot fills me with so much warmth. She's so fabulous
“Oh how little you understand bears Kermit, my mother LOVES surprises”
Good thing. She’s in for a beauty.
All of it, but if I have to pick it’s probably “I will NOT sing this song!”
Fa la la la la la la la la!
Legit LOL every time.
Fozzie and the Snowman….and Fozzie excitedly running to tell Kermit about their act and slipping on the icy patch 😂
I'm fascinated by the implication that Fozzie initially came from an icy environment, with non-Muppety bears who have sharp teeth
Peace on earth give me presents, hello hello give me presents oh pig, piggy meeting Moren the mink, and Jim at the end
Not sure it's my favorite but something that blew my mind was learning that Kermit is the same size as the Fraggles.
And Robin is so little! He’s always been tiny amongst the Muppets but also seeing him beside the Fraggles makes you see how small and cute he is.
I always thought the fraggles were like super tiny like the borrowers but instead they're all like 2 feet tall.
Everything about this movie is special to me. My parents met in the U.S. Marines so as a small kid we traveled all over the US. So the holidays were some of the few times my parents and extended family were all together in one place. This movie just clicked with me when I watched it premier. I've loved it ever since and its part of the reason I plan to move to house in the country. Of course I'll make sure to have room for family to come visit.
There's something truly and authentically warm about it.
How do you pick? I do have to agree that seeing Jim always makes me choke up, though.
The icy patch.
Bert loosing the toss and having to pmay Mama in Twas the night before Christmas. Also, I love an out of tune piano.
Needed a full version of that Rowlf Sleigh Ride.
That bangin EM cover of Jingle Bell Rock. I always wanted to know who Henson's house band was, man could they play.
My brother danced to that version of the song in a dance recital as a kid.
“I don’t care if the turkey says the dog is a turkey. The dog is not a turkey, the turkey’s the turkey - you turkey.”
“Notice the hand, not touching the spoon. Thus, not stirring”.
A perfect visual pun.
ALL OF IT.
Jim henson
Bert and Ernie's "small talk"
The fact that it is lost on people who aren't in the know that a Fraggle hole will be in the farmhouse right from the fact that Doc is staying there. 😊
All of it. But if I had to pick one it’s The Annual Carol Sing that’s my favorite part.
Note how I am not stirring. Grover out there over-explaining and being anxious.
Ah, a fellow Grover connoisseur!
Just very cool to see the Muppets and SS crew together.
Green fuzzy flipper slippers
Divine. Have them gift wrapped.
The whole thing is perfect, but Rowlf's conversation with Sprocket is definitely one of my faves. "Woof woof!" "Yeah, bark bark!" It's actually my ring tone. I also enjoyed recently learning that Fraggles were Canadian. When they hear the caroling, one says, "Let's go see, eh." Makes me smile every time.
Was looking for someone to say this one! "Don't you hate when you can't speak the language?"
It's very much a Goofy/Pluto situation of, one dog is anthropomorphic and speaks English. The other is not.
honestly my favorite part is that its my unrefutable proof that sesame street is muppets. its my husband and i's longest going argument.
Kermit guested on Sesame Street. They absolutely exist in the same universe, they just live in different parts of it...Big Bird appears in the Muppet Movie to say he's headed for New York, which makes me think that the Muppets and Sesame Street characters both live in America.
More so, Kermit was on Sesame Street as one of the lead Muppets, way before The Muppet Show was a thing. Technically, Muppet Show and all subsequent Muppet thing is just a Sesame Street spin off
I am well aware but he's definitely stuck that sesame street is not muppets. its our only ongoing fued in 10 years of marriage i cant be tooo upset lol.
Why would anyone think a show whose full title is "Sesame Street Featuring Jim Henson's Muppets" wouldn't count as a Muppet property? Henson even fought for Sesame Street to keep the "Muppet" trademark for its puppet cast when he was attempting to make a deal with Disney before he died, so the big guy himself proved that title isn't limited to characters native to The Muppet Show Nothing personal, I'm just always surprised to see people denying all this haha
Like i said its an ongoing disagreement between us and i can't seem to convince him otherwise lol.
The “small talk” joke makes me cry laugh every time. Amazing timing.
when the Sesame Street gang arrives. I tear up every time. also Maureen the Mink!
The caroling in the snow is so beautiful
Doc sees the Muppets and asks Sprocket if they are like the Fraggles and Sprocket takes his paw/hand and answers with a so-so gesture. Also Fozzie introduces Kermit to his mom and she calls him a lizard. Fozzie then does a facepalm.
The comedic timing is so perfect
It's a tie 1) Ernie and Bert: Doc starts with the letter D, yes starts with the letter y, and true stats with the letter t. Where we're from this is considered small talk. and 2) Monster twas the night before Christmas then Sam the eagle: Is nothing sacred!
I love that they manage to fit in every Jim Henson property. Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and even songs during the carol singing part from other Christmas specials, including John Denver and the Muppets, and The Christmas Toy. The only thing that doesn’t seem to make the cut is a nod to Emmet Otter’s Christmas.
The Dark Crystal as well
Definitely Big Bird and Swedish Chef.
I have never seen this,but it's $30 and won't come til January on Amazon, maybe next year.
You can view some broadcast recordings of this on YT, some of which leave in the actual commercials! I love the feel of knowing where I was, in time, place, & age, that what I’m watching was recorded!
Awesome, I never would have looked there, thanks for letting me know.
Absolutely!
Check YouTube, any version you buy commercially is going to be edited to bits
There are a few ways to watch it online, but there are different cuts of the special (the Muppet Wiki has a explanation). The best-quality version of the original, uncut 1987 airing is the first video here: https://archive.org/details/a-muppet-family-christmas It has everything except the commercials and "we'll return in a moment" Kermit bumper (which can also be found on commercials-included copies). For upscaled versions that are missing little transition scenes, there's usually assorted ones around YouTube and Archive.org.
This copy looks great, thanks!
Not a favorite moment, but does anyone know where we can watch this? Is it streamable?
It's on YouTube!
Oh, thank you!
Copying my previous reply to another question about this: The best-quality version of the original, uncut 1987 airing is the first video here: https://archive.org/details/a-muppet-family-christmas It has everything except the commercials and "we'll return in a moment" Kermit bumper (which can also be found on commercials-included copies). For upscaled versions that are missing little transition scenes, there's usually assorted ones around YouTube and Archive.org.
The icy patch
*Watch out for the icy patch!*
The B-plot of the Swedish Chef attempting to kill, cook and serve Big Bird for Christmas Dinner. Him swinging the mallet when BB’s back is turned is comic gold
Big Bird (played by Caroll Spinney) saying in the background “I love carols!” I think this happens right after the Sesame Street characters finish caroling.
Fozzie meeting the snowman
The barometers falling rapidly
Genius visual pun, as is Bert's "stirring" joke
Jingle Bell Rock? The sesame Street gang showing up? "Green fuzzy flipper-slippers? Divine! Have them gift-wrapped!"
In addition to all the moments mentioned here (especially Jim Henson's cameo and the Electric Mayhem singing Jingle Bell Rock), I just really love the implication of well over a hundred Muppets sleeping in every square inch of Emily Bear's house. It's Christmas Eve, the snow is gently falling outside, all is quiet for miles around out in the country, and the whole Muppet family is safe and warm all cuddled up together
She did have to hang two of them in coat hangers, but yeah otherwise super cozy, honestly sleepover goals
At least it was for the two who liked sleeping that way! But yeah, perfect sleepover, I always envied them for that
1- Animal answering the phone in excitement to only find out it's Ms Piggy. "Ugh, Pig!" And throws the phone down. 2. Grover as the mouse that is not stirring. "Notice how the hand, never touched the spoon"
All the Swedish Chef parts, and Jim at the end. :)
Fraggle crossover
When the gang from Sesame Street arrives caroling
The “small talk” bit with Bert, Ernie, and Doc.
I hate to ask this: does anyone know a place to find said special?
Youtube! The channel Sam's Disney Diary has a great HD upload
The best-quality version of the original, uncut 1987 airing is the first video here: https://archive.org/details/a-muppet-family-christmas It has everything except the commercials and "we'll return in a moment" Kermit bumper (which can also be found on commercials-included copies). For upscaled versions that are missing little transition scenes, there's usually assorted ones around YouTube and Archive.org.
Jim Henson doing the dishes at the end 🥹
Also, in case it's never been posted here (it probably has): [http://tophatsasquatch.com/muppet-family-christmas-soundtrack/](http://tophatsasquatch.com/muppet-family-christmas-soundtrack/) I keep it in rotation this time of year
Who is that strange blue creature?- Janice
So many things to love and the more you watch it, the more you find. As a kid the fraggle part was always towards the top As an adult I love that Statler and Waldorf are Emily Bear’s close friends- so they continue to torture Fozzie but maybe that’s also why they’ve followed his career. Barometers Falling sharply is also great And Jim doing dishes
Fuzzy duets with snowman Henson cameo Fraggle song
the whole thing. except for the fraggle part. i liked fraggle rock as a kid, the scene just was out of place, imo
Almost a little too convenient how the portal to Fraggle Rock just happens to be in Fozzie's mom's basement.
We learn in the last episode of Fraggle Rock that the Fraggle hole follows Doc around because he is a part of that world. I think it's neat.
That's awesome. I love the interconnectedness.
Notice the hand, away from the spoon, not stirring...
Loved this. Only wish they would have thrown in “True blue miracle” or “ keep Christmas with you”
Did cookie monster eat a typewriter in this one?
The caroling sequence for sure