Anthony Strand: Season’s greetings, Matthew! Last year, we discussed the controversial 2007 special Elmo’s Christmas Countdown. This year, we’re sticking with the “10 years later” theme, talking about A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa.
Matthew Soberman: Joyeux Noel, Anthony! Yep, another year, another decade. Man, I remember being really excited for this special when it first aired. I think it’s the first time I really took a serious dive into the Muppet fandom.
Anthony: I was already a cynical, jaded old man. Did you enjoy it at the time?
Matthew: I remember thinking it was very okay. I rewatched it for the purposes of this piece, expecting my views to change, but to my surprise, I found them reinforced. It’s pleasant, but I found very little that was memorable. And maybe that’s what bugs me: the idea is great, but in the vast canon of Muppet Christmas material, there isn’t really anything that stands out.
Anthony: My opinion of it has definitely improved, but not much. At the time, I thought it was absolutely awful – just the dullest thing the Muppets had ever done. I remember remarking that it was a sign they should it hang it up for good. But in the years since, they’ve done a bunch of better stuff, which makes this one less depressing somehow. It’s pleasant enough now that I know it isn’t the Muppets’ last gasp.
Matthew: Yeah, I guess we can get caught up in what the Muppets are doing right now that hindsight tends to soften our view of things. I think that’s why ten years is a good time to revisit some of these specials.
Anthony: So do we want to talk about the highlights or the lowlights first?
Matthew: Well, I always like to get the bad out of the way first, because there is something I really love about this special and I’d like to end on a high note. (Foreshadowing!) Here’s what got me: I had around three good belly laughs from this special, but around two minutes later, when I tried to remember what I thought was really funny, I completely blanked. Nothing sticks in your memory, like, say, A Muppet Family Christmas or Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. A good Muppet project has to have something you can remember.
Anthony: Agreed. The writing is painfully generic. The Muppets have never felt as bland as they do here. This could just as well be a script for some B-level network sitcom, and that just makes me sad. If I wanted to watch Modern Family season 7, I would.
Matthew: A few years ago, I was lucky to have a conversation with someone who’s written for the Muppets, and he told me that the hallmark of a good Muppet script is that if you take the Muppets’ names out of the script, you can still tell it’s a Muppet project. Here, it feels like with very little changes, this could be a fit for Mickey Mouse and friends, or the Looney Tunes. There’s little that makes this specifically a Muppet project.
Anthony: Heartbreakingly, that extends to Paul Williams’ songs. Up to now, he had a spotless track record when writing songs for the Muppets, but here he turns in four perfectly adequate songs that I already can’t remember.
Matthew: I can agree with you on three of those songs, but after listening to Paul speak at the Museum of the Moving Image last week, I have a newfound appreciation for “I Wish I Could be Santa Claus.” That’s the one thing I remember from this special, especially the lyric, “it’s not about the suit and not the man.” It’s about kindness and generosity, not the superficial stuff. To me, that is perfectly Paul Williams. He also called it one of the top five songs he’s ever written. That impressed me.
Anthony: Well, tell Paul Williams to come speak in Minneapolis so I too can gain the necessary extratextual information to appreciate it.
Matthew: Personally, if I had the means, I’d love for Paul Williams to go everywhere and talk about his Muppet work. But I digress. It’s a really sweet, soulful song, which oddly enough, gives Gonzo and Fozzie a solo spotlight. How often do we see just the two of them together?
Anthony: Almost never, and that is pretty cool. I can’t argue with that. Anyway, you’re making me want to give it another listen, so I have to admit you make a compelling case.
Matthew: Another good mark: it really feels like Eric Jacobson is really starting to find his groove performing Frank Oz’s characters here. These transitions can take years to adjust, so it’s good to see him really start to spread his wings here.
Anthony: Fozzie especially. Piggy mostly just gets to do “I’m such a diva! I love being extravagant!” material here, so Eric doesn’t make much to work with. But Fozzie has a good mix of jokes and more heartfelt moments, and Eric handles both more skillfully than he did in It’s a Grinchity Fozzity Mission Impossible Christmas.
Matthew: Or The Muppets’ (Thank Goodness They’re Giving Kermit Another Chance at) Wizard of Oz. Yeah, I think this is the moment I knew Eric was the perfect person for Fozzie. But getting back to the last negative point I had about the script: I think the ending is too neat. The fact that the three letters are all from people they know or met on their journey feels like a cop-out. (Or perhaps a TSA agent-out, as the case may be.)
Anthony: Yeah, that’s silly.
Matthew: It just felt like they needed an ending that brought the Muppets back together for the holidays, which, let’s be honest, we all knew was going to happen. I honestly thought it would be better if they came to that conclusion on their own from the journey they took.
Anthony: Yes, this feels way too easy. I especially dislike that one of the letters is from Pepe, who spends the whole special talking about how Santa is for babies. That’s actually much more in character for him the reveal that he believes in Santa. It just cheapens him, and by extension the whole story.
Matthew: Yeah, what’s with that? He and Rizzo keep this whole machismo thing going, when it turns out they both believe in Santa. How come they never talk about that?
Anthony: Because the writing doesn’t actually care about these characters. The only goal here is to fill 42 minutes of NBC’s schedule. You know who does care though? The guest stars! It’s never a good sign when humans are the best thing about a Muppet special, but they really do spice this one up.
Matthew: For a hour-long special, they managed to get some pretty great guest stars.
Anthony: I think my favorite is Uma Thurman, who seems to be having an absolute blast. She just radiates excitement every second she’s on screen. How about you?
Matthew: Thurman is probably the best in this, though Nathan Lane runs a close second as Officer Meany. He just radiates loathing, and he’s got good chemistry with Bobo.
Anthony: Uncle Deadly-level chemistry with Bobo, yes! Jane Krakowski is also really great, doing wonders with the thankless role of “Claire’s annoyed mom”.
Matthew: This special doesn’t have nearly enough Jane Krakowski.
Anthony: How do you feel about Claire herself, the little girl played by Disney Channel star Madison Pettis? Pettis is fine, but her presence feels very Sesame Street to me, which is another sign that the writers don’t know what differentiates these Muppets from those other Muppets.
Matthew: I think she’s fine. I guess my issue is more with the fact that Claire and her mom feel more like a plot device designed to keep the Muppets together for Christmas. They don’t feel altogether organic to the story.
Anthony: Nothing about this special is organic!
Matthew: Also, Whoopi Goldberg has a great one-line cameo. I think that’s a testament to the fact that she seems willing to work with the Muppets whenever they ask. I love that kind of support.
Anthony: Yeah, it’s always nice to see Whoopi, a person who loves the Muppets so much that she voiced a badger with dreadlocks on an episode of Bear in the Big Blue House one time.
But man, there really are a ton of cameos in this. It’s always a treat to hear Jesse L. Martin sing, even though he’s just singing that weird product placement for the US Postal Service. Hopefully he’ll have more to do when The Flash visits Earth-Muppets someday.
Matthew: Or when circumstances require the Muppets to star in a production of Rent.
Anthony: Less impressive are Tony Sirico and Steve Schrripa, who show up to do moldy old mafia jokes that were outdated by the time the movie Johnny Dangerously did them in the 80s. That might be my least favorite scene in this, and I liked them in that other thing we talked about last year. (How weird that those two are the connective tissue between these two specials, by the way?)
Matthew: Well, beyond the Muppet performers.
Anthony: Ha, right! Eric Jacobson, Steve Whitmire, Matt Vogel, David Rudman, and two supporting cast members from The Sopranos. The classic Muppet lineup.
Matthew: You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Sirico perform “Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear.”
Anthony: That’s what this special needed! Anyway, we should wrap up. What are your final thoughts about Letters to Santa: A Muppets Contractual Obligation?
Matthew: All jokes aside, it’s a perfectly fine way to spend an hour. If you’ve got the DVD, the outtakes are funny, and I still think the “Glad All Over” video is clever and fun. For all its flaws, it’s still an enjoyable time. Just don’t ask me what I thought was the funniest moment was. I’ll never remember it.
Anthony: So there you have it! We both agree – it’s less painful than Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree, but also less memorable.
Matthew: I should’ve asked Santa for a more memorable special.
Click here to accidentally forget to talk about Santa in his own special on the ToughPigs forum!
by Matthew Soberman and Anthony Strand
