A Muppet Family Christmas Retrospective

Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Muppet Babies, and The Muppet Show. What do these four shows have in common? They’re all about Muppets, the lovable and iconic puppets created by the late Jim Henson. For seventy years now, Muppets have been entertaining kids and adults alike. but these days, giving them a crossover is all but impossible due to rights of ownership. However, that wasn’t the case. Not only did characters like Kermit make regular appearances on Sesame Street, but there’s actually a Christmas Special that had every Muppet share screen time together. Forget Infinity War, Endgame, and Smash Bros: A Muppet Family Christmas was the big crossover back in the day. Forty years later, this amazing holiday special still holds up.

It’s Christmas Eve, and the Muppets are headed to the farmhouse home of Fozzie’s mom to spend the holiday. Unfortunately, not only was Ma Bear not expecting them, she wasn’t even planning on being there. She plans to spend Christmas relaxing in Malibu while Doc and Sprocket from Fraggle Rock rent her home. When the Muppets and then the residents of Sesame Street start showing up, they have to share the place for Christmas.

Given that these are the Muppets, hijinks and musical numbers ensue.

The Ultimate Jim Henson Crossover

While the special is called A Muppet Family Christmas, it’s page on TV Tropes notes it’s more appropriate to call it A Jim Henson Family Christmas. That’s because it’s the largest gathering of Jim Henson’s famous puppets in one place. Throughout the special, the majority of the cast of The Muppet Show and Sesame Street at the time gathers at the farmhouse. While Kermit was known to make appearances on Sesame Street, this was, to the best of my knowledge, the most the casts of both shows ever interacted. And, frankly, it’s pretty entertaining to watch.

I’m not joking. It helps that performers like Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson played characters on both shows, but the chemistry between everyone is very organic. Seeing the Cookie Monster impress Animal by eating an entire plate of cookies? Funny. Having Oscar bunk with Rizzo the rat? It makes absolute sense. Seeing Big Bird win over the Swedish Chef with a homemade Christmas Gift before he has a chance to be cooked? An absolutely heartwarming site! This entire special is a Muppets fan’s dream come true!

While the cast of The Muppet Show and Sesame Street get the lion’s share, though, Jim Henson’s two other shows get some attention. Doc, the token human of Fraggle Rock, helps to keep things grounded. At first, he’s not happy his quiet Christmas is ruined, but as the special goes on, he warms up to all the weirdos. And, while their role is far more limited, the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock do make an appearance, even getting a musical number with Kermit and Robin. And we get to see the Muppet Babies in puppet form!

So Many Songs!

As befitting of something from The Muppets franchise, A Muppet Family Christmas includes many songs; twelve in total. Even more if you count the parts in the big medley as their own songs. Between the music, the jokes, and seeing characters that rarely get to share the screen interacting with each other, it’s a pretty solid special. Jim Henson even appears as himself near the very end. While his appearance becomes a bittersweet when you realize that the special comes out three years before his untimely death, it just makes it all the more meaningful to me.

Too bad it’s almost impossible to find this special on any streaming service, DVD or Blu-Ray.

A Muppet Family Christmas is free on YouTube

In the years since A Muppet Family Christmas came out, the franchise has been split between multiple different owners. Due to the issues with liscencing that ensue, this special has never gotten a full release on DVD or VHS. Putting it on Disney+ is possible, but that would involve Disney paying a fee to the Jim Henson Company and Sesame Street Workshop first. Thankfully, not only is the special on YouTube, but there are several versions of it. Including one with all the commercials included! If you want to watch it, here’s the link to one of them!

I watch A Muppet Family Christmas at least once a year around Christmas, and I don’t intend to break that tradition. If you like Jim Henson’s work, then you’re going to love A Muppet Family Christmas.