I am a bit of a Muppets fan, when their not being too cheesy and concentrating more on entertaining both the kids and the adults, annoyingly, this is one of the times when they are cheesy in this short TV movie. Basically it is Christmas Eve and the Muppets: Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmire), The Great Gonzo (Dave Goelz), Fozzie Bear (Eric Jacobson, replacing Frank Oz), Pepe the Prawn (Bill Barretta) and Rizzo the Rat (also Whitmire), are all sending their letters to Santa in the North Pole. It is when they return to their apartment that Gonzo notices three letters, including one from his best friend, sweet little girl and neighbour Claire (Madison Pettis), have been undelivered. After trying a few attempts to find a way to get the letters delivered, Gonzo insists that all the male Muppets should help him take the letters to the North Pole themselves, while mean Miss Piggy (also Jacobson) stays behind for a vacation. They get a ride from Taxi Driver (Whoopi Goldberg) to the airport and find North Pole Airlines, where clerk Joy (Uma Thurman) gives them their tickets, before getting caught by a security guard. Officer Frank Meany (Nathan Lane), who has been a bully since not receiving his most wanted present from Santa, eventually lets them go, but they only get to the North Pole hanging tight onto the plane wing. After looking like they are too late to see Santa Claus (Richard Griffiths), he overhears them and comes down to give them a sleigh ride, and read the letters, Claire's, Meany and Pepe, before dropping them off home, and it turns out all Claire wanted was friends round. Also starring Whitmire as Statler and Beaker, Goelz as Waldorf, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Zoot, Barretta as Swedish Chef, Rowlf and Dr. Teeth, Jacobson as Animal and Sam the Eagle, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jane Krakowski as Claire's Mom, Steve Schirripa and Tony Sirico as Mobsters and Paul Williams as Elf. There aren't really any highlights I can remember in this, apart from of course the cast cameos, but even they and the puppet characters we have grown to love over the years can't save this from schmaltzy Christmas mush, a silly short seasonal family comedy adventure. It was nominated the Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the Paul Williams song "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus". Adequate!
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
(2008 TV Movie)
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
16 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers