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lttp: A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) - Where all muppet worlds collide

Wag

Wag

Member
Nov 3, 2017
11,638



I just watched this and it was great. We have appearances from all the muppet worlds, The Muppets, Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. Shot just a few years before Jim Henson died, so this is just an amazing production all around. I highly recommend if you haven't seen this to give it a watch. It's a lot more fun than some of the recent Muppet productions, some of the jokes really had me rollin'.

It's really too bad the newer productions can't really capture the magic that was lost since Jim Henson died.
 
J2C

J2C

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,397
I think its awesome. And timing wise to have Jim Henson and Frank Oz's contributions, its really enjoyable to watch
 

Brandino

Banned
Jan 9, 2018
2,098
I've been trying to find this for awhile, but couldn't remember the name of it. Thanks OP
 
PrettyBigPotato

PrettyBigPotato

Member
Oct 27, 2020
238
I haven't seen this in years, but I remember really enjoying it more so than some of the Muppet movies. I'll have to give it a rewatch and see if it still holds up for me.

Thanks for the link OP.
 
Rydeen

Rydeen

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,499
Seattle, WA.
One of the best Christmas specials ever, and one of the best Muppet productions made for TV. My grandmother had taped it on it's original premiere broadcast during the holiday season of 1987 and we watched it regularly during Christmas-time. Seeing Jim's on-screen cameo at the end never ceases to put a lump in my throat, left us way too soon, what a creative giant and genius.
 
Rocky Road

Rocky Road

Member
Jun 1, 2018
899
It's so sad that due to Disney's copyright and ego we'll probably never see anything like this again. This is one of those things that just perfectly embodies the characters and worlds Jim Henson created and I love it so much. Wonderful to see it archived on YouTube.
 
ignata

ignata

Member
Dec 26, 2017
825
Denver
The best Christmas special, the only one that truly deserves a thread. Everyone needs to see it. It is no joke, everybody is in this.

Wag said:
Pre-Elmo (thank God).
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This is actually post-Elmo, but before super popular Elmo. Elmo was instrumental in helping Big Bird getting the grown-ups to see Snuffy (which also happened prior to this special) so I will be forever grateful to him.

Elmo didn't ruin Sesame Street, budgets did.
 
SbnaS

SbnaS

Member
Sep 3, 2018
474
My sister and her family and I watch this every year. We watched it a couple days ago while decorating her tree. My nephews groaned when she put it on, "Not the icy patch" as icy patch is what we call this one.
 
Terrell

Terrell

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,624
Canada
SbnaS said:
My sister and her family and I watch this every year. We watched it a couple days ago while decorating her tree. My nephews groaned when she put it on, "Not the icy patch" as icy patch is what we call this one.
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As you should. "Careful of the icy patch" is practically a seasonal meme for my family, even though we've likely not seen this Christmas special in about 10 years.
 

Deleted member 3082

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,099
I watched it all the time when I was a kid (we taped it off television) and now my wife and I watch it every Christmas Eve when we're relaxing and exchanging gifts after dinner. Always get a little choked up seeing Henson at the end.
 
OP
OP
Wag

Wag

Member
Nov 3, 2017
11,638
I just watched the mostly terrible It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) where Gonzo is homeless, Fozzie is a thief and Miss Piggy lives in a rundown hotel turning tricks. lol
 
samred

samred

Amico fun conversationalist
Member
Nov 4, 2017
2,585
Seattle, WA
for anyone unversed in this special, OP's embed is the unedited version, which means the Muppet Babies segment doesn't end abruptly. later home video versions edited out a few licensed Christmas songs, because heaven forbid their rightsholders let some Muppets be festive with the season.
 
DredPirateStorm

DredPirateStorm

Member
Oct 27, 2017
616
Newnan, GA
I have a bootleg DVD of this show that someone burned from a VHS they took of the TV airing. So it has all of the songs missing from the official versions. This was always my favorite Christmas show.
 
thecouncil

thecouncil

Member
Oct 29, 2017
12,333
that final christmas medley is excellent.
followed by, "yup. i like it when they have a good time."
its all very great. the whole thing.

amazing bit of puppetry at 19:30 when swedish chef throws the pan and the turkey ducks. lol.
 
Danby

Danby

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 7, 2020
3,014
ignata said:
The best Christmas special, the only one that truly deserves a thread. Everyone needs to see it. It is no joke, everybody is in this.



This is actually post-Elmo, but before super popular Elmo. Elmo was instrumental in helping Big Bird getting the grown-ups to see Snuffy (which also happened prior to this special) so I will be forever grateful to him.

Elmo didn't ruin Sesame Street, budgets did.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Elmo can even been seen briefly in "follow that bird," which was enough apparantly to stick him on the dvd cover.
 
ConVito

ConVito

Member
Oct 16, 2018
3,087
Easily the best Christmas special of any franchise. It's charming, genuinely funny (the "barometers are falling sharply" joke isn't super funny on paper, but somehow the way they executed it was hysterical), and a nice little time capsule with the taped version we used to have since it featured all those old commercials. We lost the tape a while back, but it's good that there's always a taped version somewhere on YouTube.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,555
Terrell said:
As you should. "Careful of the icy patch" is practically a seasonal meme for my family, even though we've likely not seen this Christmas special in about 10 years.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yup, I still reference the damn icy patch in 2020. I make jokes about it every winter.

xfr6Hq.gif
 
Garp TXB

Garp TXB

Member
Apr 1, 2020
6,295
My son is seven and I still can't get him into the muppets. Feels bad. I'm not one to forcefully push my childhood pop culture loves on my kid, but this is a big one. Oh well!
 
Naijaboy

Naijaboy

The Fallen
Mar 13, 2018
15,253
Crazy that the most ambitious crossover was all time happened all the way back in 1987.

But in all seriousness, it was a nice and homely story.
 
ForKevdo

ForKevdo

Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,098
I watch it every year with my family, we even have a fraggle rock that we pass on between us :D
 
tidewatersouthern

tidewatersouthern

Member
Nov 27, 2020
4,246
Muppets: Endgame
Seriously though, this is a fantastic and amazingly sweet special. I love the Chef going after Big Bird and Big Bird winning him over.
 
Pendas

Pendas

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,646
Holy shit at the end of that video.... teasing to a news segment about harvested baby organs during the credits of a Christmas special. Wow.
 
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