The Muppet Christmas Carol director explains reason for omission that caused ‘critical kickback’

Michael Caine starred in the 1992 children’s film alongside a cast of puppets

Brian Henson, the director of The Muppet Christmas Carol, has opened up about the making of the beloved Charles Dickens spoof.

Released in 1992, The Muppet Christmas Carol is a retelling of A Christmas Carol starring Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, amid a cast of muppets.

The film was warmly received upon its release, and is widely considered a high point of the muppet franchise and a modern Christmas classic.

In a new interview with Metro, Henson – the son of legendary muppet puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson – said that press had initially been “very critical” of his decision to omit certain muppets from the cast.

“I made a decision that if we can’t find a delightful spot to cast a well-known Muppet character, we just won’t put them in the movie,” he said.

“So Rowlf the dog isn’t in the movie; the Electric Mayhem band are just in the back of Fozziwig’s playing a song, but they’re not characters; the Swedish Chef isn’t in it ever. We decided to just not worry about that, if we couldn’t find someplace to cast a favourite.”

There was also, he added, a more personal factor in his decision to leave some characters out of the adaptation – the death of his father Jim in 1990.

Michael Caine in 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (Disney)

“You’re also hearing I was avoiding my dad’s characters other than Kermit, because Dr Teeth was [voiced by] my dad,” he said. “I was like, ‘We can work on Kermit, but I’m not ready to work on Dr Teeth; I’m not ready to work on Rowlf the dog. Scooter’s not in it.

“There’s a lot of favourites that that aren’t in the movie, and I got some critical kickback because of that as well.”

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Henson also addressed Caine’s performance as Scrooge, which has been celebrated for its sincerity despite the presence of muppets around him.

“It’s because he’s an excellent comedian that he knew that playing it straight was going to make the comedy even better that was coming from the Muppets,” Henson said.

“If I had gotten a purely dramatic actor out of England – of which there are many terrific ones – without those comedic chops, I think they would always feel like, I’m not doing this right. I should be funny, I should have my moments because I’m in a Muppet movie…”

He added: “And Michael, because his career is sort of half comedy, half drama – he definitely got it and so he never was ever insecure about that choice.”

The Muppet Christmas Carol is available to stream in the UK on Disney+.