Truly Dreadful Film

Simply Perfect

How sad is this?

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The Muppets are no strangers to the Holidays. They have had many a film produced incorporating Christmas related themes. The best and most popular of them all was The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). But that hasn't stopped the Henson Company. Before Kermit and his friends came back with their return film The Muppets (2011), they were still doing productions for the small screen. Prior to this, another holiday made for TV production was released - It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002). Other than that, this is the Muppet's latest outing at the holiday season. Is really good? Mmmmm,..not unanimously but it is decent enough to be seen.This time, viewers follow their favorite characters at the post office waiting to send their holiday mail. When Gonzo forgets to put his in the mail, it's up to Kermit and friends to find a way to get them to Santa on time. Here's what does work. First and foremost, The Muppets (and voice-actors) themselves. They are always key and the fact that they were of main focus all the time was great. The humor also works because of the certain situations Kermit and his friends get into. The gags range from bad jokes, silly puns and goofy reactions the Muppets make. Thankfully, these eye-inducing moments aren't as bad they could be because it's the Muppets. Another element that will have viewers happy to see is the tone of this movie. Unlike It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie(2002) which had a very mean spirited tone, this feature has a much more upbeat feel and that's especially good.Another good component was the cameos of various actors. This ranges from Whoopi Goldberg, Uma Thurman, Nathan Lane and even Michael Bloomberg. Camera-work by Luke Geissbuhler (the DP of Borat (2006)) was appropriate as was Chris Caswell's musical score. However, this is where things don't work. For one, the running time is too short. Yes it is a TV movie, but so was It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) and was well over an hour. The problem with this is that it cuts everything down to an unnecessary length. This goes for cast cameos and even the Muppet characters. That can be a bit frustrating if this is a Muppet Movie and you only see a few of the Muppets instead of the whole bunch for more than five minutes.Along with that is issue of writing. The story for this movie is cute but again, with a shortened running time, everything must fall in place quickly or it won't work. With this comes cliché and convenient contrivances that either defy logic or are impossible to begin with. It's not to say it isn't funny or doesn't work but the story almost had a finale that would've seemed more mature and realistic than what was chosen. There can always be a happy ending but that doesn't mean it has to be exactly the way the audience expects it to be. Adding to the bit of blandness are the songs that the Muppets sing composed by Paul Williams. It's not that they bore but they're not as memorable as other Paul Williams pieces. It certainly won't be an hour wasted but it could've been better.It has all of the basic components to make a really good Muppet Christmas movie but it instead comes off as fairly generic. The main problem is its running time, which trims down several parts that make up a good Muppet film.

I love the Muppets, the show and most of their movies. However, this special was a big disappointment. Granted it has its good points, I loved the chemistry between Kermit and Miss Piggy, the production values are at least decent and I liked Gonzo very much here. Also the Muppet performers do do a decent job with weak material.Pretty much everything else is a big disappointment. The story was fresh and original I agree at first glance, but it was a completely different story when it came to the execution. Most of it actually is very predictable and rushed. This isn't helped by the fact it is too short.I also agree about the special's writing. The script is pretty much terrible, Gonzo and Fozzie have their moments but most of the other Muppet parts are under-written and very rarely was it funny. The jokes were also very lame and childish, and the sentimentality gets mushy.The music was also a big disappointment. Other than Gonzo and Fozzie's duet, which was compared to everything else delightful, the music is little more than mediocre and I say forgettable too. The lyrics are also trite and the melodies are unmemorable afterwards.The Muppets do try their best, and I was thrilled at the return of some old favourites, but let down severely by bad material, and I missed Gonzo and Rizzo's chemistry which was always delightful. The cameos are even more disappointing. Some of the characters are somewhat superfluous to the story or are poorly explored- I concur that the whole believing in Santa thing was quite poorly done- and Paul Williams' cameo especially is completely out of place and unfunny.In conclusion, I am a Muppet fan, but I have to agree, A Muppets Christmas:Letters to Santa is quite weak. It has its moments, but it is a shame especially about the writing and music. 4/10 Bethany Cox

The last Muppet Christmas special was abysmal. The one where Kermit sees what the world would have been like without him. Too dark, too freaky. But this, this is sweet. A little too cheesy sometimes, but I'd rather that than too mature. I've loved the Muppets since I was a kid and still watch the 80's specials at the holidays. This one is finally on that level. Lots of characters offering their running gags, great cameos, beautiful sets, and a lovely finish. The songs weren't quite up to par, but I was glad they decided to have musical numbers. That's the heartwarming Muppets I remember! Thank you Henson studios for bringing them back (and including Pepe the Prawn and Bobo in there)!

I was so psyched to see a new Muppets special. There's been such slim pickings after Muppets From Space. A Very Merry, 2002, was a wee cluttered but is palpable for multiple viewings. The wholly unwatchable Muppets Wizard of Oz, however, was a stinking turd of a movie. Even this fan, who is a hardcore Muppet freak, couldn't make it through the whole thing. So I was crossing my fingers for this one. Sigh. It was better, in the fact that I made it through the entire thing. Of course, it was only an hour, and they took so many commercial breaks that the darn thing was probably only about 35 minutes total. Many things could have helped what felt like a half-assed hack job. "Ooh, let's make up some random crap and make the Muppets do it, never taking into consideration how the characters should really behave," the writers said, I imagine. First, who the heck is Claire? And why should we care? What is the point of introducing two new characters that no one knows and no one cares about, for a measly one-hour special? Look, I get it. You want humans. Whoopie. Do like with Nathan Lane and Uma Thurman and give them bit roles. I'm sorry, but when it's the Muppets Anything, it should be them starring. And Jane Krakowski was completely wasted here. How sad. What would have been much more believable would be if one of the letters was Robin's, Kermit's nephew. And Kermit feels compelled to get to Santa. Which brings me to my next point—why the hell is GONZO the focus? He, while an interesting character, is not the main driver in the Muppets. Kermit is. He is the main character in the Muppets. That's how it is; that's the natural way of this franchise. It's just like Jerry is the main character of Seinfeld, like Carrie is the main of Sex and the City. Sure, we learn about the other three; sure, there are other bit ones introduced. But, the core remains the same, and the leader does as well. The four main Muppets are Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, and Piggy. Those are the four that everyone thinks of, and those are the four who are at the center of each story, with Kermit as the lead. Not that I have a problem with Gonzo, oh no. I like Gonzo. He's just the second best friend in this situation, not the star. Now some may say, "But hey, wait, Gonzo was the focus of Muppets From Space. He can carry a picture!" It worked there—because it was a plausible storyline. You couldn't do aliens with any of the other main Muppets, except maybe some of the band. Also, Gonzo was his normal self in Space—strange, out of the box, running around like crazy. Just as he should be. In Letters, though, it's like someone gave him too much Paxil. He's got no zip, no spunk, none of his usual quirkiness. He's just slightly depressed and much too mellow for his character. Speaking of wrong characters, we now come to my biggest sticking point—Piggy. Now, my disclosure is that Miss Piggy has been my favorite Muppet and even personal hero since I was about 2 years old. I've always seen her as a confident woman who knows what she wants and doesn't let anyone hold her back. Who, for instance, hit Kermit and brought back his memory in Muppets Take Manhattan? Who stood by her frog in A Very Merry Muppet Christmas? Who was the co-star for Kermit in the Christmas Carol? She is a strong woman, in more ways than one, and when the chips are down, she sticks by her friends. But this Piggy? Despicable. They made her a selfish brat, as they did in Oz. If this were the real Piggy, she would've stuck by her friends, especially her frog. I could picture her perfectly being jealous when Joy showed up, which would've been more natural than to just write her out in the first five minutes. Was it because her eyes look so darn funny? Was I the only one who noticed that? What, did they lose her original prototype, or something?In fact, not just Piggy, but the whole crowd would stick by the main characters and help out. That's what Muppets always do—they support each other like a team. They carpool to California in the Muppet Movie to break into the movies. They put on each Muppet Show together. They saved their Theatre in A Very Merry by sticking by each other. It's completely wrong to think that anyone of them would walk out on each other. Sure, some tried to punk out in the Great Muppet Caper, but eventually they all came together to save the day. Besides, returning letters versus possibly getting killed? Please. One can hardly compare the two, and really fault their hesitation. And speaking of the other characters, Family Guy was right. Wrong-sounding Muppets is the worst. Waldorf sounded so weird, Janice wasn't right, and the friend I watched with said, "Hey, wasn't Beaker's voice higher?" I understand that many of the originals have moved on, either to different projects or to that great Muppetland in the sky. I'm just surprised that these talented voice people can't bend their vocal chords a little further to sound a little more like the characters they're playing. I know it's hard. But it's disheartening to hear a character's voice come out strange, when you thought you knew that voice perfectly. To sum up, it was OK to watch once, making it better than Oz. But I wouldn't want to see it again, making it only slightly better than Oz and not on par with what the Muppets should be putting out.