Costuming & Set Dressing

Gilbert Scott Wright (24 July 1880 – 1958) on Wikimedia

Throughout the film, regardless of decade, the characters are decked out in what fashion historians call some of the most accurate 1840s costumes put to screen. Pause the film at any point where there are multiple characters on screen and you should be able to match their outfits to fashion plates of the era. Most impressive of all is that the costume designers spared no expense, adorning even the smallest Muppet extras in early Victorian chic.

Naturally, people of different social classes are going to dress according to their means. The wealthy Muppets (and Caine) wear smart, well-cut outfits with rich textures and fabrics, the poor dress more practically. While Miss Piggy could never be unfashionable, her wardrobe as Mrs. Crachit is firmly rooted in the 1830s, showing that she has neither the money nor need for the latest fashions.

Of all the characters, Gonzo as Charles Dickens himself is the snappiest dresser, favoring lots of colors and pattern mixing. In reality, Dickens had a loud fashion sense, bordering on tacky, possibly owing to his childhood financial insecurity. We know this from correspondence from his friends and family.

Including Gonzo as Dickens is the smartest decision the film made. Not only does it seamlessly incorporate Gonzo (and Rizzo) into a story with a rather small cast, but it allows them to incorporate much of the original text into his narration. In fact, several scenes take the majority of their dialogue almost word-for-word from the novella.

A British Christmas Tradition

John Leech on Wikimedia

Lastly (and perhaps most impressively given that the Muppets are American), the characters are shown celebrating a British Christmas as it would have been celebrated in 1843, rather than an American one that would have been more recognizeable to modern audiences.

In the opening song, a Punch and Judy show is performed on the street, giving the audience a little bit of puppet-ception. The Crachits dine on a Christmas goose rather than an American ham or turkey. The Christmas traditions people celebrate are rooted in Medieval ones which Dickens felt nostalgia for.

In essence, the 1840s invented the modern Christmas. We aren't just talking about the popularization of Christmas crackers and bejeweled evergreens. Rail lines allowed workers to go home for Christmas; postage stamps and chromolithography encouraged the spread of Christmas cards; the 1840s even experienced a legendary cold snap which solidified the idea of a "white Christmas".

The Muppet Christmas Carol was the first film made in the wake of Jim Henson's passing. The team put everything they had into making this project the best it could possibly be. And their hard work paid off! Few adaptations have reached such a level of textual and historical accuracy as The Muppet Christmas Carol.