Advanced Television

Survey: 63% watch The Muppet Christmas Carol every year

December 6, 2022

By Nik Roseveare

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Muppet Christmas Carol, Radio Times has conducted a survey about the festive favourite movie. Over 2,500 film fans from across the UK took part in the survey.

The movie is available to watch now on streaming service Disney+, and the full-length version with the additional song When Love Is Gone will be available in the extras page of the film on Disney+ from December 9th.

The research revealed that more than a third of respondents believe that The Muppet Christmas Carol is the best Christmas film. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of film fans watch the movie every year as a Christmas tradition, with it being even most popular with the younger generation – 80 per cent of 18-34 year olds who are fans of the film watch it every year. A third of 18-34 year olds said the film is the only version of A Christmas Carol they had ever watched.

Fans were also asked who they believed to be the most iconic Muppet character. Bob Cratchit, played by Kermit the Frog, was crowned the winner, with Charles Dickens played by Gonzo in second and Rizzo the Rat in third.

One More Sleep ’til Christmas was revealed as the readers favourite song in the movie (18 per cent), with It Feels Like Christmas (14 per cent) and the finale song When Love Is Found/It Feels Like Christmas (10 per cent) also making the top 3.

Michael Caine portrays Ebenezer Scrooge in the The Muppet Christmas Carol, and over a third of responants said it is their favourite movie starring the iconic British actor .

Originally released in 1992, The Muppet Christmas Carol is directed by Brian Henson – son of the legendary Jim Henson – in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl.

Morgan Jeffery, Executive Editor at Radio Times, said: “These results from our reader survey prove without a doubt what we all suspected – that 30 years on from its original release, The Muppet Christmas Carol remains a festive favourite for audiences, many of whom revisit the film each year. It ranks not just as one of the all-time great Muppet outings but also as one of the very best screen adaptations of Charles Dickens’ tale of redemption, kindness and compassion, with Michael Caine delivering one of the finest performances of his career as Scrooge (and Kermit the Frog doing likewise as Bob Cratchit).”

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