It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf October 21, 2014

After the box office failure of 1999’s “Muppets from Space,” The Muppets and their particular brand of comedy were viewed as old-fashioned, while shifting rights took the iconic Jim Henson creation on a trip all over Hollywood. Television was the destination for 2002’s “It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie,” with NBC used as a playground for the team to do their holiday thing, mixing pop culture references of the day with a parody of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The results land near the bottom of Muppet achievements, but laughs remain. There’s just not enough of them to wash away the bizarre lethargy of the effort, finding the characters stuck in neutral as they execute a limp script.

Directed by Kirk Thatcher, “Very Merry” is built for small screen viewing, with Muppet zaniness toned down to play out a warm holiday message and explore the pop culture space of the day, with extended pokes at “Moulin Rouge,” “The Crocodile Hunter,” and “Scrubs” (under NBC orders, the cast participates in the pantsing). Celebrity cameos also kill time, with Matthew Lillard, William H. Macy, and Mel Brooks (here as the voice of a snowman) joining the fun, while David Arquette stars as a concerned angel pleading his “save Kermit” case to The Boss (Whoopi Goldberg). The routine is here for a grand old Christmas romp, but someone forgot to add the jokes, with most punchlines dying on impact, while the story itself is too formulaic to enjoy, hurt significantly by stridently over-the-top work from Joan Cusack as the villain.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The obvious limitations of a television movie budget are on view during the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. Colors are satisfactory, best with Christmas lighting and Muppet hues, giving off strong greens and reds. Detail is sharp, a benefit when studying the textures of the puppets, especially Kermit, whose felt "skin" looks touchable. Blacks are less secure, looking a tad chunky instead of permitting depth and delineation. Some mild banding is detected.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides a noticeable but unadventurous sense of circular movement, with atmospherics and sound effects (including the range of The Boss's heavenly voice) adding expanse. It's a flat track but serviceable, with a steady read of dialogue exchanges that only register limitations during extreme emotional outbursts. Muppet mischief is managed well, keeping voices separate and the group dynamic ordered. Soundtrack selections fail to bring heft, but instrumentation is clean.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bloopers (5:02, SD) run through a routine collection of on-set mix-em-ups, with extra amusement emerging from the Muppet performers, who stay in character even during mistakes.

• Deleted Scenes (8:26, SD) offer very little expansion to the movie, but they do explain why Bobo the Bear is dressed as Santa in the finale.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Laughs arrive with fantasy sequences, including one that imagines Scooter and Sam the Eagle as nightclub ravers, while Dr. Honeydew and Beaker work the door as bouncers. An extended "Gift of the Magi" gag acts as a goofy opener. The rest of the writing is wheezy and uninspired, also missing a flush of Christmas feeling, defeating the purpose of the picture. "Very Merry" is a rare misstep for the franchise, which would remain lost in a creative fog until 2011's "The Muppets."