Without a doubt, my biggest Christmas special blind spot is the Jim Henson produced Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. I hear all of the time from people my age and older about this one and how much they love it. I don’t know why I never really encountered it much in my life. I think I saw this as a kid. It feels like the sort of thing my family might have borrowed from the library. That’s how I saw some other holiday specials, and I’m curious if as I watch this one if any scenes will jar a memory loose. As I write this now though, I can’t recall anything specific from this holiday special. I know it’s about an otter, it’s done with puppets, and at some point Christmas is going to play a role.
Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas is a Jim Henson production and it’s directed by Henson as well. It’s based on a book by Russell and Lilian Hoban and the special was originally produced for CBC Television in 1977. Maybe that’s why I’m not super familiar with it since I didn’t grow up in Canada? It’s original US broadcast was also on HBO, a channel I never had, but it also aired on ABC in 1980. It would seem it was pretty much one and done, and if something is not an annual holiday special, it can be hard to find. VHS tapes in the 1980s were expensive so renting was a must. Holiday specials also weren’t that big on cable in the early days from what I remember with that becoming more of a 90s thing. Per Wikipedia, this special did find a home in the 90s on Nickelodeon and again on ABC, but I don’t know how prevalent those airings were. I definitely don’t remember the ABC airings, while Nickelodeon did air Jim Henson content for a short while. I think on Sunday nights? That was how I was exposed to most of the not-so-popular Jim Henson features, but it was also never appointment viewing. I recall it being a thing that would be on television when nothing else was. It also would come on around the time we had to leave my grandmother’s house to head home.
Many times over the years, I’ve been close to buying this special on DVD. I don’t why I never have. I think I’ve just been putting it off as I usually buy multiple holiday features at a time and if I buy too many then I’m bound to fail to watch them all. I don’t think my avoidance of it has been intentional, though there may be some bias on my part as I’ve never been a big Muppet guy. I don’t dislike the Muppets, but I like them in small doses. Movies and hour long specials aren’t really for me. That’s probably why I’m not as high on A Muppet Family Christmas as a lot of people, though in the case of that special I think its unavailability for a long time built it up to be something better than it truly is. This one is also a special where I hear a lot of praise for it, but I never really hear what it is about this one that makes it so special. I’ve never really been convinced to go and seek it out, but I’m going to do it now because I feel like this is a blind spot I need to erase. And it’s a true blind spot as I don’t know anything about the plot of this one.
This one begins in a rather simple fashion. The scenery is a set and it’s not trying real hard to hide that fact, which is fine. I’ve always felt that the Muppets are not supposed to trick you into thinking their world is a real one, it’s not a magic show, it’s an aesthetic. Quickly, one Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson) comes into view riding a bicycle – that famous special effects trick they pulled off for The Muppet Movie, only this special predates that movie by a year. It’s a good one, though again, I’m not personally into the spectacle. I’d have been fine if he was a doll in a remote controlled vehicle. Kermit isn’t really here to be a part of the story, but just to set the stage and provide narration. Unfortunately for the frog, he apparently can’t bike and talk at the same time as he crashes into the sign for Frogtown Hollow. As he sits up to recover from his accident, he informs us that this is the home of Emmet Otter and we’re going to hear all about him and his jug-band Christmas.
Kermit is then interrupted by an oncoming vehicle. It’s an old, rickety, beat-up hot rod of sorts and it’s occupied by a rather interesting group of individuals. There’s a bear sitting behind the wheel, a snake, weasel, lizard, and what looks to be a fish in the rumble seat which is full of water. That’s a fun design. In checking a cast list, it would appear we have Chuck Stoat (Frank Oz), who is the bear. The rest are Fred Lizard (Richard Hunt), Howard Snake (Henson), Popeyed Catfish (Dave Goelz), and Stanley Weasel (Jerry Nelson). One of them draws attention to “the frog,” while another says he’s too ugly to be a frog and must be a toad. The lizard asks the bear, who is apparently the leader of this gang, if he sees anything he likes on the frog who responds that he likes his scarf. The fish uses a fishing rod to snatch the scarf from around Kermit’s neck, and they all laugh and drive off. As they do, they even discard the scarf so they just took it to be jerks. Kermit then turns to the camera to tell us that we’re also going to have to get to know the Riverbottom Gang as they apparently have a role to play in the story ahead.
Now the special can properly begin. We’re treated to some nice aerial shots of the sets which look really expansive. It takes me back to visiting my great grandfather and his neighbor who had a big model train set that I loved looking at. The setting is really evocative of what I think of as Christmas weather. We get that idyllic, snowy, setting in most specials, but more often than not December is just cold and barren in the northeast. The trees are bare, there’s still some leaves on the ground, but snow usually doesn’t arrive until the new year. It’s a great design.
We soon find a pair of otters leisurely rowing down the river in a rowboat. This would be the titular Emmet Otter (Nelson) and his mother Alice “Ma” Otter (voice of Marilyn Sokol, Frank Oz on puppetry). They’re moving along and singing a folk song, “The Bathing Suit that Grandma Otter Wore.” If you weren’t paying attention to the words, it would seem like this slow, lethargic, song one might sing while slowly making their way down a river. The words are a bit more humorous as apparently grandma’s bathing suit was so big it could be used as a sail. Poor fat-assed granny, God rest her zombie bones. I wish the performance leaned more into the comedy, but Nelson and Sokol play it so straight that I feel it loses something. And Sokol’s highs are a bit overdone and made me turn down the TV.
The song concludes when Wendell (Goelz) the porcupine interrupts them from a dock. He just wants to tell them he’s fishing, which was plainly obvious just by looking at him. I don’t think he’s too bright, but he seems nice. Emmet tells his apparent friend he’s helping his mother deliver laundry and then heading to the town of Waterville. As they move along, the two get to talking. Emmet compliments his mom on the singing performance and suggests he “pass the hat,” as in pass the hat around to collect payment for the performance. Only there’s no one around except the fish. Ma tells her son that his pa, who they just call Pa, used to say if you pass the hat to the fish all you get is a wet hat. They’re going to do this a lot. This leads to a conversation about money and their lack of it. It would seem that Pa is dead and these two were left very little which has Emmet wondering what they’re going to do about Christmas as they pull up to a dock where Gretchen Fox (Eren Ozker) is waiting for her laundry delivery. She makes a rude comment about having to wait and Ma just responds firmly they’re here at the same time every week which Gretchen remarks is always late. She also complains about a scorch mark in her laundry last time and Ma apologizes and offers to give her a discount on this load. Gretchen, not one for humility, asserts that she shall and that she’ll pay her next week. Ma tries to request payment now since they’re just 3 days out form Christmas, but Gretchen just marches off. As she does, Ma, makes a remark about wishing she would fall off the dock and her son seems to enjoy that.
All is not lost for Will Possum (Goelz) was sitting by fishing on the bank and he compliments Ma for not taking any crap from Gretchen. Or at least her attempt at not. He then asks if she’s got anything to barter today and Ma confirms she has some nice wool socks she just knitted. Will has a couple of pumpkins and Ma thinks that’s a fair trade since she can make pies out of the pumpkins and sell them at a profit. When the pair pull away, Emmet asks her if she can really make much off of pies and Ma replies sure, probably enough for more wool for socks. Emmet points out the absurdity of her reasoning, but in a good-natured fashion, which just makes his mother laugh and concede the point. She urges him to keep rowing or they’ll never make it to Waterville. I’m in agreement. I think this is going to be a very slow, leisurely, sort of Christmas special.
In Waterville, the Riverbottom Gang is pulling into town in their beat up old hot rod. As they do, they smash into a fruit stand destroying it before Chuck slams on the breaks in front of a music store because Snake wants to check it out. The others are perplexed at why he did that, but we soon see that Snake, seated behind Chuck, has his tail wrapped around Chuck’s neck. Chuck points this out and the snake apologizes, I guess he just can’t help himself. Snake wants to go into the music store for a string for his guitar, while the weasel doesn’t want to. Chuck has to remind Snake to get his tail off his shoulder and he sounds pretty pissed. Snake gets to slip in a little quip about how he should be thankful to have shoulders, but does as he’s told. Chuck then announces that he’d like to go into the store and suddenly everyone is in agreement that heading into the store is a good idea. Clearly, Chuck has a lot of influence. The fish decides to stay with the car though on account of it being too dry in there. Makes sense. As the others leave, the owner of the fruit stand marches over angry at what they did. The fish just spits water in his face in retaliation and he backs down clearly not wanting to mess with this riff raff.
We then find Emmet and his mother doing some window shopping. For the long shot, they’re clearly marionettes as we see their legs and there is an attempt to make it look like they’re walking. I previously stated I’m not much interested in movie magic when it comes to the Muppets and it’s not important that they look realistic or believable, but I think the marionettes is taking things too far. They just look silly as there’s no weight to their legs. They just kind of drift with legs flailing. I would have cut this. Emmet asks if they’re done with their errands and Ma confirms they’re out of money needed for errands, so yeah. Emmet suggests they return to the river which prompts Ma to ask him if he got paid for fixing Sam Turtle’s steps the prior day. He informs her that he did not on account of the fact that he was the one who broke them. She just laughs and points out their money problems. Apparently this is partially the result of Pa being a snake oil salesman. The two share one of his sayings that it’s tough being a snake oil salesman when no one wants to oil a snake.
The pair come to the same music store we saw the Riverbottom Gang head in earlier. In the window is a used, acoustic, guitar that Emmet immediately gravitates towards. Apparently not one for reading a room, he tells his mother that’s what she can get him for Christmas even though the instrument is clearly marked as carrying a price of $40. I don’t think it’s in the budget, kid. The pair are soon distracted by a sound coming from inside. It’s the gang, and they’re making a racket, though honestly it sounds pretty good. The clerk is none too pleased though and is in some distress. Emmet asks his mother who they are and she assumes they’re hooligans from Riverbottom – a pretty solid assumption on her part. A drum goes rolling by them and soon the gang emerges as the clerk accosts them. Lizard retorts that if they didn’t want the drum to roll then they should have made it square as he tosses it back in. Chuck then announces he’s hungry. Or rather, he’s huuuuuuungryyyyyyyy and the gang moves on. It’s pretty clear that the rest of the gang fears their boss when he’s reached this level of hunger.
Emmet and Ma head back up the river. They begin making more small talk, but it’s small talk with a purpose. Christmas keeps getting brought up which is clearly stressing Ma out while Emmet wants to reflect on the last Christmas they had with Pa. I guess they never had much money since he references decorating a Christmas branch as opposed to a tree. A memory of his mother playing their piano is called upon which is a painful one for Ma. She had to sell that piano and she calls it one of the hardest things she’s ever done. All she has left is a sense of humor and a washtub which prompts Emmet to remark that at least there isn’t a hole in the washtub. That means we’re getting another song, “There Ain’t No Hole in the Washtub.” I’m not ready for another song, but at least this one is a little more up-tempo. Ma even remarks it’s a song for keeping warm while rowing. At the same time, it’s deceptively slow as the vocal melody is much faster than the instrumentation behind it. We do get to pass by Wendell once more who is delighted about catching a boot. He definitely isn’t too bright. Meanwhile, some rich looking frog sees the pair and remarks that they’re two of the nicest folk in town. I am guessing this is some foreshadowing.
The sun eventually sets as the song fades out. A new establishing shot of an aerial view of town is utilized to signal the start of a new day. Now there’s a light dusting of snow on the ground, a pretty common sight in December, and I remain impressed with the sets. As Emmet is out gathering wood, Wendell approaches to inform him that he’s got a lead on a job. Some woman in town will pay him fifty cents to mend her fence, but the problem is he doesn’t have any tools. Emmet has his dad’s old tool set and Wendell offers to split the fifty cents with him if he’ll help which Emmet enthusiastically agrees to. As he runs into the house with the wood, he leaves Wendell to try to figure out what fifty cents divided by two is.
As Emmet reaches the door he encounters Miss Muskrat (Ozker) who is there to see his mother. She is kind enough to open the door for Emmet who has a bundle of logs to bring in. The pair enter and we find out that Muskrat is there to use the spinning wheel she let Alice borrow some time ago. Alice is delighted to see her, though slightly flustered since she doesn’t even have water on for tea. Emmet tells her about his job, grabs the tools, and scampers off leaving Alice to wonder what she did with the tea pot (she’s holding it in her hand). We then get another long, marionette, shot of Wendell and Emmet marching off to work. It’s a little better than the other one, but they almost look like they’re goose-stepping. Again, I’d have cut these. It’s during this walk we get to what I think is going to be the central plot here. Wendell reveals there’s a talent contest coming up in town and the winner gets fifty dollars. The scene is cut with another one back at the Otter house where Muskrat is telling Alice the same and she’s clearly intrigued. Emmet and Wendell are then approached by Harvey Beaver (Henson) and Charlie Muskrat (Hunt). They want to put together a jug band to enter the talent competition. Wendell is pretty interested, but doesn’t know what he’d play. Harvey tells him he can blow the jug and Emmet can play the washtub bass. Emmet refuses and seems a bit hostile about it. When Wendell asks why it’s because in order to play a washtub bass you have to put a hole in the washtub, and that’s basically all his mom has left!
There’s a clever cut where we immediately return to Alice as she’s using the washtub and a washboard to do the laundry. Hetty Muskrat is still there and they’re still talking about the prospect of entering the talent show. Alice dismisses the idea of singing in it on account of not having a costume she could wear. Hetty pretty much agrees, but Alice still accuses her of trying to sweet talk her into entering the thing. We jump back to Emmet and Wendell who are now on the job. Old Lady Possum (Ozerk) is squawking at them from her porch as Emmet looks at how dilapidated the fence is and notes this is a much bigger job than Wendell let on.
Time to move the plot along as the picture cuts back and forth between Emmet and his mother as the two go about their tasks. While they do so, we hear their internal monologue. Alice wants to buy her son a proper, store-bought, Christmas present. And that guitar would be the perfect gift. Emmet reflects on never buying his mother a Christmas present, or his father, and now it’s too late to buy him something. He wants to get her a new piano and knows that would make her happy. The dilemma, of course, is neither has the means to buy the other a gift. Alice thinks she needs a costume for the talent show and the way to get the money to buy the materials to make one is to sell something, but the only thing she can think to sell is the old toolbox that Emmet uses for odd jobs. Emmet has a much clearer path to the talent show, but it involves putting a hole in his mother’s washtub which she needs for her laundry business and will effectively ruin it. He also notes that 50 bucks four ways is $12.50 – not enough for a piano, but enough for a down payment on a used one. And that’s our setup. Both characters want to get the other a Christmas present, but it’s going to be costly and they’ll be competing with each other for the same fifty dollars. It’s basically a “Gift of the Magi” setup. I have to say, not one of my favorite Christmas stories, but maybe Emmet and his Ma can sell me on it.
Emmet returns home with the family Christmas branch! We saw him cutting it during the whole business with him and his mom deliberating internally with themselves. We also find out that Pa used to only cut a branch because he couldn’t bring himself to cut down a whole tree. Emmet shares that he used to say, “Because I didn’t cut it down the rest of that tree will still be here in a hundred years!” He does so while imitating his father’s voice and his mom compliments him on his impression. Emmet then asks his mom if she thinks it would be okay to use Pa’s slide now. She thinks about it a moment, then agrees that the ice is probably thick enough by now. I don’t know, lady, the river was ice-free just the day before. I guess otters don’t need the ice to be too thick in order to pass along it. Plus, they’re otters. If they fall in they should be fine.
We jump to Emmet standing atop a slide which goes down to the river. He zips down it and ends up sliding across the snow-dusted ice that was just yesterday a river. I can’t tell what the slide is supposed to be made out of. Practically, it appears to be plastic or vinyl, but in-world I have no idea. Ma enjoys the slide as well and the two take turns going down it and having fun. When they settle down a moment Emmet remarks that the slide is the best thing Pa ever built. Ma says he didn’t leave them much, but what he did is good enough. Emmet politely disagrees and says he thinks Pa left them a lot and Ma corrects herself to say he left what he could. More Pa memories are used to further the plot as Ma recalls he always said you had to take chances. We then hear her thoughts as she concludes that Pa would sell that toolchest. Emmet concludes that he’d put a hole in the washtub. I don’t know why, but that sounds funny to me. With their minds made up, Emmet then asks Ma if she remembers Pa’s favorite song. Oh boy, I guess that means it’s time for another one. This one is called “When the River Meets the Sea.” It’s another slow one and the sleepy pace of this special is starting to get to me. It concludes with a scene of Ma putting Emmet to bed which for the first time has me questioning how old he’s supposed to be? I feel like most would put a real, young, kid to bed in this fashion, but we know Emmet is capable of rowing a boat and doing odd jobs. Does he go to school? I suddenly have so many questions.
The next morning, we see Emmet quietly trying to leave the house, but as he does he’s also leaving behind a note. A voice over informs us that it’s a note to Ma explaining the actions he’s about to undertake regarding the washtub. What he doesn’t realize, is that Ma has already left him a similar note and we get her voice over explaining what she’s doing with the toolchest, so yeah, “Gift of the Magi” plot confirmed. Emmet heads outside and approaches the washtub with a small log and a nail. He pauses to gather himself before striking the nail once with the log to put a hole in Ma’s washtub. Even though there isn’t much to the puppet, the scene is shot really well to the point where you can feel the uncertainty in Emmet’s heart over what he’s about to do. The scene is allowed to hang a moment and that one strike feels heavy. Well done.
It’s time for more music! The jug-band is now together in what looks like a treehouse. They’re performing a song called “Bar-B-Que” and it’s a jaunty tune, probably my favorite so far. When the song ends, the gang all seem pretty pleased with themselves, all except Emmet. He’s not down on the performance, but he considers it fair at the moment. He wants to practice more, but the other guys are less enthusiastic. Emmet insists since he has a lot riding on this and references the hole in his mother’s washtub. Harvey gripes a bit, but they all resume playing. As the boys get back to playing we check-in on Alice. She’s hawked the toolchest like she said she would to buy some fabric to make a costume. She’s over at the Muskrat residence using Hetty’s sewing machine. Hetty remarks she can’t believe Alice sold the toolchest, but Alice insists that she needed to do it in order to win the contest and once she does she’ll have enough money to buy Emmet that guitar and the toolchest back. Hetty asks the question we’re all wondering, “What if you don’t win?” Alice won’t hear any of it and insists that she has to win.
Back at the treehouse, the boys have wrapped up their practicing for the day and are ready to head to Waterville for the contest. They’re feeling pretty confident, but the sound of motorcycles gets their attention. Actually, it’s not motorcycles, but snow mobiles and it’s the Riverbottom Gang! They pause outside the treehouse so Chuck can point out “the birds in the tree.” The boys take umbrage to this as they inform the gang they’re not birds, but a jug-band and they’re going to win the contest tonight! Weasel has a laugh at that and soon the other guys join in. I like that Cat Fish is now riding in a bucket of water on two skis behind one of the snow mobiles. After they laugh a bit, Chuck shouts for them all to shut up and they head out leaving the boys confused about this awkward display they just witnessed.
Evening arrives and it’s almost time for the talent show. The Waterville mayor (Henson) is in the town hall directing performers to their dressing rooms: boys to the right, ladies to the left. This causes a problem for a couple going as a tandem horse, but they just rip their costume in half and politely do as they’re told. Alice enters and appears a bit flustered. The mayor points her in the right direction and she’s so nervous that she flubs her thanks, “I’m very nice to have helped you,” she says to him leaving him a bit perplexed. She realizes her error and tries to correct herself, but gargles up the words. She just ends with “You’re terribly nervous,” as she ducks into the dressing room. The jug-band has also arrived and Harvey is still feeling most confident as he looks around. He thinks they’re a lock to win and no one says otherwise.
Time for the show! Mayor Fox takes the stage to welcome everyone to their first annual Christmas talent show. He introduces the judges which include a badger, the mayor’s wife Gretchen Fox (the one who stiffed Ma on the laundry earlier), and Doc Bullfrog (Nelson), the wealthy looking fellow we saw remarking on the Otters earlier. He is apparently the owner of the hottest night spot in town which feels like a tell on how this whole story is going to wrap-up. The first act is then brought on, Shirley and Nat Muskrat as Carrots the Dancing Horse. This was the couple we saw earlier and they apparently didn’t have enough time to get their costume stitched back together. Carrots the Dancing Horse is more like a horror show as the two halves flail about on stage. When Nat falls over, the crowd has a laugh and the couple scamper off the stage. What a start!
The mayor is back on the stage after an act break. It would seem we have been spared seeing all of the acts and the jug-band is feeling even more confident about their chances which means something is about to happen to knock them down a peg. And sure enough, the next act is Yancey Woodchuck (Nelson) who is here to perform, as the mayor puts it, the ever popular song “Bar-B-Que.” Yancey is just a solo act, and not a very good one if you’re asking me, but the mere fact that he’s performing the same song the jug-band was planning on doing has put a scare in them. I will say, pretty lame of the organizers to not spot that and let the guys know. Emmet’s not taking any chances as he ushers the band into an alley behind the town hall to work on a new song. The show goes on and we have to watch some rabbit couple flop around before seeing what the boys are doing. We don’t even see them play a note before the mayor orders them back inside so they don’t miss their cue.
After some tumblers that appear to be mink do a routine, the mayor comes out to inform the crowd that up next is Alice Otter. Alice calmly walks out on stage in what I guess is her costume. It just looks like something she’d ordinarily wear making me question how necessary it was for this performance. She nods to the piano man to play and starts singing the song “Our World.” Whatever nerves she had are apparently gone. It’s a slow song, but an optimistic one. Emmet and the boys see her and are surprised. Wendell thinks they’re cooked since she sounds better than them.
The song finishes and Alice receives some hearty applause. When she exits the stage she walks right into Emmet and the guys who shower her with praise. She then asks what they’re doing there and Emmet tells her they formed a jug-band to participate in the contest. Before she can notice or ask about the washtub, the mayor introduces the group which is calling itself the Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug-Band. The boys hit the stage and start into their song. They may not have been in that alley for very long, but apparently it was long enough to rehearse a new song, “Brothers.” It’s about how they’re not related, but are like brothers anyway. It’s…not a very good song. The hook is just them saying “Brothers!” The crowd seems to disagree with me as they get a nice applause when they’re done. Ma even runs over to say they’re sure to win.
The mayor returns to the stage to inform the crowd that the jug-band was supposed to be the last act, but we have a late entry. You didn’t think the special forgot about the Riverbottom Gang did you? It turns out, they have their own rock band: The Nightmare. They have all of the equipment and costumes you would expect of a 70s rock act. Chuck is on the keys, Weasel appears to be on guitar and we know Snake has a guitar too, but I suppose his could be a bass. Lizard is on drums and Cat Fish is in a tank of water. When he splashes around it kind of sounds like cymbals clashing. They get into their own song, “Riverbottom Nightmare Band.” It’s not bad, has some strong hints of Blue Öyster Cult, but no cowbell as far as I can tell. There’s a lot of star-shaped lens flare on the lights which adds to the glamour of it all and when the band wraps up their song it’s plainly obvious who is going to win this talent show. When it’s over, Doc Bullfrog makes it official: the winner of the contest is The Nightmare.
Outside the town hall, the boys and Ma are looking pretty glum. It’s time for Ma and Emmet to come clean about what they did to be here tonight. Ma goes first and tells Emmet she hawked the toolchest to get money for her costume. Emmet responds to acknowledge she can see what he did with her washtub. She just responds simply, “Yep.” Doc Bullfrog is seen exiting the building and pauses to give the group some encouragement. He says he and the other judges liked their performances, but felt it was missing a little extra something. He wishes them a merry Christmas and heads off back to his restaurant. Ma declares they should be getting on home and suggests they walk along the frozen river. As they do, Ma and Emmet get to talking and share with each other what their plans were for the prize money. Ma declares the piano is the nicest present anyone has ever wanted to buy her, which is both heartwarming and sad. She does explain that, despite not winning, she feels pretty good right now and it’s because she knows she did what Pa would have done. Emmet agrees.
Harvey is humming on his kazoo as the group meanders down the ice. Ma compliments him on his playing and then seems to get an idea. She declares the two songs could fit together. When Emmet asks her how, she decides to demonstrate. She starts singing “Our World,” then nods to the boys when she wants them to come in and they do as they’re told. They start performing this mashup right there on the ice. The performance soon attracts an audience, and who do you think is part of that audience? Why, none other than Doc Bullfrog! Seems they made it down to his cafe which prompted him to come out and watch. He declares that’s exactly what their two songs needed, each other, and he wants them to come inside and play his Christmas Eve party. Ma confirms it’s regular pay for regular work and it sounds like the group has a new job going forward.
Inside, the group plays their newly discovered song for the patrons of Doc Bullfrog’s place. They’re playing a bit livelier than they did outside and I can hear a piano, though no one appears to be on piano. Among the patrons this night, why it’s Kermit the Frog! He tells us that with Ma and Emmet finding regular work that Christmases on the river were much better from now on. The scene fades out, but we’re not quite done yet. The gang is all heading home after their night’s work feeling mighty good about themselves and looking forward to more nights like this one. Emmet concludes they’re a lot better at performing than they ever were at odd jobs and laundry. Ma agrees, but then asks the boys if they might join her in a song for Pa. Oh boy, one more song.
We’re doing “When the River Meets the Sea” again, though now with a band behind Ma’s singing. Well, more like a choir as the band doesn’t really play behind her. Emmet looks like he is, but I don’t hear a washtub bass, just another unseen piano. The song has a slightly different energy, Ma sounds less sad this time. It’s subtle, or maybe it’s my imagination, but it’s a nice change even if it’s largely the same as before. The jug-band then comes in at the end to a play more lively, instrumental, version over the credits and we go out on some scenic shots of Frogtown Hollow.
Scratch another one of the list. I finally got around to this one and my take on it might disappoint those who really love it. This is a fine Christmas special, jut not really the kind that is going to appeal to me. I can see why it’s not referred to as a true Muppets special because the Muppet sense of humor is toned way down. It pops up in a few spots, but this is a mostly sincere tale about a poor family of otters struggling following the death of their patriarch, who probably wasn’t a great provider even in life since he was a literal snake oil salesman. The Otter family of Emmet and Alice are easy to like and easy to root for and we also wince with them when we see the lengths to which they’ll go in order to secure a Christmas present for each other.
What doesn’t always work for me is just how slow this one moves and how obvious it is with its direction. We literally watch two otters slowly make their way down a river to start the picture singing a rather low key tune. It really does set the mood and expectations for how this one is going to progress. I like some of the character bits and how they can just make small talk with each other, but it’s loaded with exposition. I think the production thinks it’s being more clever than it is by weaving their backstory into conversation, but it’s pretty obvious. I kind of got sick of hearing about Pa after he was brought up for the fourth or fifth time and every time after.
The special is also loaded with songs which it relies upon for padding. I’m guessing the CBC wanted an hour long special and this was the easiest way to stretch the story into an hour. None of the songs are terribly long, “The Bathing Suit that Grandma Otter Wore” and “Riverbottom Nightmare Band” are the two longest checking in at just over 2:40 in length, but there were definitely moments where I was dismayed to see yet another song starting up. There’s just not enough variety to the performances. It helps make a song like “Bar-B-Que” stand out because of its up-tempo nature, but all of Alice’s songs are just way too similar. I bet Marilyn Sokol has more range than this – let her cut loose!
I mentioned during the write-up that I’m not a big fan of “The Gift of the Magi.” I don’t like watching well-intentioned characters make the wrong choice. The choices aren’t wrong on their own, it’s that they’re two competing choices. Poor people needlessly sacrificing at Christmas. It just doesn’t make for a fun story, in the end. This one isn’t quite so bad as others. Ma doesn’t love her washtub, she just needs it for work. The same is probably true of the toolchest and Emmet, though it was his father’s so there may be sentimental value there, or not. The toolchest one was also a hard sell since Ma Otter didn’t have much of a costume. The story really telegraphs where it’s going to go which perhaps takes the sting out of it. Seeing the wealthy looking Doc Bullfrog early on is unnecessary as we know the story wouldn’t show him unless he was going to be important. And then when the mayor makes it a point to tell us who he is at the start of the talent show it makes it even more obvious what his role is going to be in the end. I wanted to feel something more uplifting when Doc Bullfrog extends an invite to come play at his tavern, but I felt nothing and that’s highly unusual for me. Even the corniest Christmas specials can move me to tears, but this one never even got close.
What I did enjoy was the overall presentation. I mentioned my dislike of the use or marionettes and that didn’t change as the special went on, but I don’t think I needed to harp on that. The other puppets looked nice. The Otters are simple, but effective. I remain impressed with the scene of Emmet driving the nail through the washtub in just how emotive that simple puppet felt there. It makes me wish they could have been more subtle with other aspects of the story and let the visuals tell the tale. The scenery was gorgeously simple. Just dusty, old, wooden buildings faded in the sun soon covered with a dusting of snow. There’s a coziness to the interiors, but not a false one. The production never lost sight of the fact that these are poor individuals, for the most part, and they don’t have much. There’s a reason why the special devotes a lot of shots to just panning over the outdoors because it looks great and I’m guessing a lot of resources went into that aspect of the production. It’s an indulgence I can approve of.
This leaves me to the final question regarding Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas – where to place it on my big list of Christmas specials? I want to preface this by saying I liked this one, even if I find faults with it. I couldn’t find a place for it in my top 25 though, but I do think it’s a lot better than A Muppet Family Christmas. That one is a bunch of decent gags stitched together that falls apart in the second half. It’s also better than the other semi-famous Henson Christmas tale, The Christmas Toy. That one is a bit off-putting for me and it’s more entertaining as a proto-Toy Story than as a Christmas special. This one at least remains pretty consistent the whole way through. I feel comfortable putting it in my top 50 and it’s landed at number 44 on my list. This list is a pretty moving target and with these one-off entries this year, I did prioritize splitting them up. Tomorrow, we’ll be looking at what I placed at numbers 43-34. If I were just slotting this one into my rankings and not dedicating a solo post to it, it would wind up a lot closer to 34 than 44. Opinions may differ, but as I look over the entries from 34 and up it doesn’t strike me as an insult to be ranked that high. There’s some good stuff around this one. And if you like this one more than me for whatever reason you’re also justified in feeling that way too.
Can’t wait until tomorrow for more Christmas? Check out what we had to say on this day last year and beyond:
Dec. 20 – Futurama – “A Tale of Two Santas”
It was right here in this spot one year ago today that Futurama’s “Xmas Story” was inducted into the very prestigious Christmas Spot Top 25 Christmas Specials of All-time. Well, it was named as such a few years prior, but last year is when it got the full write-up treatment. And while I selected that…
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Dec. 20 – Futurama – “Xmas Story”
Welcome, to the world of tomorrow! Today! We’re looking forward while we look back on one of the best animated Christmas episodes of all time – Futurama’s “Xmas Story.” Have you ever wondered what Christmas could be like in the 31st century? Well, now you don’t have to. Turns out, it’s pretty bad, but the…
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Dec. 20 – A Charlie Brown Christmas
Let’s continue our look at the best of the best in the field of Christmas specials with perhaps the most quoted, parodied, and maybe even beloved special of all time: A Charlie Brown Christmas. This is the special that shouldn’t exist. It’s one if you are able to separate your nostalgia for the special itself…
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