Episode 36 - The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992) (with Meredith Braun)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992).
The Fantasy/Animation podcast takes listeners on a journey through the intersection between fantasy cinema and the medium of animation. Available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many of your favourite podcast hosting platforms!
The festive season has well and truly arrived, so join Chris and Alex as they get into the Christmas spirit by discussing Yuletide classic The Muppet Christmas Carol (Brian Henson, 1992). Helping to roast the fantasy chestnuts on the animated open fire is actress, singer and West End performer Meredith Braun, who starred alongside Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, The Great Gonzo, Rizzo the Rat and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Christmas Carol as Ebenezer Scrooge’s (Michael Caine) neglected fiancée Belle. Together they discuss the film’s historical place within 1980’s fantasy and puppet cinema; wider definitions of puppetry as an animated art form; the interplay between musicality and sincerity; and how The Muppet Christmas Carol negotiates multiple levels of Muppet narration and performance. Meredith also reveals the challenges and pleasures of acting ‘live’ with Jim Henson’s iconic puppets, as well as a few behind-the-scenes treats about what it takes to make a Muppet movie. Merry Christmas one and all!
Suggested Readings
Denison, Rayna. 2007. “The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence: Investigating the Complexity of the Television Body.” Mysterious Bodies: Intensities Journal 4 (Winter), available at: http://intensitiescultmedia.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/denison-the-muppet-show-sex-and-violence.pdf.
McGowan, David. 2019. Animated Personalities: Cartoon Characters and Stardom in American Theatrical Shorts. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Proschan, Frank. 1983. “The Semiotic Study of Puppets, Masks, and Performing Objects.” Semiotica 47, no. 1-4: 3-44.
Proschan, Frank. 1987. “The Cocreation of the Comic in Puppetry.” In Humor and Comedy in Puppetry: Celebration in Popular Culture, eds. Dina Sherzer and Joel Sherzer, 30-46. Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
Tillis, Steve. 1992. Towards an Aesthetics of the Puppet: Puppetry as a Theatrical Art. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.