Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

Yep, the 1977 Jim Henson classic I hadn't tackled until last night... what a mistake on my part.

It’s a shame that I had never viewed this until last night. Truthfully, it wasn’t until becoming an adult that I even had any knowledge of this Jim Henson work. It debuting on Canada’s CBC before playing on HBO in the late 70’s probably played a part of that. Regardless, it’s a melancholy yet charming tale where the titular Emmet lives with his ma and while they’re quite poor (pa passed away in the past), they still have good friends and have their happy moments. Emmet and his buddies decide to participate in the town’s Christmas Eve talent contest for the $50 cash prize.

It may be the holiday spirit or perhaps it’s just that good, but Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas was quite heartwarming. It’s just a nice story-based on a book-where it’s easy to root for the titular character, his mother and his buddies, while the lawbreaker Riverbottom Gang are easy to hiss at. And it ends in great fashion. The puppetry was still impressive over 45 years later; no clue how they pulled off some moments, although it’s probably best to be unaware & instead find those moments magical. The sets-whether rural or the small hamlet of Frogtown Hollow-were quite impressive as well.

For a musical where several songs by different acts in different genres were performed at the talent show, thank heavens then that the music came from Paul Williams. All augmented the plot and were just nice catchy tunes to hear. While there’s regret I never experienced this until last night, at least this was a joyous Jim Henson experience.

Speaking of Henson, it is disappointing (although not surprising) that eventually Muppet*Vision 3D will be gone from Walt Disney World. As intriguing as a Muppet coaster will be, a late project from Henson going away is disappointing… although not as disappointing as the former Muppet History Twitter account. It’s an account I never followed-or even looked at-and the content’s been criticized but still a rotten scenario that the guy behind it is a sex pest and displeasing person who harasses women despite being a married man.