Light the Lamp, Not the Rat: Revisiting The Muppet Christmas Carol

There’s something quietly remarkable about The Muppet Christmas Carol. Released in 1992, it shouldn’t work — a Dickens adaptation filtered through felt, vaudeville humor, and a cast of puppets. And yet, by taking the story seriously and trusting Michael Caine to play Scrooge without a hint of irony, the film becomes one of the most sincere …