The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) review

Jim Henson's zany troupe tackles the legendary novella by Charles Dickens ... and the scenario is well-known by now: heartless banker Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine), who is a tyrant to his staff, is informed on Christmas Eve by the ghosts of former colleagues Jacob and Robert Marley that he would be visited by three spirits and transported to different stages in his life to convince him to change his worldview and become a better person.  All the quick appearances by the "regulars" are cute (personal favorites Fozzie Bear, Rizzo the Rat and the Swedish Chef get some screen time) but the oddest thing about it is how Caine, who was in his late fifties and already an Academy Award winner when this was made, treats it with the utmost sincerity as one of the only humans in it and almost entirely surrounded by fuzzy and frantic puppets - he could have just goofed around and mailed it in, but no: that's what I call professionalism.  And as mentioned in the movie itself, if the kiddos take to this, maybe they should read the book too (it's short!).