A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

Last updated
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
Muppets Christmas LTS.JPG
DVD cover
Screenplay byHugh Fink
Scott Ganz
Andrew Samson
Paul Williams
Story byPaul Williams
Hugh Fink
Scott Ganz
Andrew Samson
Directed by Kirk R. Thatcher
Starring The Muppets
Uma Thurman
Jane Krakowski
Nathan Lane
Jesse L. Martin
Madison Pettis
Composer Chris Caswell
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersAnthony Katagas
Martin G. Baker
CinematographyLuke Geissbuhler
EditorJamie Kirkpatrick
Running time
  • 45 minutes
  • 56 minutes (Extended Edition)
Production company The Muppets Studio
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseDecember 17, 2008 (2008-12-17)

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa is a 2008 American television special directed by Kirk R. Thatcher featuring The Muppets in a Christmas mission to personally deliver three letters to Santa Claus, accidentally diverted by Gonzo, to the North Pole. The special aired on NBC on December 17, 2008. The special, shot in Brooklyn and Midtown Manhattan, was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD in 2009. [1]

Contents

Plot

On Christmas Eve in New York City, the Muppets go to the post office to deliver each of their letters to Santa Claus with Mayor Michael Bloomberg denying Miss Piggy's offer to move the line along as people in New York should be polite. The Muppets deliver their letters as Gonzo accidentally speeds up the letter conveyor belt as a postal worker (Jesse L. Martin) has the Muppets delivered back to their apartment building. When they head back to their apartment, Gonzo discovers that three letters wound up in his coat from a mishap there. One of those letters he recognizes as being written by his friend, a neighbor girl named Claire (Madison Pettis).

With the post office closed early and Sam Eagle warning Gonzo and Fozzie Bear about the pitfalls of opening someone else's mail, the Muppets try different attempts like a pigeon delivery service and the enlistment of two Mafia members (Steve Schirripa and Tony Sirico). On Gonzo's insistence, the principal Muppets decide to go to the North Pole and deliver them personally. They get there in a taxi while scavenging money to pay the taxicab driver (Whoopi Goldberg). The Muppets end up getting tickets from a North Pole Airlines clerk named Joy (Uma Thurman) and getting caught by a bitter security guard Officer Frank Meany (Nathan Lane) who, for being a bully in his youth, perpetually ended up on Santa's naughty list. It's also because of his appearance that people often fear him. He and Bobo the Bear allow the Muppets to pass through.

They eventually reach the North Pole, only to find out from the Chief Christmas Elf (Paul Williams) that Santa has already left to deliver the presents. The real Santa (Richard Griffiths) overhears their grieving and returns. While on a sleigh ride after being helped by Joy, they hand him Claire's letter and the other two which are revealed to have come from Pepe the King Prawn and Frank Meany. Pepe wanted to become an expert opera singer which Santa grants. Frank wanted to be taken off the naughty list. Santa grants this wish enabling Frank to finally get that red tricycle he wanted as it appears before him and Bobo. Santa brings them home to New York in time to spend the rest of the holiday with Claire and her mom (Jane Krakowski), which was all Claire wanted in the first place. All the Muppets show up after cancelling their vacations where they celebrate Christmas with Claire and her mom as they decorate her apartment.

Cast

Muppet performers

Additional Muppets performed by Pam Arciero, Heather Asch, Kevin Clash, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Alice Dinnean, James Godwin, John Kennedy, Jim Kroupa, Tim Lagasse, Peter Linz, Jim Martin, and Paul McGinnis

Cameo guest stars

Music

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (Soundtrack from the TV Special)
EP by
The Muppets
ReleasedNovember 23, 2009
Genre Christmas
Length12:03
Label Walt Disney
The Muppets chronology
The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas
(2006)
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (Soundtrack from the TV Special)
(2009)
Muppets: The Green Album
(2011)

This is the fourth time that songwriter Paul Williams has contributed songs to the Muppets. A version of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by The Crystals was also used during the opening credits but was not available on the soundtrack itself.

Soundtrack

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (Soundtrack from the TV Special)
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Delivering Christmas" (featuring Jesse L. Martin)Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Pepe the King Prawn, Pepe, Sweetums, Camilla the Chicken, and Everyone Else3:41
2."It's All About Heart"Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Pepe the King Prawn, Rizzo the Rat1:43
3."I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus"Gonzo & Fozzie Bear2:26
4."My Best Christmas Yet" (featuring Jane Krakowski and Madison Pettis)The Muppets4:13
Total length:12:03

See also

Related Research Articles

Muppets Tonight is an American live-action/puppet family-oriented comedy television series, created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. The series ran for two seasons between March 1996 to February 1998, originally airing on ABC, before later being aired and rerun on the Disney Channel. The show was a continuation of The Muppet Show, with Kermit the Frog and the Muppets running their own television channel and studio, only to request one of their own to run a new show to fill in a timeslot in their channel's scheduling.

<i>Its a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie</i> 2002 American fantasy comedy television film

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is a 2002 American musical fantasy comedy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher and written by Tom Martin and Jim Lewis. The film premiered November 29, 2002 on NBC and is the first television film featuring the Muppets.

<i>A Muppet Family Christmas</i> 1987 Christmas television special featuring the Muppets

A Muppet Family Christmas is a Christmas musical television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Its teleplay was conceived by longtime Muppet writer Jerry Juhl, and directed by Peter Harris and Eric Till. This television special was filmed at 9 Channel Nine Court in Toronto, Ontario. The special features various Muppets from The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and Muppet Babies. It also stars Gerry Parkes as Doc from the North American wraparound segments of Fraggle Rock, and Henson as himself in a cameo appearance at the end. In the plot, the Muppets surprise Fozzie Bear's mother with a Christmas visit to her farmhouse, unaware of her planned getaway to Malibu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rizzo the Rat</span> Muppet Character

Rizzo the Rat is a Muppet character from the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show, created and originally performed by Steve Whitmire until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Goelz</span> American puppeteer (b. 1946)

David Charles Goelz is an American puppeteer and voice actor known for his work with the Muppets. He is best known for performing the characters Gonzo the Great, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, and Beauregard. Goelz joined Jim Henson's Muppet team in 1973 and has been a key performer in many Muppet productions, including The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and various movies and television specials.

<i>Muppets from Space</i> 1999 film directed by Tim Hill

Muppets from Space is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Tim Hill, written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman, produced by Brian Henson and Martin G. Baker, and the sixth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Bill Barretta, and Frank Oz, as well as Jeffrey Tambor, F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette, Josh Charles, Hollywood Hogan, Ray Liotta, Rob Schneider and Andie MacDowell. In the film, Gonzo attempts to discover his origins. After he and Rizzo the Rat are captured by government officials during his search, Kermit the Frog and the rest of the Muppets set out to rescue them.

<i>John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together</i> 1979 The Muppets Christmas special

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together is a 1979 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets and singer-songwriter John Denver. The special first aired December 5, 1979, on ABC. It has never been released on any standard home video format but the special is available for viewing at the Paley Center for Media, alongside other Muppet specials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Barretta</span> American puppeteer

Bill Barretta is an American puppeteer, producer, writer, director and actor, best known for performing The Muppets characters Pepe the King Prawn, Bobo the Bear and Johnny Fiama. He originated the role of Louie, Elmo's dad, on Sesame Street. Barretta additionally inherited the roles of Rowlf the Dog, The Swedish Chef, and Dr. Teeth after the death of Jim Henson.

<i>Muppets Inside</i> 1996 video game

The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside is a 1996 video game based on The Muppets franchise produced by Starwave for Windows. The title is a play on Intel's advertising slogan, "Intel Inside". The game's plot consists of several Muppets characters getting trapped inside a computer, and Bunsen sending Kermit and Fozzie Bear into the computer to rescue them.

<i>Muppet Classic Theater</i> 1994 The Muppets film

Muppet Classic Theater is a direct-to-video musical comedy film featuring The Muppets. It is the first direct-to-video feature film in The Muppets franchise. The film was released on September 27, 1994.

<i>The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas</i> 2006 The Muppets album

The Muppets: A Green and Red Christmas is a Christmas album by The Muppets. The album was released by Walt Disney Records on October 17, 2006, on CD and as a digital download in the iTunes Store.

<i>Muppet Monster Adventure</i> 2000 video game

Muppet Monster Adventure is a 2000 platform video game developed by Magenta Software and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was developed under Psygnosis' licence of The Muppet franchise. The player controls Robin The Frog as he attempts to save The Muppets from becoming permanently monsters.

Studio DC: Almost Live is the title of a pair of specials that aired on the Disney Channel. The specials are half-hour variety shows featuring The Muppets and Disney Channel stars performing comedy sketches and musical numbers together. The style is similar to that of The Muppet Show. The first special aired August 3, 2008, and was hosted by Dylan and Cole Sprouse. The second special aired October 5, 2008, was hosted by Selena Gomez.

The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora, or simply Cat Cora, is a cooking and comedy web series that starred chef Cat Cora and The Muppets, released in 2010.

<i>The Muppets</i> (soundtrack) Original soundtrack for The Muppets (2011)

The Muppets: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is a soundtrack album released by Walt Disney Records on November 22, 2011 for the musical comedy film The Muppets. The soundtrack features five original songs, four re-recordings and remasterings of popular Muppet songs, two cover versions of existing songs, two standalone songs, and fifteen dialogue tracks. It also features the song "Man or Muppet", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The soundtrack was also nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 55th Grammy Awards.

<i>The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson</i> 1990 American television special

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson is a one-hour musical special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infection, and featured characters from The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and Sesame Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gonzo (Muppet)</span> Muppet character

Gonzo is a Muppet character from the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show, known for his eccentric passion for stunt performance. Aside from his trademark enthusiasm for performance art, another defining trait of Gonzo is the ambiguity of his species, which has become a running gag in the franchise. He has been considered to be of various origins, including a Frackle in his debut appearance in The Great Santa Claus Switch, an extraterrestrial in Muppets from Space or an avian creature.

The Muppets is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2015, to March 1, 2016. Co-created by Bill Prady and Bob Kushell, the series was produced by ABC Studios and The Muppets Studio, with Randall Einhorn and Muppet performer Bill Barretta serving as executive producers alongside Prady and Kushell. On May 12, 2016, ABC cancelled the series after one season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepe the King Prawn</span> Muppet character

Pepe the King Prawn is a Muppet character from Muppets Tonight and performed by Bill Barretta, originally as part of a vaudeville double act with Seymour the Elephant.

References