20 Best Muppet Christmas Carol Moments

(Image via Walt Disney Pictures/Jim Henson Productions)

14. The Movie Doesn’t Shy Away from Dickensian Poverty

Well, the phrase“Dickensian poverty” could use a little clarification. The real 19th century was a true horror show for the poor. Lawmakers and debt collectors could be callously neglectful of circumstances and desperate need. There were charitable organizations – Honeydew and Beaker appear as collectors for charity, for instance – but they couldn’t help everyone. There was no real birth control, no social security, no Medicaid, and no WIC program, for that matter. Often, there was little more for a desperately poor person to do other than beg, go off to a grim workhouse, or simply starve.

Dickens does depict some of this in his work. Oliver Twist shows some dire poverty. However, Dickens could just as easily make sentimental what were otherwise stretched conditions. Victorians loved a good moral, after all. Fictional families suffering nobly through poverty were rich in morals about values and religion.

So, the poverty you see in The Muppet Christmas Carol is neutered quite a bit. No one needs to see a Muppet in historically accurate work house conditions, after all. This is still a kid’s movie, remember?

But it also doesn’t pretend that the Cratchits live a comfortable life. The turkey that Scrooge gives to the family is a luxurious and rare commodity. Otherwise, they eat humble meals and live in a small home.