20 Best Muppet Christmas Carol Moments

Gonzo and Rizzo in The Muppet Christmas Carol (Image via Walt Disney Pictures/Jim Henson Productions)

5. Gonzo and Rizzo Break the Fourth Wall

I’ll admit that, most of the time, tricky little narrative bits annoy me. It’s devilishly hard to do things like breaking the fourth wall without completely losing your audience’s patience.

If you need a reminder, “breaking the fourth wall” means that characters within a show or movie speak directly to you, the audience member. Think the end of Ferris Bueller or most of Deadpool. By the way, breaking the fourth wall worked pretty well in the Deadpool movie, but starts to get a bit old the millionth time you see it in the comics.

But it works here, too. Maybe I’m giving it a pass because, hey, it’s the Muppets. Gonzo and Rizzo are the only two characters that do this. They’re also, conveniently, narrators. It makes for a convenient bridge from the viewer into the story itself.

The technique also brings some much needed levity to what can be a heavy story. You don’t need to take Dickens that seriously to enjoy his work. You don’t even have to worry much about storytelling conventions, either. Hence, this exchange:

Rizzo the Rat: How do you know what Scrooge is doin’? We’re down here and he’s up there!
Great Gonzo: I told you, storytellers are omniscient; I know everything!
Rizzo the Rat: Hoity-toity, Mr. Godlike Smarty-Pants!
Great Gonzo: To conduct a proper search, Scrooge was forced to light the lamps. [the lamps come on]
Rizzo the Rat: How DOES he do that?