Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)

It's a Toe-Tapping Christmas in Frogtown Hollow!

A poor otter family risks everything for the chance to win the cash prize of a talent contest for Christmas.

Date of release
1977-12-04
TMDB
6.9 / 10 (83)
Runtime
53m
Genres
Family, Comedy, Music, TV Movie
Director
Jim Henson

Casting

  • Jerry Nelson — Emmet Otter / Weasel / Doc Bullfrog / Melissa Rabbit / Yancy Woodchuck (voice)
  • Frank Oz — Chuck (voice)
  • Marilyn Sokol — Ma Otter (voice)
  • Richard Hunt — Charlie / Lizard / George Rabbit (voice)
  • Eren Ozker — Gretchen Fox / Hetty Muskrat / Mrs. Mink / Old Lady Possum (voice)
  • Jim Henson — Kermit the Frog / Harrison Fox / Harvey / Snake (voice)
  • Dave Goelz — Wendell / Pop-eyed Catfish / Will Possum (voice)

Interesting facts

  • Based on: Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas is a 1977 television special directed by Jim Henson, based on the 1971 children's book of the same name by Russell Hoban, itself inspired by "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. The special features characters from Hoban's novel, in a teleplay adapted by Jerry Juhl, beginning with an introduction by Kermit the Frog, who tells the story of Emmet Otter and his widowed Ma, a poor family of otters who struggle to get Christmas presents for the other as a result of their financial situation. The special was produced by The Jim Henson Company and first premiered on CBC Television on December 4, 1977.

Production

In 1977, Muppets creator Jim Henson produced a one-hour television adaptation of the story video taped in Toronto. The special first premiered on CBC on December 4, 1977, with a U.S. premiere the following year on the fledgling HBO on December 17, 1978. The special later aired on ABC and Nickelodeon in the 1990s. The special features several original songs written by songwriter Paul Williams.

The special utilizes a number of different puppetry methods. The main puppets used are the usual Muppet hand puppets, but the characters are frequently represented by marionettes as well. It also utilizes the bunraku and Black Theater techniques. This is also one of the first Muppet productions to use radio control puppet effects, designed by Faz Fazakas.

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas also featured extensively platformed-up sets, all created with great attention to detail. Jim Henson explained:

Emmet Otter was the first time we had gotten into those kind of elaborate sets where we had floors in the interiors and we would take a wide-angle shot with characters coming up through holes in the floor. Or we'd cut into the set and remove the floor and have the characters moving through space in waist shots. That was the most elaborate production we had gotten into at that point.

The original special featured an introduction by Kermit the Frog, who also narrated certain scenes (in the 1978 release), and made an appearance near the end delivering closing remarks. The Jim Henson Company sold the rights to the Muppets (including Kermit) to The Walt Disney Company in 2004 (namely their branch in The Muppets Studio), and Kermit's scenes and narrations were thus omitted from the special's 2005 DVD.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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