Christmas classics aren't intentionally made. Frank Capra has said that he never intended his movie, It's a Wonderful Life to be about Christmas. It just turned out that way. Surely, the Jim Henson Company were wishing for a Christmas classic when they made Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas in 1977. And their wishes were answered.
But for nearly thirty years, it has been a storm of contraversy by some of its fans. In an ironic twist, similar to the story's plotline, the contraversy has been over another loved Jim Henson creation, Kermit the Frog.
In 1977, Henson and company made a puppet adaptation of the children book of the same name written by Russell and Lillian Hoban.
Kermit the Frog was nowhere in the book nor the original version that was produced in 1977. Later, he was added as a somewhat narrator. Some fans liked the addition, some didn't, and others were just indifferent.
There is already a DVD version out there that has Kermit the Frog. But, it has no additional features. Recently, the Jim Henson Company has released a DVD featuring the sans-Kermit edition that first wowed people in 1977, as well as some added bonuses.
The story is similar to O Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" but with a happier ending. Emmet Otter and his mother, Alice, barely make ends meets. Emmet does odd jobs around his town with his late father's tool set. Alice does laundry for people, knits socks, and bakes pumpkins into pies for profit. Alice doesn't even own her own spinning wheel. She has to constantly borrow it from a friend.
They don't have anything but each other and they manage to find happiness in simple things, such as sliding down a river embankment after its frozen over or singing while they row to town. Two days before Christmas, they hear of a talent contest with a prize of $50. Emmett's friends want to form a jug-band to perform. Alice is encouraged to sing. There's just one catch. Emmett must put a whole in his mother's washtub to play in the band. Alice must pawn Emmett's tools to buy the materials for a new dress. And neither one wants to tell the other because their intentions with the winnings are admirable. Alice will use the $50 to buy Emmet a guitar he likes while Emmet will try to buy his mother something nice for Christmas for the first time, possibly a down payment on a used piano.
To say anymore to anyone who hasn't seen Jug-band would give too much away. What I can say is the Jim Henson Company created one of the most imaginative programs ever. The characters are colorful and the overall message is touching without being preachy.
Songwriter Paul Williams wrote memorable songs like "Ain't No Hole in the Washtub" and "Barbecue," as well as others.
Fans of the Muppets will recognize similar voices. Emmet Otter is played by Jerry Nelson, who also did the voice of Gobo on Fraggle Rock. Richard Hunt and Dave Goelz, who voiced Scooter and The Great Gonzo, respectively as many others, are also present.
On this DVD, the most interesting fact is that even though Frank Oz did the puppetry for Alice Otter as well as providing a temporary voice during the taping, Marilyn Sokol did the voice. You might not recognize the name, but she had a small role as a brothel madam in Man on the Moon.
Speaking of Oz, he is MIA on all of the specials. Williams, Sokol, Nelson, and many more comment on making the TV show, but it would have been nice if Frank Oz could had been present.
What is present is a hilarious section of bloopers in which Oz never breaks character while things happen around the set. A simple scene of a drum rolling out of a store is proven to be not all that simple as it just can't get done right. The whole time Oz and Nelson are ad libing as the crew members come on screen to adjust the set.
There are also deleted scenes, one of which is deleted from the program's original version. After getting stiffed on a bill by Gretchen Fox for laundry, Alice Otter mumbles that she don't mind that she "fall off that dock." This little line isn't in the version on the DVD for reasons I don't understand because it is include in the special features.
Other than those minor problems, the overall DVD package is a must for anyone looking for something to watch this Christmas as well as making a nice stocking stuffer for long-time fans.
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