Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

So what if you can see wires on all the characters, this classic will remain a must view every year for my family and myself. Emmitt Otter's story is one that teaches us all, young and old, that the best things in life are the things that we take for granted. I am glad that my family can say after watching this gem, that "We're closer now than ever before".

I remember watching this movie as a kid in the 80s. Now as an adult I've owned it on several platforms over the years and watch it every Christmas Eve after everyone has left.

I first seen this on HBO in the early "80's and fell in love with it then and still love it now, some 19 years later. What a heart-warming tale of a widowed mother trying to raise her only son after "PA" passes away. Pa didn't leave them much, but they made do on what they had. Really a classic and a must see for every child and adult. I just loved the songs in this movie, they were classics in themselves. Even today, at the Christmas season, I still watch this movie, but now I watch it with my son.

Emmet Otter might be dated, but it's one of Henson's finest offerings. Not only is the story well written (without talking down to children), but the level of artistry in the models, backgrounds, puppets, whathaveyou is simply amazing. Frank Oz, Jim Henson, and their crew created one of the pinnacles of "Muppet" based entertainment proving, even after 20 odd years, Henson is STILL the master.

There's a new, October 2005 release of Emmett's Jugband Christmas. This one contains an excellent 'making-of' video, made sometime in 2005. It contains a 'blooper' segment, also. It also contains clips of the pieces edited out of the original over the years.

Kermit has been removed from this version, released by HIT Entertainment (Kermit is now owned by Disney). Highly recommended, though.

Also included in the 'making-of' are the intricacies of having two 'Mom' performers. The singer first recorded the songs, then Frank Oz had to lip-sync 'Mom' to the songs, then Frank did 'Mom' with his own voice, then the singer had to re-do all of 'Mom's lines in sync with the video. Intricate, but it worked really well.