A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

I had never actually heard about this Muppets Christmas movie titled "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa", but of course I opted to sit down and watch it, as part of my 2024 Christmas movie marathon.

Did I harbor great expectations to this 2008 movie? Not really, as I had just sat through the somewhat bland 2002 "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" prior to watching this 2008 movie. But still, since I hadn't already seen this one, of course I gave it a chance.

Writers Hugh Fink, Scott Ganz, Andrew Samson and Paul Williams put together a rather enjoyable and entertaining script and storyline. I have to say that I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the 43 minutes that the movie ran for. "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa" was definitely a step up from the 2002 "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie", so I was pleasantly surprised.

The live cast in the movie was good, and they had a great ensemble of talents for the various roles and parts.

With "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa" being a Henson movie, of course the Muppets are great. There are many familiar Muppets on the screen, and also a bunch that I wasn't familiar with.

While no Christmas classic, I will say that "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa" definitely is an entertaining Christmas movie for the family.

My rating of director Kirk R. Thatcher's 2008 movie "A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa" lands on a six out of ten stars.

The Muppets in NYC are lined up to get their Christmas letters mailed. Gonzo screws up the post office machinery. Little girl Claire gives Gonzo a letter but Gonzo forgets. It's Christmas Eve. The post office is closed and the gang has to deliver 3 letters to the North Pole. Everybody gives up but Gonzo convinces Kermit and Fozzie to try. Rizzo and Pepe come along.

I wonder if the post office paid to get the Muppets to do this special. I would have prefer the group stays together. It's always more fun with more Muppets. The cameos are fine but they are not the big draw for me. I'm also not a big fan of Rizzo and Pepe as being the main characters. I love Kermit with Miss Piggy. I like that Gonzo, Fozzie and Kermit are together but I miss Miss Piggy. The songs are OK but nothing special. The letter from the airport security guy doesn't really make sense. It's not the strongest Christmas special but it's still the Muppets.

The last Muppet Christmas special was abysmal. The one where Kermit sees what the world would have been like without him. Too dark, too freaky. But this, this is sweet. A little too cheesy sometimes, but I'd rather that than too mature. I've loved the Muppets since I was a kid and still watch the 80's specials at the holidays. This one is finally on that level. Lots of characters offering their running gags, great cameos, beautiful sets, and a lovely finish. The songs weren't quite up to par, but I was glad they decided to have musical numbers. That's the heartwarming Muppets I remember! Thank you Henson studios for bringing them back (and including Pepe the Prawn and Bobo in there)!

I love the Muppets, the show and most of their movies. However, this special was a big disappointment. Granted it has its good points, I loved the chemistry between Kermit and Miss Piggy, the production values are at least decent and I liked Gonzo very much here. Also the Muppet performers do do a decent job with weak material.

Pretty much everything else is a big disappointment. The story was fresh and original I agree at first glance, but it was a completely different story when it came to the execution. Most of it actually is very predictable and rushed. This isn't helped by the fact it is too short.

I also agree about the special's writing. The script is pretty much terrible, Gonzo and Fozzie have their moments but most of the other Muppet parts are under-written and very rarely was it funny. The jokes were also very lame and childish, and the sentimentality gets mushy.

The music was also a big disappointment. Other than Gonzo and Fozzie's duet, which was compared to everything else delightful, the music is little more than mediocre and I say forgettable too. The lyrics are also trite and the melodies are unmemorable afterwards.

The Muppets do try their best, and I was thrilled at the return of some old favourites, but let down severely by bad material, and I missed Gonzo and Rizzo's chemistry which was always delightful. The cameos are even more disappointing. Some of the characters are somewhat superfluous to the story or are poorly explored- I concur that the whole believing in Santa thing was quite poorly done- and Paul Williams' cameo especially is completely out of place and unfunny.

In conclusion, I am a Muppet fan, but I have to agree, A Muppets Christmas:Letters to Santa is quite weak. It has its moments, but it is a shame especially about the writing and music. 4/10 Bethany Cox

With the month of December almost over, I finally decided to watch this Muppet Christmas special that I put off for the last two weeks. In summation, A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa is no great shakes compared to the classic "Muppet Show" that I enjoyed as a kid of the '70s but these creations of the late Jim Henson can still entertain like nobody's business and it was very nice to see the whole gang from that show together again. The songs by Muppet veteran Paul Williams were nicely done though only the Fozzie/Gonzo duet about wishing to be Santa seems like a future classic. The celebrity cameos are hit-or-miss but do provide some amusements especially that of Williams and Nathan Lane. I recognized the kid from that Disney movie that starred Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It's too bad that Jane Krakowski and Jesse Martin weren't utilized more for their musical talents. Still, if you love the Muppets, you'll be glad to see them in A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa.