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The Muppet Christmas Carol
''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' is a 1992 American Christmas musical comedy drama film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens, it stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz. Although artistic license is taken to suit the aesthetic of the Muppets, ''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' otherwise follows Dickens's original story closely. It is the fourth theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise, and the first to be produced following the deaths of Muppets creator Jim Henson and performer Richard Hunt; the film is dedicated to both. The film was released in the United States on December 11, 1992, by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. It was a modest box office success and received mostly positive reviews. It is the first Muppets film to be produced by Walt Disney Pictures, whose pare ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drew Struzan
Drew Struzan (; born March 18, 1947) is an American artist, illustrator and cover designer. He is known for his more than 150 movie posters, which include ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ''Blade Runner'', ''Mallrats'', as well as films in the ''Indiana Jones'', ''Back to the Future (film series), Back to the Future'', and ''Star Wars'' film series. He has also painted album covers, collectibles, and book covers. Early life Struzan was born on March 18, 1947 in Oregon City, Oregon. In 1965, at age 18, he enrolled at the Art Center College of Design, then in West Los Angeles. Career Early career A counselor asked Struzan about his interests and told him he had a choice between fine art or illustration. The counselor described the two careers, telling Struzan that as a fine artist he could paint whatever he wanted, but as an illustrator he could paint for money. Struzan chose to be an illustrator, saying, "I need to eat." In his first year, he married and became a father. Stru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Film
Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptations of Christmas novels, in the forms of Christmas films, Santa Claus films, and Christmas television specials. It also includes animation, comics, and children's books, including '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'', ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'', and ''Frosty the Snowman''. Films Many Christmas stories have been adapted to movies and TV specials, and have been broadcast and repeated many times on TV. Since the popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Notable examples are the many versions of the ballet ''The Nutcracker'', the 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life'', and the similarly themed versions of Dickens' '' A Christmas Carol'', in which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rizzo The Rat
Rizzo the Rat is a Muppet character, created and originally performed by Steve Whitmire. He is a fictional rat who appeared on ''The Muppet Show'' and numerous films, with a starring role in the 1992 film ''The Muppet Christmas Carol''. The character is particularly associated with Gonzo the Great, with the two sharing a double act since 1992. Whitmire based the character on Ratso Rizzo in ''Midnight Cowboy'' and performed him until 2016. Character Rizzo is a streetwise and sarcastic rat with a New Jersey accent. He is a self-proclaimed acrophobe. His humor can be risqué, as in the TV series ''The Muppets'' he was given the line, "Is ABC going to be OK with 'Mother Teresa on a stick'?" To avoid potential difficulty with real-life censors, alternative lines were filmed. Rizzo's family has been mentioned in Muppet media. He has 1,274 brothers and sisters, as told to Gonzo in ''The Muppet Christmas Carol''. In 2016, Disney announced Rizzo came from a family that traditionally c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gonzo (Muppet)
Gonzo, also known as The Great Gonzo or Gonzo the Great, is a Muppet. Aside from his trademark enthusiasm for performance art, another defining trait of Gonzo is the ambiguity of his species, which has become a running gag in the franchise. He has been considered to be of various origins, including a Frackle, in his debut appearance in ''The Great Santa Claus Switch''; extraterrestrial in ''Muppets from Space''; or avian creature. Developed and performed by Dave Goelz, Gonzo made his first appearance in the 1970 special ''The Great Santa Claus Switch'', as the "Cigar Box Frackle". Originally a minor figure in ''The Muppet Show'', he soon evolved into one of the franchise's primary characters. Gonzo has appeared in every Muppet film, including ''The Muppet Christmas Carol'', where he portrayed author Charles Dickens and developed a double act with Rizzo the Rat. History The prototype of Gonzo appeared in ''The Great Santa Claus Switch'', "as a generic gruff baddie". Jim Henson se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society. Christmas celebrations in the denominations of Western Christianity have long begun on Christmas Eve, due in part to the Christian liturgical day starting at sunset, a practice inherited from Jewish tradition and based on the story of Creation in the Book of Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day." Many churches still ring their church bells and hold prayers in the evening; for example, the Nordic Lutheran churches. Since tradition holds that Jesus was born at night (based in Luke 2:6-8), Midnight Mass is celebrated on Christmas Eve, traditionally at midnight, in c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Muppets Studio
The Muppets Studio, LLC, formerly The Muppets Holding Company, LLC, is a wholly owned entertainment subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, formed in 2004 through The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of ''The Muppets'' and ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' intellectual properties from The Jim Henson Company. Background In the late-1980s, Jim Henson had been in talks with Disney CEO Michael Eisner to sell Jim Henson Productions to the Walt Disney Company. In August 1989, the two officially announced a deal for Disney to purchase Jim Henson Productions for $150 million. The deal fell through several months after Jim Henson's death in 1990. Despite the collapse of the merger deal, by 1992, Disney and Jim Henson Productions had already struck a number of deals: *Exclusive domestic rights to Henson theme park attractions in the western U.S. until May 1994 plus 2 year non-exclusively, including the design of two Muppet attractions at Walt Disney World *Buena Vista Home Vide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names the Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to the Walt Disney Company in 1986. Early on, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry, with the creation of the widely popular character Mickey Mouse, who is the company's mascot, and the start of animated films. After becoming a major success by the early 1940s, the company started to diversify into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. Following Walt's death in 1966, the company's profits began to decline, especially in the animation division. Once Disney's shareholders voted in Michael Eisner as the he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Hunt (puppeteer)
Richard Hunt (August 17, 1951 – January 7, 1992) was an American puppeteer, best known as a Muppet performer on ''Sesame Street'', ''The Muppet Show'', ''Fraggle Rock'', and other projects for The Jim Henson Company. His roles on ''The Muppet Show'' included Scooter, Statler, Janice, Beaker, and Sweetums and characters on ''Sesame Street'' include Gladys the Cow, Don Music, and Forgetful Jones. Early life Hunt was born in The Bronx, New York City. The family eventually moved to Closter, New Jersey some years later. Hunt came from a family of performers. As a student in middle school and high school, he put on puppet shows for local children, and was a fan of the then-fledgling Muppets. After high school graduation, and a four-month stint of doing weather reports at a local radio station, Hunt pursued a meeting with Jim Henson. He cold-called from a payphone and was invited to audition. Career After being hired to work on ''Sesame Street'', Hunt mostly performed background ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and director of '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Labyrinth'' (1986). He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in both Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland. Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created '' Sam and Friends'' (1955–1961), a short-form comedy television program, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park in collaboration with Jane Nebel who was a senior. A few years later the two married. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics, after which he and Jane produced coffee advertisements and developed experimental films. In 1958, he co-founded Muppets, Inc. with Jane, which became The Jim Henson Company. In 1969, Henson joined th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Muppets
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. Originally owned by The Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the franchise was purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 2004. The Muppets originated in the short-form television series ''Sam and Friends'', which aired from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on ''Sesame Street'' (1969–present), and attained celebrity status and international recognition through '' The Muppet Show'' (1976–1981), which received four Primetime Emmy Award wins and twenty-one nominations during its five-year run. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Muppets diversified into theatrical films, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States. The publication has won more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes. It is owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong and published by the Times Mirror Company. The newspaper’s coverage emphasizes California and especially Southern California stories. In the 19th century, the paper developed a reputation for civic boosterism and opposition to labor unions, the latter of which led to the bombing of its headquarters in 1910. The paper's profile grew substantially in the 1960s under publisher Otis Chandler, who adopted a more national focus. In recent decades the paper's readership has declined, and it has been beset by a series of ownership changes, staff reductions, and other controversies. In January 2018, the paper's staff voted to unionize and final ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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