''The Great Santa Claus Switch'' is a musical Christmas special featuring

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 ...

's Muppets. It first aired on CBS on December 20, 1970, as an episode of ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

''. It was directed by John Moffitt, written by

Jerry Juhl Jerome Ravn Juhl (July 27, 1938 – September 27, 2005) was an American television and film writer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Biography Juhl was born in St. Paul, Minnesota; his family moved to Menlo Park, California, when ...

, with music by

Joe Raposo Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH (February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American composer, songwriter, pianist, singer and lyricist, best known for his work on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', for which he wrote the theme ...

and puppets by

Don Sahlin Donald George Sahlin (June 19, 1928 – May 29, 1978) was a Muppet designer and builder who worked for Jim Henson from 1962 to 1977. Sahlin began making puppets at age 11, initially building a shadow theater and cardboard figurines. As an a ...

Plot

The special, narrated by Ed Sullivan, begins at the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

with

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

and his Christmas Elves getting ready for another

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

. However, Cosmo Scam has hatched a plan to kidnap Santa and take his place. As part of the plan, Cosmo plans to abduct Santa's Christmas Elves one by one and replace them with his evil henchmen.

Cast

* Art Carney as

, Cosmo Scam * Ed Sullivan as Himself

Muppet performers

as Fred the Christmas Elf, Lothar * Frank Oz as Thig, Boppity, Hoppity the Christmas Elf, Snerf *

Jerry Nelson Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012) was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on ''Sesame Street'', ' ...

as Thog, Snivelly, Zippity the Christmas Elf * Richard Hunt as Bing the Christmas Elf, Matchbox Frackle, Guard Frackle * Fran Brill as Green Bird Frackle *

John Lovelady John Lovelady is an American puppeteer who worked with the Muppets, including on the PBS series ''Sesame Street''. Lovelady is originally from Oxford, Mississippi. He was one of the puppeteer troupe in the first season of ''The Muppet Show'' (1 ...

as Alarm Frackle, Bong the Christmas Elf, Scoff, Snake Frackle, Snerf * Danny Seagren as Gloat, Snarl (early

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...

), Skippity the Christmas Elf, Snerf *

as Alarm Frackle, Bong the Christmas Elf, Scoff, Snake Frackle, Snerf * Greg Antonacchi as Gloat Additional Muppets performed by Cary Antebi,

John Byrum John Byrum is an American film director, and writer known for ''The Razor's Edge'', '' Heart Beat'', ''Duets'' and '' Inserts''. Early life Raised in Winnetka, Illinois, on the North Shore of Chicago, Byrum attended New Trier High School, and l ...

Marilyn Sokol Marilyn Roberta Sokol (born February 22, 1944) is an American actress, musician, comedian, and producer, perhaps best known for her roles as Lulu Brecht in ''Can't Stop the Music'' (1980) and as Ma Otter in ''Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas'' ( ...

, and Byron Whiting.

Songs

# "We're Happy Little Christmas Elves" # "I Want to Help" # "It's Christmas Time" # "Rock Music" # "It's Christmas Time (Reprise)"

References

External links

* Muppet Wiki: ''The Great Santa Claus Switch'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Santa Claus Switch Christmas television specials CBS television specials 1970 television specials Santa Claus in television The Muppets television specials Television shows written by Jerry Juhl American Christmas television specials