1992’s “The Muppet Christmas Carol” has become a yuletide classic in the years since it was released. The perennial favorite, originally put out by Disney in the tumultuous years following Jim Henson’s tragic death, regularly inspires new editions (including restoring the longer cut to Disney+ a few years ago) and refreshed merchandise lines (there’s a whole lot of new stuff on the Disney Store website and in the theme parks right now).
But there has never been an official follow-up or sequel … until now.
The gang has been reunited for a new “Muppet Christmas Carol” ad for Walmart called “A Who Knew Carol.” All of your favorites are back – Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Rizzo, Gonzo the Great and many more – along with new characters (Pepe the King Prawn, it’s good to see you) and, of course, a new Scrooge, in the form of Walton Goggins, the Walmart spokesman. (Michael Caine memorably played Scrooge in the original film. He is now 93 and is very retired.) Yes, that is also Stephanie Beatriz in the ad. Watch it below.
The clip is set to the song “Scrooge,” written by Paul Williams for the original film, and the sets and costumes are extremely impressive. Hey, if you’re going to spend a bunch of money from a soulless corporate entity re-creating a holiday classic, why not go all out?
(“Who knew?,” by the way, was a phrase used as part of a larger push to reconceptualize what Walmart is for most consumers. The tagline and accompanying strategy was rolled out last summer, with Goggins as the frontman for the push.)
At the end of the ad, there is the definite tease for more, including the appearance of three new ghosts. We’re assuming that this is the opening salvo in Walmart’s lengthy and expensive Christmas ad campaign and the fact that it’s already started before Halloween tells you how much they mean business.
Who knew?
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