Over the holidays, I saw A Muppet Family Christmas for the first time. And it is now hands-down my favourite Christmas movie.
After watching A Muppet Family Christmas, I also had the opportunity to see the first episode of Fraggle Rock, as well as Lady Gaga & The Muppets’ Holiday Spectacular. I remember that as a child I adored the Muppets, but I think that as an adult you can begin to really appreciate just why the Muppets are so ridiculously amazing:
1) The Muppets encourage viewers to be good Samaritans – or at the very least, just nice people in general. No matter the scenario, over and over the Muppets work together to overcome adversary. They go out of their way to help one another – just because that’s the right thing to do.
2) The Muppets promote diversity. All of the Muppets are completely different, from Kermit to Big Bird to Gonzo to Snuffleupagus to Animal. And everyone is friends. The differences in the way they look and think and act are celebrated. There’s an especially sweet moment in A Muppet Family Christmas when Fraggle Rock character Doc (the only actually human in the film) makes a comment about how “you’re all kind of funny looking, but I like you anyway” (paraphrased).
3) The Muppets celebrate strong women. Miss Piggy is an unstoppable force. She has a fascinating combination of feminine and masculine qualities, and can hold her own no matter the circumstance. Sure, the Muppets might be a predominantly male cast of characters, but Jim Henson does women justice with Miss Piggy’s character.
4) The Muppets teach good values. Love and kindness are the themes that run throughout the Muppets in general. Beyond the actual learning skills for little children (such as Bert and Ernie talking about letters and the Count about numbers), the Muppets teach about teamwork, friendship, courage, and support. There are so many other values that come out, as well: for example, in A Muppet Family Christmas, the Fraggles actually discuss how awesome re-gifting is. Kids get to learn about how materials aren’t that important and to not be big consumers! It is fantastic. Jim Henson is kind of amazing.
Have you seen the Muppets lately? What do you like best about the Muppets? Share in the comments section below!
I had the pleasure of meeting Jim Henson in early 1981. We spoke for just a few minutes, but he said something to me that has resonated all these years.
“You will be working your entire life. If you’re not working it will be for one of two reasons; that you are homeless as the result of your choice not to work, or that you are wealthy as the result of working very hard. Aside from those two paths, you will be working. Even if you can’t embrace the work that you do, never quit looking for reasons to like it – you just might find some.”
That was a hugely formative moment in my life.
The Muppets teach good vales because Mr. Henson was a man of good values. I think about that, daily.
You MET him? Seriously?! I am ridiculously jealous. He was such a brilliant man. It’s wonderful that he had the capabilities to create something with so much – love? goodness? – shining through it.