Brian Henson’s Mission to Restore the Definitive Version of ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’
If you grew up watching The Muppet Christmas Carol on VHS or DVD, you likely remember the film’s show-stopping number, “When Love Is Gone.”
Performed by Belle, the song is a lament that her relationship with Ebenezer Scrooge has come to an end. For a movie that is heavy on comedy, it also served as the emotional crux of The Muppet Christmas Carol, showing Scrooge at his low point and driving at the heart of his fall from humanity.
Interestingly, however, Disney omitted the scene from The Muppet Christmas Carol’s theatrical release, and it is not currently included in the Disney+ version of the film (though it is available as a bonus feature). For years, the importance of “When Love Is Gone” to The Muppet Christmas Carol and its place in the film have been hotly debated by fans.
Now, Brian Henson has weighed in again.
Disney’s Objections
During a recent interview with Theater Mania, Brian Henson discussed the importance of “When Love Is Gone” to The Muppet Christmas Carol.
“It makes it a much stronger story and it makes Michael Caine’s performance that much better. I’m trying to pressure Disney to make the full-length version the only version available,” he said.
Photo: Disney
As for why the song was cut in the first place, Henson recalled Disney’s objection to the scene.
“The little secret in our group was, ‘Don’t tell Disney we’re making a drama.’ We’d always get notes saying, “It seems a little dark.’ ‘It could be funnier.’ They were scared when the film went to test audiences, but audiences loved the movie,” Henson recalled.
Photo: D23
“After one of those screenings, Jeffrey Katzenberg said to me, ‘You can see the very young kids in the audience get antsy during that love song. Would you consider cutting it?'”
The Deal
After Henson demurred, Katzenberg made him a deal.
“And he said, ‘Look, Brian, you don’t want kids going to the bathroom at that point in the movie. If you cut it for the initial theatrical release, the song will go back in after, forever.’ So, I agreed.”
While Disney did restore “When Love Is Gone” for the initial home release of The Muppet Christmas Carol, when it came time to create a new high-definition master of the scene, they were unable to locate it.
Thus, when The Muppet Christmas Carol was released on Blu-ray, the scene was again omitted.
Eventually, Disney found a first-run interpositive of the film with the “When Love Is Gone” scene. This allowed the song to be added to Disney+ in 2022. Much to Henson’s chagrin, however, both versions of the film are available in the United States, and the cut without “When Love Is Gone” is the only available version overseas.
Henson’s Goal
According to Henson, the problem now is that Disney would need to dub the scene for each language.
“My original arrangement was that this will be the version forever. They were reticent because Disney+ is in like 35 languages. I’m still pressuring them. I keep saying, ‘I know you’re thinking it’s going to be hard to dub that scene in 35 languages, but it’s the only time the character sings.’ They just need to find a great singer for each language and do the song. They don’t have to dub the whole reel. They’re just dragging their feet saying it’s too hard. I really want to get it so that nobody ever sees the movie again without that song,” he said.
While it remains to be seen if Henson gets his wish, one thing is clear: the definitive version of The Muppet Christmas Carol includes “When Love Is Gone.”
Photo: Henson Studios
Thankfully, fans can enjoy the film as it was originally intended on Disney+.
