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My family always watches The Muppet Christmas Carol before Christmas. This morning we're watching it again, and I have to mention the one thing that bugs me when it's on TV. The song "When Love is Gone" is cut out every time. That annoys me to no end. Ooh, that scene is about to start right now...aaaand it's over. I've read that it wasn't shown in theaters either, but that's no excuse. Without it, the scene is too short. Scrooge says he loves Belle. She says he did once and walks away. Everyone is in tears, but it seems unearned and it was odd to me when I was young. Then I saw the full version at some point and can't see why it wasn't worthy of inclusion. The song gives emotion and build up to the breakup, Scrooge breaking down before the end. The song also mirrors the one in the closing scene, "When Love is Found." It has opposing lyrics set to the same melody. Here a sad memory gives way to happy, new beginnings; an old man singing to a ghost and crying alone turns into that man having a wealth of friends. It never made sense to me to remove it since it was so tied into the fabric of the narrative in that way.

I used to watch only the version with that song in it every year. Now that we've been DVRing it since we no longer have a working VCR in the living room to watch that old tape, we haven't heard that song for a few years now. (Keeping the tape, though. I have a VCR in my bedroom and can't throw it away.) We continually forget to replace the movie, though I swear I remember buying it. And as I was wondering this out loud, I discovered that we got the Blu-ray for Christmas. I hope it plays in its entirety or that it's in deleted scenes.

Available from Amazon
The Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack | The Muppet Christmas Carol (20th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] |
The Muppet Christmas Carol

Me: "Oh, you finally noticed! You know why?"

Mom: "Why?"

Me: "Because you've watched John Noble on Fringe."

Mom: "What do you mean?"

Me: "Because he's awesome!"

Mom: "Oh... Yeah, he's very believable as an actor." 

YES! John Noble is one of the greatest (and most overlooked) actors ever and he's at the top of his game. He couldn't get any better. Noble is believable in every word, action, and expression, with a talent that's incredibly deep and a heart to match.

My mom usually ignores bad acting to watch any cutesy romantic Christmas movie just because she wants to get in the mood for the upcoming holiday and it doesn't really require her to pay attention. Perfect while doing other things. As for me, if I want to get in the mood it will be with Christmas Vacation or A Christmas Story. If I want to both laugh and shed a tear, then it's The Muppet Christmas Carol (Blu-ray, DVD). Michael Caine is superb in it. It's such a wonderful movie that I randomly whistle tunes from it all year long.

You know what hasn't been on in forever? Santa Claus: The Movie with Dudley Moore. Not the best thing ever, but I loved it as a kid anyway. Hmm, what else? I think I'm the only one in my family who likes Scrooged. Also, Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special, which I finally watched a few weeks ago. It's hilarious and sweet.

That's all I can really think of for Christmas movies right now. There are plenty of others I'm sure, but these are the ones I love and could never get sick of watching, the ones that are good enough to watch for 24 hours straight.

Edit (1/21/14): Um, how did I forget the first two Home Alone movies? Shame on me.