The Muppets went back to Victorian London, and they brought a new Scrooge with them. Walmart released A Who Knew Carol on Monday, a two-minute musical short that returns to the world of The Muppet Christmas Carol 34 years after the film became a holiday staple, this time with Walton Goggins as Ebenezer Scrooge.
Made with Disney and The Muppets Studio, the short rebuilds the 1992 film’s opening number, “Scrooge,” as a new title song. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo the Rat and Pepé the King Prawn are all back on the snowy street, with Gonzo and Rizzo side by side again, just as they were when they narrated the original. Goggins knows this territory: he played the Grinch in Walmart’s holiday campaign last year, and he growls his way through the market scene before the haunting begins.
Watch the full short here:
Stephanie Beatriz joins the cast as Scrooge’s niece, a fresh spin on the nephew Fred from Charles Dickens’ story. And because this is a Christmas Carol with a job to do, Scrooge’s three visitors are brand-new: the Ghost of Christmas Presents, the Ghost of Deals to Come and the Ghost of Christmas Fast, each one pointing him toward a different corner of the season, from gifts to Black Friday deals to last-minute delivery.
For longtime fans, the joy is in the details. Fozzie Bear is wearing the white Fozziwig wig again. The crowd scenes are packed with familiar faces in period dress. And the short saves a favorite reunion for the end, where Statler and Waldorf turn up as the Marley ghosts, chains and all, the same roles the two hecklers played in 1992.
The original The Muppet Christmas Carol opened in theaters in 1992, directed by Brian Henson, with Michael Caine giving a famously straight-faced performance as Scrooge opposite Kermit as Bob Cratchit and Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit. The film’s music is having its own moment this fall: Fall Out Boy’s cover of “It Feels Like Christmas,” Paul Williams’ song from the film, arrived on streaming services everywhere earlier this month, with Kermit himself sitting in on vocals.
A Who Knew Carol is the first piece of a full season of Muppet holiday spots, with more videos and social posts set to roll out in the weeks ahead, according to Walmart’s announcement. And for anyone whose December is not complete without the original, The Muppet Christmas Carol is streaming now on Disney+.