Excellent, a Must See

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Charming Christmas special from Jim Henson, based on the book by Russell and Lillian Hoban. This sweet story is about dirt poor Emmet Otter and his mother. Unbeknownst to each other, they both get the idea to join a talent show in hopes of winning the prize money to buy a gift for the other. It's a sentimental tale with a great moral lesson and some nice songs. Wait until you get a load of the Riverbottom Nightmare Band! Try to find the uncut version if you can. Unfortunately, after Disney acquired the rights to the Muppets, some scenes were removed from the DVD releases. Still, whatever version you watch I'm sure you will enjoy this delightful Christmas special.

Cheery Emmet and his kindly Ma are two otters who live in poverty in the quaint rural swampland community of Frogtown Hollow. Both want to buy the other a gift for Christmas, but neither has the money. So they both enter a local talent show contest in order to win the $50 dollar cash prize. This endearingly pleasant and tenderhearted show offers a marvelously delightful wealth of entertainment: the engaging and colorful characters, the brisk pace, the folksy, flavorsome down-home score, the polished photography, the hilarious talent contest show set piece (the split dancing horse is gut-bustingly bad!), the gentle, good-natured humor, the meticulous set and costume design, the catchy and charming songs ("Our World" is an especially lovely tune), the amazingly lifelike and personable puppets (Emmet in particular is adorable), and the sweet, upbeat tone all click just right. The positively astonishing mean'n'growly hard rock harshness of the Riverbottom Nightmare Band rates as a definite highlight. Moreover, the cast voice their parts with infectious aplomb: Jerry Nelson as Emmet, Marilyn Sokol as Ma Otter (her singing voice is truly heavenly!), Dave Goelz as Emmet's amiable porcupine best friend Wendel, Eren Ozker as the snippy Gretchen Fox, and Frank Oz as hostile Riverbottom Nightmare Band ringleader Chuck. But what really makes this program so special and touching is the irresistible glowing warmth that's prominent throughout which in turn makes it a complete joy to watch.

It's hard for me to imagine that I was four years old when Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas debuted. I can vividly remember watching it for the first time, as I was hooked from the moment Emmet and Ma sing "Aint' no hole in the washtub". So, to my pleasant surprise, I was at Target the other day, and saw that Emmet Otter was on DVD. For $12.99, it was well worth the price. So, I popped into my DVD player, and my wife and I sat back and enjoyed it. Heck, I felt like that little boy who watched it for the first time so many years ago.To be honest here, I think Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas doesn't get the respect and appreciation it deserves. It should be one of those shows that is played during the Christmas holidays (Like A Charlie Brown Christmas, or How the Grinch stole Christmas, etc.). EOJBC is in every way a classic like those shows. Sad reality is that most folks I know have never heard of Emmet Otter. HBO used to play this at every Christmas, but they stopped doing it year's ago. Why they did, I have no clue, but I know that it was played on other TV channels for a few years, and then it was gone. Thank goodness it found life on DVD.I think what impresses me the most about this show is that, for its' time (1977), EOJBC was a stroke of creative genius. Yeah, sometimes you see the strings that are controlling the movements of the muppets, but for the most part, you marvel at the vision Jim Henson had in creating the towns of Watervlle and Frog Hollow. And the songs are a real treat. You'll find yourself humming "Bar-B-Q". It is a catchy song.

So what if you can see wires on all the characters, this classic will remain a must view every year for my family and myself. Emmitt Otter's story is one that teaches us all, young and old, that the best things in life are the things that we take for granted. I am glad that my family can say after watching this gem, that "We're closer now than ever before".