If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

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.

The first time I saw this movie it was on HBO. I watched it every year and looked forward to it coming on. But alas HBO stopped showing it and I didn't get to watch it for years. I pined for this movie yes people pined for it. The music the characters I was and am in love with this sweet movie. But then a miracle my sister found it on DVD and bought it for me I was so happy I sat in front of the tube and felt like I was eight or nine again, hey I'm thirty three so feeling like I'm eight or nine again is a miracle Like it has been stated in other reviews it's based on gift of the magi. Emmet and Ma work hard to just get by but with the love they feel for each other helps them get trough it. You can't help but enjoy the songs, I'd really like to see the bathing suit grandma otter wore. Any way I really think this is an enjoyable movie that is a Christmas classic. Oh by the way the river bottom nightmare band kicks it.

This year was the 28th annual showing of Emmett Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas (EOJBC) at my parents' home. It's our family Chanuka tradition! I was very happy to read all of the other glowing reviews of EOJBC. All of the characters are so great. My dad's favorite character is Wendel, and his lines, "Let's see...half a fifty cents, half a fifty cents..." and "Golly, you got mashed potatoes?!" My sisters and I all love to hate Gretchen Fox, (we wish she WOULD fall off the dock). And while we're on the subject of ol' Gretchen, does anyone else find it just a little convenient that she is one of the talent contest judges who casts her vote AGAINST the jugband and Ma? There's also that crotchety Old Lady Possum who micro-managerially watches Wendel and Emmet rebuild (NOT repair) her fence with her broom in hand, cawing, "Don't just stand around, boys! Ya got WORK to do!" I love the snake when he says to Chuck, "Geez, a guy should be grateful he's got shoulders!" and the bug-eyed fish when he condescendingly spits at the man in the street, "Oh, so sorry!Pbbfft!!" As many times as I've seen EOJBC, I never tire of it. The scene in the ORIGINAL version with George and Melissa Rabbit's talent performance (gotta love those jazz paws!) absolutely trips me out to this day! I laugh so hard I cry! It was a crime that their scene was scrapped when the movie came out on cassette. Thankfully, that scene is back in on the DVD, but Kermit is gone. I wish the big companies would just put aside the copyrights for a while and reissue a DVD of the original version of EOJBC as it was first shown on HBO, complete with Kermit the Frog and George and Melissa Rabbit's stellar performance. I bet there are a lot of viewers out there who have no idea that George and Melissa were even there! In the version that cuts out their scene, you can still hear their music in the background as Harrison Fox is telling the jugband to get back inside before they miss their curtain call.Not only are the characters fully developed with great personalities, but there are some great one-liners in the script. Will Possum closes the curtain after the first act, Carrots the Dancing Horse, makes a memorable exit Stage Left AND Right. Pulling the cords, Will drolly says, "It's gonna be a loooooong night," and shakes his head. Ever the gracious hostess, Alice "Ma" Otter welcomes Hetty Muskrat into her home to use the spinning wheel Ma keeps borrowing from her. As she holds a tea kettle in her hands, Ma looks around frantically and asks, "Now, where'd I put that teapot?" We are trying (unsuccessfully as of yet) to get my 4 year old niece to watch it, but she hasn't shown much interest yet. Maybe next year.Paul Williams is a masterful songwriter and composer (Mr. Big Time Conductor, to quote Harvey). If you like his style, I highly recommend Bugsy Malone (1976), the all-kid casted gangster movie starring Scott Baio and Jodie Foster.If you have any inclination to watch this movie, go for it. You will not be disappointed!

There's a new, October 2005 release of Emmett's Jugband Christmas. This one contains an excellent 'making-of' video, made sometime in 2005. It contains a 'blooper' segment, also. It also contains clips of the pieces edited out of the original over the years.Kermit has been removed from this version, released by HIT Entertainment (Kermit is now owned by Disney). Highly recommended, though.Also included in the 'making-of' are the intricacies of having two 'Mom' performers. The singer first recorded the songs, then Frank Oz had to lip-sync 'Mom' to the songs, then Frank did 'Mom' with his own voice, then the singer had to re-do all of 'Mom's lines in sync with the video. Intricate, but it worked really well.