[4.7/10] The only reason to watch The Great Santa Claus Switch is to see a piece of Muppet history. There’s a forensic quality to this one. Hey, the underground-dwelling creatures are called “Frackles” a la “Fraggles!” Look, one of them is a proto Gonzo! Look, another is a proto Grover! The rest of them have the energy of Gareth’s demon pals in Labyrinth. And Fred the elf seems like a forerunner to Ernie! If you’re interested to see the roots of what Jim Henson and company were working on, you’ve got something here.
Otherwise, these forty-five minutes or so are a waste of time. Ed Sullivan tells the story with all the energy of a turtle on ambien, and the kids listening to him seem about as enthusiastic. The plot goes nowhere quickly, with a stock “Santa’s incapacitated somehow and maybe Xmas won’t come” narrative. The characters are gossamer thin, without much of the irreverence or charm that you associate with the muppets. The comedy is broad, but not clever or endearing. And the special is shaggy to the point of occasional incoherence, with repetitive bits and pointless detours that make even the better moments somewhat trying.
The best you can say for it is that the puppetry is good? While the “Santa’s Workshop” set is pretty generic, the underground caverns are full of the life and charm of a good muppet setting. Thig and Thog are pretty useless as characters, but the gigantic, whole-body puppets have a certain puffball charm to them. Many of the muppets are marionettes, which is a rarity and a novelty for Henson’s crew. And little bits like a flying pterodactyl muppet, or the villain’s erstwhile advisor popping in and out of a smoking cauldron, or a couple of bird muppets whose necks extend out to giraffe length show that whatever the crew had yet to refine in terms of humor and storytelling, they were still quite capable and inventive in the puppeteering department.
That said, the special looks like it was made for about twelve dollars. I don’t want to slate a 1970s T.V. show too hard when it comes to production values, but there’s a chintzy quality to the proceedings -- in the corny special effects, unconvincing marionette moments, and “Who needs a second take?” energy of many scenes -- that drags this one down.
Art Carney is at least giving his all in a dual role as both Santa and Cosmo Scam, the guy trying to replace Santa so he can burgle homes around the world. He has a proto-Bad Santa quality which is worth a little something. But for the most part, he mugs and screeches and is, like so much else in this special, pretty annoying when you get right down to it.
The story itself is generic, without anything really to recommend it. There’s some sweetness in how Santa charms and wins the allegiance of his captors with his sheer niceness and generosity. Fred the elf’s determination “to serve” is a little off-putting, even if his heroics to save the day are solid. And the songs that move things along are cute enough, if likewise repetitive and often pretty generic.
On the whole, muppet completionists will have something to chew on here, as it’s interesting to trace the origins of Henson and company’s style in this early outing. But if you’re not in it to connect the dots between here and, say, The Muppet Christmas Carol, you’re much better off just putting the latter film on this holiday season, and leaving The Great Santa Claus Switch back at Santa’s workshop with the rest of unfinished toys.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-11-27T02:23:16Z
[4.7/10] The only reason to watch The Great Santa Claus Switch is to see a piece of Muppet history. There’s a forensic quality to this one. Hey, the underground-dwelling creatures are called “Frackles” a la “Fraggles!” Look, one of them is a proto Gonzo! Look, another is a proto Grover! The rest of them have the energy of Gareth’s demon pals in Labyrinth. And Fred the elf seems like a forerunner to Ernie! If you’re interested to see the roots of what Jim Henson and company were working on, you’ve got something here.
Otherwise, these forty-five minutes or so are a waste of time. Ed Sullivan tells the story with all the energy of a turtle on ambien, and the kids listening to him seem about as enthusiastic. The plot goes nowhere quickly, with a stock “Santa’s incapacitated somehow and maybe Xmas won’t come” narrative. The characters are gossamer thin, without much of the irreverence or charm that you associate with the muppets. The comedy is broad, but not clever or endearing. And the special is shaggy to the point of occasional incoherence, with repetitive bits and pointless detours that make even the better moments somewhat trying.
The best you can say for it is that the puppetry is good? While the “Santa’s Workshop” set is pretty generic, the underground caverns are full of the life and charm of a good muppet setting. Thig and Thog are pretty useless as characters, but the gigantic, whole-body puppets have a certain puffball charm to them. Many of the muppets are marionettes, which is a rarity and a novelty for Henson’s crew. And little bits like a flying pterodactyl muppet, or the villain’s erstwhile advisor popping in and out of a smoking cauldron, or a couple of bird muppets whose necks extend out to giraffe length show that whatever the crew had yet to refine in terms of humor and storytelling, they were still quite capable and inventive in the puppeteering department.
That said, the special looks like it was made for about twelve dollars. I don’t want to slate a 1970s T.V. show too hard when it comes to production values, but there’s a chintzy quality to the proceedings -- in the corny special effects, unconvincing marionette moments, and “Who needs a second take?” energy of many scenes -- that drags this one down.
Art Carney is at least giving his all in a dual role as both Santa and Cosmo Scam, the guy trying to replace Santa so he can burgle homes around the world. He has a proto-Bad Santa quality which is worth a little something. But for the most part, he mugs and screeches and is, like so much else in this special, pretty annoying when you get right down to it.
The story itself is generic, without anything really to recommend it. There’s some sweetness in how Santa charms and wins the allegiance of his captors with his sheer niceness and generosity. Fred the elf’s determination “to serve” is a little off-putting, even if his heroics to save the day are solid. And the songs that move things along are cute enough, if likewise repetitive and often pretty generic.
On the whole, muppet completionists will have something to chew on here, as it’s interesting to trace the origins of Henson and company’s style in this early outing. But if you’re not in it to connect the dots between here and, say, The Muppet Christmas Carol, you’re much better off just putting the latter film on this holiday season, and leaving The Great Santa Claus Switch back at Santa’s workshop with the rest of unfinished toys.