There’s nothing quite like the thrill of sharing timeless films with my friends, family, and readers that they’ve never known but grow to love deeply. EMMET OTTER’S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS is one such enchanting tale that deserves a spot in every holiday lineup.
EMMET OTTER’S JUGBAND CHRISTMAS (1977)
DIRECTOR: Jim Henson
STARRING: Emmet Otter, Alice Otter and Wendell
NARRATOR: Kermit the Frog
PLOT: Emmet and Ma Otter are very poor, but they are very happy and talented singers. Christmas is around the corner, and they both want to get the other a very special present. The prize in the talent show is $50. Both Emmet and Ma get a song ready for the competition.
Jim Henson’s wonderful Christmas special first aired December 4, 1977. I have required holiday viewing for it since the early 1980s, and I quite frankly consider it to be the best Christmas special of all time.
The Story of Emmet Otter
Young Emmet and his “ma” Alice have been struggling financially and emotionally ever since the death of his father/her husband. Alice takes in laundry to bring in extra income, while Emmet does whatever odd jobs he can find using his dad’s old tool chest, sometimes along with his buddy Wendell.
As Christmas approaches, Alice would love nothing more than to get Emmet the guitar he admires in the music store window as they stroll downtown. And Emmet longs to find a way to bring home a piano for his mom. They both painfully realize that their meager funds make each of those goals very unlikely.
It is announced that a talent show will take place in Frogtown Hollow on Christmas Eve, the winner of which will receive $50. Emmet and his friends decide to put together a jug-band and enter the contest; however he must put a hole in his ma’s washtub to make a bass. Likewise, Alice decides to enter the contest as well, but she doesn’t have enough money to buy material for a dress, so she is forced to sell the tool chest Emmet uses for his odd jobs.
Who wins the contest? I wouldn’t dare spoil the ending for those who haven’t had the experience of getting to know Emmet and Alice and all their friends and neighbors. Suffice it to say, sacrifices are made, lessons are learned and this Christmas Eve will be a night that will change their lives forever.
Emmet Otter is Timeless Entertainment
Of all the holiday films and specials I’ve highlighted on this site, I whole-heartedly urge you and your entire family to take an hour to sit down and enjoy this one together.
The songs will be stuck in your head for days, weeks, and possibly even months and years afterwards. I’m pretty sure I know each and every one of them by heart.
The relationships between the characters, particularly between Emmet and Alice, are poignant and remarkably human, even though there’s not a single homo sapien to be found.
And most importantly, whenever I sit down and watch this remarkable Christmas special, the spirit of the holiday becomes omnipresent. This is the definition of timeless entertainment. A family struggling to make ends meet, the dreams we often stifle because they seem too impossible to achieve, the questionable things we often do for unquestionably noble reasons. This was first released decades ago, but the themes of this special are pertinent yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Emmet Otter Conveys the Spirit of Christmas
Forgive me if my effusive praise is a bit hyperbolic, and perhaps no program is able to live up to such superlatives, but this is a very personal choice for me. It’s one of the most wonderful and moving artistic experiences I can imagine, and more than any other movie or documentary or special, it conveys the spirit and magic of Christmas.
Isn’t it funny how a few puppets made of felt and glue can move a jaded, often cynical middle-aged man to such superlatives? That’s a Christmas miracle in itself.
By the way, if you happen to watch this on DVD, don’t miss the wonderful behind the scenes documentary about the making of this classic. You will see bloopers, the faces behind the voices, remembrances by those who worked with and knew Jim Henson, and other fascinating tidbits.
RATING: ***** out of *****
Have you seen EMMET OTTER’S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS? If so, do you agree with my assessment? If not, does it sound like a movie you’d like to see?
Are there any holiday movies and specials you love but no one else seems to know about? Let me know in the comments below. Maybe it will show up in a future article.
POSTS ABOUT CHRISTMAS MOVIES THAT YOU WILL SURELY ENJOY:
40 BEST CHOICES! LIST OF G RATED CHRISTMAS MOVIES TO WATCH
7 POPULAR CHRISTMAS MOVIES FOR TEENS TO WATCH THIS HOLIDAY
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