Long before Toy Story, the Muppets were telling a similar story ā hereās the tale of the Muppet Christmas tale that preceded Christmas Carol.
When nobodyās around, toys come to life. Everybody knows this. Now build on that starting point to imagine a more specific scene: one walking, talking toy – our hero, who is very much the childās favourite but suffering from replacement anxiety – is talking to another, rather grandiose space-themed toy. The space toy canāt really get their little action-figure head around the big news that, in reality, they have not just landed on a strange alien planet but are actually a kidās plaything.
Oh, and then these toys sing a song.
Iām describing a scene from 1986ās The Christmas Toy, a delightful TV special from The Jim Henson company. Until we got to the musical number, however, it very much could have been Toy Story.
Hereās the scene in question.
Unlike The Forgotten Toys, which Mark was discussing here just the other day, and which must have been in development and production at the same time as Pixarās groundbreaking debut feature, director Eric Till and producer Jim Hensonās Christmas movie had the best part of decade to seep into the public consciousness before Toy Story rolled out.
Iām not accusing anybody of ripping anybody off. The notion that toys come to life when theyāre left alone is very easy to come by, which is not entirely coincidental to why itās so resonant. Even the notion of a well-loved, old-fashioned toy going nose-to-nose with a more modern-feeling space toy is the kind of imaginative leap that seems probable within the broader parameters of the concept.
And whether or not many of the ideas in Toy Story were totally brand-new or not is missing the point. Storytelling is about execution, the ātellingā as much as the āstoryā, and thereās no doubt that Pixar played an absolute blinder with its flagship series. Toy Story 2 in particular is a machine-tooled piece of story craft that entwines plot, character and theme through its genius cascade of cutting-edge images and sounds. But thereās something transcendentally magical that Pixar did not have, and has indeed never had in any of its productions.
And thatās Muppets.
Nothing feels more like a toy come to life than a Muppet because, to a great extent, thatās what a Muppet actually is. To see Rugby the Tiger, protagonist of The Christmas Toy, is to badly want to scoop him up and cuddle him. Iāve cuddled Kermit the frog and kissed both Kermit and Piggy and, well, Iām not saying I wouldnāt kiss Woody Pride or Rex, but until VR tech gets ratcheted up a notch, I might find it rather difficult.
The story of The Christmas Toy is simple, direct but authentically heart-tugging. Rugby the Tiger was given to young Jamie last Christmas, and was her favourite gift of the year. As Christmas approaches again, Rugby fears that the new Christmas toy will supplant him in Jamieās affections, so he opens the box and switches places with Meteora, Queen of the Asteroids.
Unfortunately, this means young Jamie will find Rugby out of place, revealing the secret life of toys and dooming Rugby to the existentially dreadful fate of being frozen forever. The toys mount a rescue switcheroo, led by Apple, who was Jamieās favourite before Rugby and who can understand exactly what heās feeling.
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If I were to rattle off similarities to the Toy Story series weād be here all day but hereās a few of the bigger ones: Rugby has a slightly āWhen She Loved Meā-style flashback, older bear Balthazar has a whiff of Lotso about him, thereās (almost inevitably) a Barbie-style fashion doll who is rather invested in her look.
Thereās a terribly emotional scene in which Mew, a fantastic, slightly marginalised Muppet mouse cat-toy, is discovered out of place andā¦ well, reader, Iām almost blind with tears right now just thinking about it. Mewās special assistant on set was Steve Whitmire, later a very close personal friend of Kermit the Frog, and together, Whitmire and Mew make some real magic in this show.
And talking of Kermit, weāre blessed by a cameo in the opening and closing scenes. At the top, a figure in a Santa suit appears on the rooftops, clambers up onto a chimney stack and addresses the audience. “Oh, no, it is not whom you think it is,” he says, “it is I, Kermit the Frog.”
No offence to the mince pie-munching man in red, but this really is a significant trade up. Who actually appears in our lives every Christmas, spreading joy and warmth? The star of The Muppet Christmas Carol, of course.
Like Kermitās cameo in Emmet Otterās Jug Band Christmas, another superb and seasonal Muppet-powered TV special, this froggy intro has been deleted from the DVD release. Of all the things that Disney do to earn a place on my personal naughty list, denying us nice, integral releases of these Henson specials is pretty near the top of the pile.
Can you chill on the avalanche of Star Wars fan service for a second, Mickey, and please sort out your Muppet policies?
In the early 90s, years after The Christmas Toy aired but still before Toy Story was released, there was a spin-off series, The Secret Life of Toys. I recorded all of these onto VHS, but without the eight years of lead time, and thanks to there being 14 episodes, Iām not quite as familiar with them as I am Rugbyās debut adventure.
Lightly pre-empting Toy Story 4, the series saw Rugby and chums in a new playroom, belonging to two new kids. This time around, Mewās best buddy was Nigel Plaskitt, brilliant British Muppeteer, close personal friend of Pipkinsā Hartley Hare and, lately, one of the powers behind indie puppet show, Monty and Co.
Thereās no doubting the quality of either Pixar or The Jim Henson Company, and itās wonderful that both of these collectives, when dealing with similar material, managed to make endlessly rewatchable classics, full of characters to cherish.
Chances are you might not have seen The Christmas Toy, however, so consider this my whole-hearted recommendation. Though good luck finding a fairly-priced DVD (itās streaming on Prime Video as this piece is being published though).
So thatās The Forgotten Toys and now The Christmas Toy. Who is going to complete the hat trick with Disney and Theodore Thomasā delightful stop-motion special from 1983, Where The Toys Come From? Itās another winner, and arguably the most eccentric and imaginative of the lot. Iāll lend you my DVD if you wantā¦
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The battle and a half to get Tombstone to the screen after its director was fired, and the change in direction on Muppet Treasure Island too.
Ah, Tombstone. The 1993 western with a cast led by Kurt Russell, and basically co-starring everyone else who wasn't in the rival project - Wyatt Earp - telling a similar [...]
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