History Literature / EmmetOttersJugBandChristmas

** The 2018 Blu-Ray release took the 2017 DVD release and restored the 4:3 aspect ratio. However given that the media is Progressive Scan, it's a given that the video is still at 30fps unless they throw in motion smoothing to drag the frame rate back up to 60fps.

** The 2018 Blu-Ray release took the DVD release and restored the 4:3 aspect ratio. However given that the media is Progressive Scan, it's a given that the video is still at 30fps unless they throw in motion smoothing to drag the frame rate back up to 60fps.

** The 2018 Blu-Ray release took the DVD release and restored the 4:3 aspect ratio. However given that the media a Progressive Scan, it's a given that the video is still at 30fps unless they throw in motion smoothing to drag the frame rate back up to 60fps.

** The 2018 Blu-Ray release took the DVD release and restored the 4:3 aspect ratio. However given that the media a Progressive Scan, it's a given that the video is still at 30fps unless they throw in motion smoothing to drag the frame rate back up to 60fpa.

** The 2018 Blu-Ray release took the DVD release and restored the 4:3 aspect ratio.

** A 2015 television edit for ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas" series put Kermit's scenes back in the show for the first time in 20 years. [[DigitalDestruction But the film was matted from it's 1977 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen, the frame rate was changed from 60 fps to 30 fps to make it look more like a movie]], and there were other major edits, like removing the "Ain't No Hole in the Washtub" number.[[note]]There is another possible reason why the video is in 30fps -- in its original 60fps form, the video is ''interlaced'' since it was originally recorded to magnetic tape. When converting an interlaced video to progressive scan, both fields are usually melded together and then interpolated, causing the frame rate to half, unless additional post-processing is done to add motion compensation/smoothing and retain the 60fps frame rate. The other side effect of this is the picture will ''blur''. This appears to be the case of the ABC Family and 40th Anniversary DVD release, as when the DVD media is paused, there is no telltale sign of interlacing but instead there is blurring, indicating that processing has been done to convert the video to progressive scan[[/note]]

** Listen to the lyrics of "When the River Meets the Sea". It's a song about ''death'', in a children's Christmas puppet show.[[note]]It should be noted that WordOfGod from composer Music/PaulWilliams in the 2005 Making of Documentary/Retrospective gives the opposite explanation on the song's meaning. He states it's a song about ''life'', a secular hymn on how in his view, we can never truly understand it, just appreciate it reverently. The special itself leaves the interpretation open to the viewer. Still doesn't help that it is often performed at the funerals of Muppet performers tho.[[/note]]

A Christmas story published in 1971 by Russell Hoban. It tells of a widowed otter and her son who are struggling to make ends meet just before Christmas: she does others' laundry and he does odd jobs. Both of them want to get a gift for the other for Christmas - she wants to get him a guitar, and he wants to get her a piano. But times are tough that year, adults are taking the jobs that Emmet used to get and people are doing their own laundry. Then the town announces a talent show with a $50 prize.

Emmet and Ma both enter, keeping it secret from each other. Emmet joins a jug band with his friends, and drills a hole in the bottom of Ma's washtub to turn it into a bass. Ma Otter decides to sing, and has to sell her son's tools to get good clothing for the contest. Just before the show starts, the flashy River Bottom Band from two towns over shows up and easily wins the contest. As Ma, Emmet, and his friends walk home, Ma sings her song with the jug band playing behind her, and the local innkeeper hears them and hires them as the house band.

* AdaptationExpansion: The Riverbottom kids are a gang of thugs in the Jim Henson special, and appear in a number of scenes before they show up at the talent show as the Nightmare.
* AdaptationalVillainy: In the book, the Riverbottom Nightmare Band are just a more professional act. In the special, however, they're a bunch of bullies.
* AllThereInTheScript: Out of all the Riverbottom members, only Chuck and Howard were referred to by name.

* ChekhovsSkill: Early on, the Riverbottom gang is shown entering a music store and jamming out... and they're ''good.'' This comes back to haunt our heroes at the end.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: After all that trouble neither Ma nor Emmet's band win the contest--but they do get steady jobs working for Doc Bullfrog, so presumably they'll be able to afford the guitar and the piano.

* FruitCart: The Nightmare knock over a fruit stand as they barrel through town.

** ''"The Bathing Suit That Grandma Otter Wore"''. With all the things mentioned, the song seems to imply that Grandma Otter has a ''huge posterior'' and/or ''huge jugs''.

--> ''Going to Old Man Possum’s shack / Sister Possum waiting out back''

* IAmSong: The Nightmare's song "Riverbottom Nightmare Band" is this for the Riverbottom gang.

* RealityEnsues: The Riverbottom Nightmare Band puts on a big, flashy, professional-level musical act... and wins the talent contest. Emmett and Ma's incredibly poor decision to gamble with each other's livelihoods nearly ruins them. Though as Emmet points out to Ma after Doc Bullfrog hires them, they make much better singers than they do launderers and doing odd repair work, if they had never taken the risk, their hidden talents would have never been discovered. Talents that are actually appreciated, as opposed to the way Ma's customers and Emmet's brief employers treated them.

** A 2015 television edit for ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas" series put Kermit's scenes back in the show for the first time in 20 years. [[DigitalDestruction But the film was matted from it's 1977 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen, the frame rate was changed from 60 fps to 30 fps to make it look more like a movie]], and there were other major edits, like removing the "Ain't No Hole in the Washtub" number.[[note]]There is another possible reason why the video is in 30fps- in it's original 60fps form, the video is ''interlaced'' since it was originally recorded to magnetic tape. When converting an interlaced video to progressive scan, both fields are usually melded together and then interpolated, causing the frame rate to half, unless additional post-processing is done to add motion compensation/smoothing and retain the 60fps frame rate. The other side effect of this is the picture will ''blur''. This appears to be the case of the ABC Family and 40th Anniversary DVD release, as when the DVD media is paused, there is no telltale sign of interlacing but instead there is blurring, indicating that processing has been done to convert the video to progressive scan[[/note]]

* VillainyFreeVillain: The Riverbottom Nightmare Gang acts like a group of troublemakers and competes in the talent show, but they never do anything truly villainous, and they don't appear to cheat to win the talent show; as noted, their act is genuinely impressive.

** And the original book mentions ''Sister Possum'', a song that the ''Tough Pigs'' Muppets fan supersite calls ''potentially scandalous''. Thankfully, the only things the book gives us about the song is the two lines below:

** Listen to the lyrics of "When the River Meets the Sea". It's a song about ''death'', in a children's Christmas puppet show.[[note]]It should be noted that WordOfGod from composer Music/PaulWilliams in the 2005 Making of Documentary/Retrospective gives the opposite explanation on the song's meaning. He states it's a song about ''life'', a secular hymn on how in his view, we can never truly understand it, just appreciate it reverently. The special itself leaves the interpretation open to the viewer. [[/note]]

** And the original book has ''Sister Possum'', a song that the ''Tough Pigs'' Muppets fan supersite calls ''potentially scandalous'':

** And the original book has ''Sister Possum'', song that the ''Tough Pigs'' Muppets fan supersite calls ''scandalous'':

** And the original book has ''Sister Possum'', song that the ''Tough Pigs'' Muppets fan supersite calls ''scandalous'' and that Jim Henson and Paul Williams wisely didn't choose to adapt for the special:

** A 2015 television edit for ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas" series put Kermit's scenes back in the show for the first time in 20 years. [[DigitalDestruction But the film was matted from it's 1977 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen, the frame rate was changed from 60 fps to 30 fps to make it look more like a movie]], and there were other major edits, like removing the "Ain't No Hole in the Washtub" number.[[note]]There is another possible reason why the video is in 30fps- in it's original 60fps form, the video is ''interlaced''. When converting an interlaced video to progressive scan, both fields are usually melded together and then interpolated, causing the frame rate to half, unless additional post-processing is done to add motion compensation and retain the 60fps frame rate. The other side effect of this is the picture will ''blur''. This appears to be the case of the ABC Family and 40th Anniversary DVD release, as when the DVD media is paused, there is no telltale sign of interlacing but instead there is blurring, indicating that processing has been done to convert the video to progressive scan[[/note]]

** The 2017 40th Anniversary DVD release took the ABC Family cut, removed the faux film look and restored a lot of the deleted scenes(namely, the scene with Alice telling Gretchen Fox to fall off the dock once she's out of earshot, the ''Ain't No Hole in the Washtub'' song, and the snow sliding scene), but still contains the other issues of the ABC Family broadcast(ie it's still matted to 16:9, with no vertical panning in the scenes that needed it. It's also still 30fps, but see the above note about conversion to progressive scan).

* InformedSpecies: Invokes a touch of this. Emmet and his ma look everything like otters...they just bear more of a resemblance to sea otters than the river otters they're intended to be.

* MediumBlending: This is really unlike a typical Jim Henson production as it not only used hand puppets. It also used marionettes for long shots of the characters walking, and kabuki puppetry for some of the acts in the talent show.

-->'''Ma Otter''': [[PrecisionFStrike Sweet Jesus!]] (to the very large and human crewmember resetting the scene) did you see that?

-->''When the mountain touches the valley\\
Or the clouds are taught to fly\\
'''Thus our soul will leave this land most peacefully'''''

-->''She was known for her '''generous silhouette'''''

** ''"The Bathing Suit That Grandma Otter Wore"''. With all the things thy mentioned, the song seems to imply that Grandma Otter has a ''huge posterior'' and/or ''huge jugs''.

-->''When the mountain touches the valley\\Or the clouds are taught to fly\\'''Thus our soul will leave this land most peacefully'''''

** ''"The Bathing Suit That Grandma Otter Wore"'', which if taken in certain context, seems to imply that Grandma Otter has a ''huge posterior'' and/or ''huge jugs''.

** 2 rabbits that have a dance in the contest are about twice as tall as Emmet, his friends and mother[[note]]given that sea otters grow up to almost 6 feet tall on average while the largest known rabbit is the flemish giant which grows to a an average of four and a half feet tall. [[/note]]

* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The special plays the trope straight with two members of the River Bottom Gang. The book doesn't use it. Also averted by Doc Bullfrog, who's as friendly as can be.

** 2 rabbits that have a dance in the contest are about twice as tall as Emmet, his friends and mother

** The 2017 40th Anniversary DVD release took the ABC Family cut, removed the faux film look and restored a lot of the deleted scenes(namely, the ''Ain't No Hole in the Washtub'' song, the scene with Alice telling Gretchen Fox to fall off the dock once she's out of earshot, and the snow sliding scene), but still contains the other issues of the ABC Family broadcast(ie it's still matted to 16:9, with no vertical panning in the scenes that needed it. It's also still 30fps, but see the above note about conversion to progressive scan).

** A 2015 television edit for ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas" series put Kermit's scenes back in the show for the first time in 20 years. [[DigitalDestruction But the film was matted from it's 1977 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen, the frame rate was changed from 60 fps to 30 fps to make it look more like a movie]], and there were other major edits, like removing the "Ain't No Hole in the Washtub" number.[[note]]There is another possible reason why the video is in 30fps- in it's original 60fps form, the video is ''interlaced''. When converting an interlaced video to progressive scan, both fields are usually melded together and then interpolated, causing the frame rate to half, unless additional processing is done to add motion compensation and retain th 60fps frame rate. The other side effect of this is the picture will ''blur''. This appears to be the case of the ABC Family and 40th Anniversary DVD release, as when the DVD media is paused, there is no telltale sign of interlacing but instead there is blurring, indicating that processing has been done to convert the video to progressive scan[[/note]]

** The 2017 40th Anniversary DVD release took the ABC Family cut, removed the faux film look and restored a lot of the deleted scenes(namely, the ''Ain't No Hole in the Washtub'' song, the scene with Alice telling Gretchen Fox to fall off the dock once she's out of earshot, and the snow sliding scene), but still contains the other issues of the ABC Family broadcast(ie it's still matted to 16:9 and at 30fps, with no vertical panning in the scenes that needed it).