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[[caption-width-right:350:''"Life is made up of meetings and partings. That is the way of it. I am sure we shall never forget Tiny Tim, or this first parting that there was among us."'']]
* "One More Sleep 'Til Christmas" is very heartwarming; everybody's so excited and happy because it's Christmas time, Kermit smiles at the stars and heads home... and then the shot scrolls on a few sad notes to a shivering little Bean Bunny, curled up in newspapers and trying to keep warm, all alone on Christmas Eve.
** This is also probably one of the few times one can sympathize with Bean. In most of his appearances, he’s admittedly quite aggravating with how cute he thinks he is. Here, Bean’s role is played seriously.
* Jacob and Robert Marley's regret for the horrible things they did in life that they now will never be able to amend for, as explained in their song:
--> ''We're Marley and Marley''
--> ''[[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk Our hearts were painted black]]''
--> ''[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone We should've known]] our evil deeds''
--> ''Would put us both in [[JacobMarleyApparel shackles]]''
--> ''Captive, bound, we're double-ironed,''
--> ''Exhausted by the weight''
--> ''As freedom comes from giving love,''
--> ''[[BeingEvilSucks So prison comes with hate]]''
** There they talk about evicting an entire orphanage with the orphans standing in the snow with their frost-bitten teddy bears, they initially laugh but then shudder. It initially seems like they're mimicking the shivering of the children, but [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone the way the scene is portrayed,]] they've realized upon completing the recollection, how horrific such a deed was and now feel the intense shame of their crimes, with the knowledge they've forever lost the chance to make amends.
* The regret in Scrooge's face and voice when he sees his boyhood self all alone in school at Christmas. It gets worse when he remarks that it'd be pointless for Christmas Past to show him another of his childhood Christmases. They were all the same and he was always lonely.
** Additionally, when Scrooge beheld his child self working alone in the classroom, he immediately began trying to justify to the spirit all the time he spent by himself while it seemed like his child self was also convincing himself to stay and work. The emotions on their faces betray that they really wanted to celebrate the holidays, but they didn't know how, or they felt too pressured away from having fun. Present Scrooge is realizing that his rationalizations didn't hold up.
---> "I was often alone...more time for...reading and...studying. The Christmas holiday was...was a chance to get some extra work done. Time for...solitude."
** In the same scene, there's something horribly sad about Scrooge watching his childhood pass before him in a flash, realizing just how quickly his youth disappeared and how little he was able to enjoy it.
** While it's not shown in the movie, it becomes all the sadder when you realize that the young Scrooge had a father who resented him enough that he didn't even bother to bring him home for Christmas and that his little sister, Fan, the only family who was kind to him and advocated for him, [[TraumaCongaLine eventually died giving birth to Fred due to her precarious health and Scrooge had to swallow his grief and take care of his orphaned nephew]].
* The song "When Love Is Gone," which was removed from most versions of the film, not only delivers the pathos of Scrooge's miserable life to the audience, but its lyrics are immediately relatable to anyone who carries the pain of some great mistake in their own life.
-->''There comes a moment in your life''
-->''Like a window, and you see''
-->''Your future there before you,''
-->''And how perfect life can be.''
-->''But adventure calls with unknown voices''
-->''Pulling you away.''
-->''Be careful or you may regret''
-->''The choice you make someday.''
** Present Scrooge joins in and practically breaks down when he realizes that Belle is and was totally right.
** Same goes for Rizzo, who is sobbing his eyes out as Gonzo tries to console him.
** Before the song starts, there's the conversation between the young Scrooge and Belle. He insists he's putting off their wedding until he has more money because he loves her. Belle calmly (but no less heartbreakingly) replies "You did once".
** Then there's the exchange that precedes the scene, after Belle and Scrooge's MeetCute at the Fozziwig Christmas Party. When the Ghost of Christmas Past brings up the Christmas Eve where they separated, Scrooge immediately knows what she's talking about and, in a broken voice, ''begs'' her not to take him there. Even the Ghost seems a bit sad as she moves forward anyway, as if she's aware how much this is going to hurt.
--->'''Ghost of Christmas Past''': Do you remember this meeting?
--->'''Scrooge''': Remember?...yes. I remember.
--->'''Ghost of Christmas Past''': There was, of course, another Christmas Eve with this young woman...some years later.
--->'''Scrooge''': ...oh, please, Spirit...do not show me ''that'' Christmas...
** At the end, after Scrooge tells the spirit to leave him, there's a quietly heartbreaking instrumental reprise of the song as Scrooge finds himself back in his bedroom and sits crying on his bed.
** During the song, young Scrooge follows Belle as he listens. Then, while her back is turned, he turns and walks away. Then at the end, Belle turns to see him gone, and shows an expression of disappointment, as if she were hoping the song would make him come around and chose their love over his pursuit of wealth. The look on young Scrooge's face before he leaves shows that [[HopeSpot he has acknowledged Belle's words]] [[IveComeTooFar but feels he cannot turn back from his own greed]].
** Then, when old Scrooge joins singing with Belle, him clearly choking up because of it. The fact he knows the words also shows that he never ever forgot about that day, remembering every single word.
** When "The Love We Found" kicks in at the end, it becomes a TearsOfJoy moment.
* Scrooge's reaction to hearing that he was the subject of Fred's mocking round of ''Yes And No'' is heartbreaking. When he realizes the group is laughing at him, he just looks completely broken and sad. It's a testament to Creator/MichaelCaine's skills that he manages to convey it so powerfully in just a few seconds.
** Afterward, the Ghost of Christmas Present ushers Scrooge along with a very apologetic tone, as if even he didn't anticipate this, and is sorry Scrooge had to see it.
** Scrooge, who up until that point was enjoying himself immensely, responding to the above with "No more. I wish to see no more."
* Tim's illness, first when he gets excited about the dinner and then at the end of "Bless Us All," when he coughs after singing the last note. The song is cheery, but that cough is a reminder that the family, while together now, may not be complete in the future, and they move on to the dinner to keep up their spirits. You can see Scrooge looking moved before he asks the Ghost of Christmas Present if Tiny Tim will live.
** After he first sees Tiny Tim with Bob, Scrooge can only say "a remarkable child". You can see him realizing that this is what Bob comes home to.
** Scrooge suffers a massive HeelRealization during this scene, lamenting that he pays Bob so little and also clearly sorry for how small the Christmas dinner is as a result.
** It's even worse when the Ghost of Christmas Present echoes Scrooge's "surplus population" line from earlier. Scrooge can't even reply, just looking sadly at Tim and quietly realizing exactly who that "surplus population" is.
*** The delivery of this is arguably more of a GutPunch than the source material. There, the Ghost of Christmas Present has a whole TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to go along with the IronicEcho. Here? It’s about the only [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness departure]] from the spirit’s absentminded BigFun persona.
* It's relatively small compared to a lot of the others but Michael Caine's reaction shots during "Bless Us All" are enough to make people tear up. You can practically see the exact moment in the song that [[HeelRealization he realises how callous he's been to Bob]] (and, by extension, Bob's family) as well as the moment he realises his own culpability in Tiny Tim's poor health. There's also the FridgeHorror (Fridge Sadness?) of the fact that we already know Scrooge suffered a cripplingly lonely childhood, meaning that this is potentially the first time he's truly seeing a happy family enjoying Christmas even though they have practically nothing to celebrate it with. The sight of him clearly silently fighting back tears is almost more heartbreaking than seeing him openly crying.
* The Ghost of Christmas Present's death, aging and turning to glittering dust after Scrooge has just befriended him and [[PleaseDontLeaveMe begs him not to leave him.]]
* Tiny Tim's death.
** Scrooge was initially relieved at being at the Cratchit house again until he realizes something is wrong.
---> '''Ebenezer Scrooge''': It's so quiet. Why's it so quiet, Spirit?
** When we see the Cratchits during Christmas Present, Piggy is hunched over the stove and stealing chestnuts. During Christmas Yet To Come, she's in the exact same position until you realize that she's bent over the stove ''crying''. ''Miss Piggy'' is '''''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness crying]]'''''. This is made worse by Scrooge's reaction with his voice breaking as he pleads "not Tiny Tim".
** "I think (Dad)'s walked a little slower these past two evenings." That line just sets the tragedy up so mercilessly. The entire scene is near impossible not to weep at. Fridge Sadness if you interpret that line to mean that Tiny Tim only passed away a couple of days ago, meaning his family were preparing for what they thought might be his last Christmas, only to lose their son mere days before.
** When Kermit/Bob says he arranged for Tiny Tim to be buried on his favorite hilltop, he tries describing it to Emily. "It would do you good to see how green the place is. I've... I've picked a spot for Tim where he can see... It's...it's the spot on the hill... and you can see the ducks on the river. Tiny Tim..." He's too broken to finish, so Piggy/Emily quietly responds, "Tiny Tim always loved watching the ducks on the river."
** Miss Piggy, ActionGirl and LovableAlphaBitch extraordinaire, is ''every bit as broken as Kermit''. Also, in this continuity, they're a HappilyMarried couple with children. Across all their various incarnations and hilarious PlayedForLaughs MasochismTango moments interchanged with sweet AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther interactions, we are now seeing Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy bereft at the loss of their child.
** When Kermit/Bob's voice breaks on his son's name as he says, "Life is made up of meetings and partings; that is the way of it. I am sure we shall never forget Tiny Tim or this first parting that there was among us." This is followed by a slow pan to Tim's empty chair and ownerless crutch, to the swell of a French horn wistfully reprising "Bless Us All".
** To say nothing of the RealitySubtext of the scene: this was the first major Muppet project after the deaths of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt, and the sorrow of their loss echoes in this scene and Bob's speech. And when you realize that Brian Henson directed this, and had to be thinking of his father the whole time...
** Most of the beginning of the scene echoes the Christmas Present scene--Piggy at the stove, Peter turning the spit, the girls talking to Piggy, but their reactions are so subdued that you know immediately what happened. For example, when Kermit enters, the kids go to greet him- but while they cheered and practically ran him over in the Christmas Present version, they just say "Daddy" and give him a quiet hug. And as mentioned above, instead of cheerfully bustling around and stealing chestnuts, Piggy is crying.
** And there's another heartbreaking difference between the two scenes...earlier, Bob greeted the children, "Merry Christmas, girls; Merry Christmas, Peter." Here, he just says, "Hello, girls...hello, Peter." There's nothing merry about this Christmas.
** Scrooge laments, "Must there be a Christmas that brings this awful scene? How can we endure it?" Notice he says "how can WE endure it". He's no longer thinking of poor folk like the Cratchits and Tiny Tim as the "other", as "surplus population"...he's realized that they're as much a part of the human race as he is, and he feels the Cratchits' sorrow as his own.
* The revelation in the Christmas Yet To Come that Scrooge is going to die unloved and alone. The slowness of the scene and Scrooge's reactions suggest that he realized the identity of the reviled dead man early on and has been in denial about it.
** And in this scene, Scrooge's tears are clearly him realizing that ''[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he]]'' is the reason for Tiny Tim's death. And that seems to be what hurts him more than his own mortality. He's not frightened by the thought of his own death, but he is saddened that he learned empathy too late to be able to help anyone.
** Just the way Scrooge desperately tells the spirit that what he's witnessed can be changed while trying to hold back his tears before he finally sees his gravestone. It's probably the darkest scene in the history of The Muppets.
---> "These events can be changed... A life ''can'' be made right!"
** Here, the scene fully embodies the fact that Scrooge is in despair over the pain he caused for the Cratchits, and that his own death was a cause for many to celebrate. He wants to change, not because he is afraid of damnation -- but because he is genuinely remorseful for what he has done, and what may come to pass. Other adaptations of the story have Scrooge be dragged off to hell, or into his own grave, slightly twisting the message to imply that Scrooge was scared straight, but here, the scene is just Scrooge confronting the cruel, cold nature of what the future has in store unless he changes his ways -- and Scrooge begs the spirit to acknowledge if the future can even be changed, or if the events are already set in stone, desperately hoping that they ''can'' be changed.
* The overall melancholic feeling that runs through the majority of the story anyway is present here, even though they try to keep things as light as they can. Since this was also the first Muppet movie produced without Creator/JimHenson, there is a ''lot'' of sadness running through the film.
* When Beaker gives Scrooge his scarf as a gift. Michael Caine's reaction is great. This is probably the first gift anyone has ever given Scrooge, ever.
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