Why the Classic ‘A Muppet Family Christmas’ Isn’t Streaming Anywhere

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During the holidays, many families turn to Disney+ for entertainment, with popular options including various well-known franchises and original shows. A particularly cherished film is the 1992 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story starring Michael Caine, which became available on Disney+ after Disney acquired the Muppets in 2004. While Disney+ offers a lot of Muppet content, fans have noticed one notable absence: the 1987 holiday special, A Muppet Family Christmas.

This holiday special features the beloved Muppets – Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, and friends – traveling to Fozzie’s mom’s house for a celebration. However, Miss Piggy is delayed by work commitments and a snowstorm. To make things even more complicated, Fozzie’s mother didn’t know he was coming and accidentally rented the house out to Doc and Sprocket, meaning they’ll be spending the holidays with the Muppets instead!

What truly sets A Muppet Family Christmas apart from most other holiday specials is its all-Muppet cast. Aside from Doc and a brief appearance by Jim Henson himself, no humans appear, letting the Muppets drive the entire story. The Muppets were incredibly popular thanks to shows like Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and Muppet Babies, and this special cleverly brought all those worlds together. It felt like Jim Henson’s take on The Avengers, uniting all his beloved characters in one event.

The special introduces some fun new characters: Fozzie befriends a snowman who wants to be a comedian, and Gonzo meets a turkey with a crush on his girlfriend, Camilla the Chicken. The story builds to a heartwarming climax where Doc braves a blizzard to find Miss Piggy, the Muppets perform a version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,’ and characters from all four shows come together for a musical finale.

Where Is ‘A Muppet Family Christmas’ Available?


Jim Henson Productions

Right now, you can’t buy, rent, or stream A Muppet Family Christmas anywhere. While Jim Henson Productions used to own everything involved, the Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and Bear in the Big Blue House are now owned by different companies, each with their own streaming services. This makes figuring out who owns the special itself tricky. Plus, the songs in the special were only licensed for that one broadcast, not for ongoing streaming, which adds another hurdle.

The special A Muppet Family Christmas has faced issues with music rights, leading to nearly ten minutes of content being removed. The original broadcast version ran for 52 minutes, but when released on VHS and DVD, several songs were left out due to licensing problems. While the complete special hasn’t been officially released on streaming services, versions have appeared online, but these are typically the shortened home video versions with missing songs.

The Muppets are popular again thanks to Disney+ and a new series, which makes it disappointing that a beloved special featuring so many classic characters isn’t available to stream anywhere. However, with companies often being bought by others, there’s still a chance that the rights could eventually be combined, and we might finally be able to watch this iconic special.

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2025-12-21 03:32