You may have missed your schedule today, between opening presents and snacking on walnuts to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol on Disney +, and if you saw it in the theater or on VHS as a child, you would be reminded of a song that was not present in the current streaming version. “When Love Is Gone”, a sequence previously included in some versions of the film, but removed from others at the request of a former Disney executive, but fortunately for purists, Muppet fans and sincere audiences everywhere, the full play will debut in a version recently restored Christmas classic.
Director Brian Henson (Jim’s son) revealed the news in a new interview with BBC Radio 2, where he revealed that both the video master and the negative of the original camera for the song were supposed to have been lost for some time. However, in a Christmas miracle, they were both found while the team was preparing to assemble the remastered version for 4K. Henseon revealed that he was asked to check the new copy of the film to make sure it looked good, where it appeared they recovered the sequence and put it back in the film.
“I was so excited. In fact, they hid it … so I went down and they said, ‘But before we show it to you, we have something else we want to show you,'” he revealed. Henson. “And they staged the fourth role of the Christmas carol with When Love Is Gone. I said, “No, you didn’t! And they said, “Yes, I did! I found it!” I was so happy, I was so happy. “
He continued: “Everyone is ready again for the full version. I don’t know if they’ll make Disney Plus in time for Christmas, because they have all these processes, but it comes back, the full-length version comes back. “
Henson went on to explain that the reason the play was cut from the theatrical version was executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg (now famous for Quibi’s implosion) thought the play was “emotionally sophisticated” and the children in the audience would not like it. The director “reluctantly agreed”, making a deal to put it back on the television and home media versions.
However, the inclusion of “When Love Disappeared” was not in every version of The Muppet Christmas Carol. The VHS and Laserdisc copies featured it, but when it came to DVDs, only the full-screen versions of the movie featured the track, and eventually came without DVDs or Blu-rays to include it in the main cut. “When Love Is Gone” can be found in many bonus feature sections for these versions and can even be seen on Disney + in the Extra tab. It is unclear when the version of the movie that includes the song during its run will be available for purchase or streaming, but as Cinema Blend theorizes a release in 2022 seems likely, as it would mark 30 years since the film’s release.