What can I say, this is a fairly fun bit of hokum. Kermit and the gang have to get a few undelivered letters to Santa on Christmas eve as the post office is closed. Wackiness ensues.Seriously, that's the story. That's it. There is nothing else to see here and cue an excuse for a series of cameos and musical numbers. But personally I have no problem with that. With some fairly recognisable faces cropping up and a frankly movie stealing performance from Nathan Lane these make the film watchable enough. As an aside, a little game I've started playing when ever I see Jane Krakowski in something these days is pretending she's actually Jenna Maroney, the actress she plays in 30 Rock, playing the character in the movie I'm currently watching. You know, now that I'm typing that I'm not sure it's such a cool thing… So anyway, the cameos are fun, how about the songs? Not to bad I suppose. I don't expect another 'Rainbow Connection' anytime soon, but I'd like to at least be able to hum them to myself the next day. Other than 'My Best Christmas Yet' the songs are just a little to forgettable. The only one that really sticks out is actually the 'miming' the Muppets do to 'Things we said Today', which runs over the closing credits, as does a bunch of 'gaff' takes. It seems that Kermit and Co. have been taking lessons from Jackie Chan because we get to see them fluffing lines, missing cues and generally just messing about a bit. Which is a whole heap of fun. It's quite obvious that the performers are having an absolute blast here and love their work and the characters they are creating. Considering it's the Muppets, that is only as it should be.The writing is nice, with some great one liners and fun word play. I like this movie, there just isn't a whole lot I think I can say about it other than it's enjoyable.

With the month of December almost over, I finally decided to watch this Muppet Christmas special that I put off for the last two weeks. In summation, A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa is no great shakes compared to the classic "Muppet Show" that I enjoyed as a kid of the '70s but these creations of the late Jim Henson can still entertain like nobody's business and it was very nice to see the whole gang from that show together again. The songs by Muppet veteran Paul Williams were nicely done though only the Fozzie/Gonzo duet about wishing to be Santa seems like a future classic. The celebrity cameos are hit-or-miss but do provide some amusements especially that of Williams and Nathan Lane. I recognized the kid from that Disney movie that starred Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It's too bad that Jane Krakowski and Jesse Martin weren't utilized more for their musical talents. Still, if you love the Muppets, you'll be glad to see them in A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa.

The best Muppet material out there is that which the children can "get" on one level and the parents can "get" on another. The movies tend to be hit and miss ("Manhattan" vs. "Space", for example), but the holiday ones over the last decade or so had been winners. This one disappointed. More than anything, it was just rushed and pretty flat. The humor never really took off, although it came close at times, and there were some nice moments. However, the way most of the Muppets were brought in for quickie appearances, the including of the guest stars (Whoopi was worthless and Richard Griffiths just looked and sounded terrible as Santa), the plot seemingly jumping from A to D without much effort into giving us B and C to tie it together smoothly, even the songs didn't hook us like they normally do...this was just a pretty "eh" effort. I hope the writers put more real effort into it next time instead of just wanting to throw a holiday special with the Muppets on TV to do it. I've gone back and watched "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and "A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" since this one aired and I've forgotten all about the mediocrity that is "Letters to Santa".

The script was DREADFUL, the "star-studded" cast was jaw-droppingly lame, the music limp and meaningless, the child actress too, too precious and affected... can't think of anything that was good about it. (Okay, the costumes were alright- Uma Thurman got the best ones.) It's just too bad, really, but apparently no one involved with the creative part of Muppets productions has any memory of what made them so special, so charming and funny and INTELLIGENT in the first place. Was it all because of Jum Henson? Because the productions, including Sesame Street, have gone straight to smirky, smarmy, dopey, predictable, kids'll-watch-anything so it doesn't matter Hollywood h*ll since he died.