The Muppet Christmas Carol Extended Cut Coming to Streaming
It feels like Christmas! An extended cut of The Muppet Christmas Carol with "When Love Is Gone" restored is coming to Disney+. The deleted song — an emotional ballad about love lost between Belle (Meredith Braun) and Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) — was infamously cut from the film's original 86-minute theatrical release in 1992. The four-minute deleted scene, which surfaced on VHS and DVD versions but was absent from the 2012 Blu-ray disc, has been available to watch as an extra on Disney+. But for the first time, the full-length version of The Muppet Christmas Carol with "When Love Is Gone" included will be streaming in celebration of the film's 30th anniversary.
Keep reading to find out how to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol's extended cut and what to know about deleted song "When Love Is Gone."
Where to Stream The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Muppet Christmas Carol extended version will be streaming alongside the theatrical cut starting Friday, December 9th, on Disney+. To watch the full-length version of Muppet Christmas Carol with "When Love Is Gone" included, you'll have to navigate to the "Extras" tab on the film's page on Disney+.
Where Else Can I Watch The Muppet Christmas Carol Online?
If you don't have a Disney+ subscription, you can watch Muppet Christmas Carol on digital rental services Apple TV+, Amazon, Google Play, the Microsoft Store, YouTube, Vudu, and Redbox for $3.99. The Muppet Christmas Carol's extended cut with "When Love Is Gone" included will stream exclusively on Disney+ without additional cost to subscribers.
Why Was "When Love Is Gone" Cut From The Muppet Christmas Carol?
Director Brian Henson, son of puppeteer and The Muppets creator Jim Henson, removed "When Love Is Gone" at the request of Disney's then-Studio Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"[Katzenberg] never forced me to do anything, but he said, 'Do you see how antsy those kids are getting?'" Henson told EW in 2020. "He's like, 'It's just a little too adult-emotional for little kids to stay connected.' [The movie] certainly plays well without the song, but I obviously preferred having the song in. I think it's good for kids to be pulled into deeply emotional moments, even if they feel slightly awkward about it when they're in a movie theater."
When "When Love Is Gone" Was Gone
In 2018, Henson told Big Issue that the deleted song was never restored for the Muppet Christmas Carol Blu-ray because the scene's original film negative was believed lost.
"When we tried cutting it in to the Blu-ray movie it looked terrible because you could tell we'd cut from high resolution to the original video release," Henson explained. "I'm still pressuring them to find it. They keep swearing to me that there is no way it has been lost forever, and I keep saying, 'but it's been 20 years!'"
Henson added: "They're still searching. I call them like every month to ask if they're still looking. One of these days they'll find it."
In 2020, Henson confirmed the lost piece of film had been found and would be restored for a 4K remaster.
"They are all set with the full-length version again. I don't know if they are going to get it up on Disney+ in time for Christmas because they have all these processes," Henson said at the time, "but it is coming back. The full-length version is coming back."
Both versions of The Muppet Christmas Carol will be available to stream on Disney+ starting December 9th. See our Disney+ holidays 2022 streaming guide and sign up for Disney+ here.