Disney Plus just unveiled its full schedule for the incoming holiday season, and in among the festive titles we knew to expect — such as Marvel’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Tim Allen’s The Santa Clauses sequel series—the Mouse House’s streaming service revealed a little extra surprise that will no doubt make the Christmas of hardcore fans of a certain beloved movie that is celebrating a milestone birthday this year.
Yes, 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of The Muppet Christmas Carol. The unequivocally greatest movie to feature Kermit and his chums (closely followed by Muppet Treasure Island—dont @ me) has long been a staple of the season for Muppet maniacs worldwide. Sadly, though, for the past couple of decades, the experience of watching it every year has been soured by the fact the only version available to watch has been a shortened cut that removes the emotional heart of the film.
Thankfully, Disney is now set to restore the original, uncut version of the movie. Beginning Dec. 9, anyone wishing to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol with the long-lost song “When Love is Gone” returned to its rightful place in the story can find it in the extras pages of the regular edition of the flick on Disney Plus. For those who want to continue viewing the inferior shortened cut, that will remain the primary way to watch the film.
“When Love is Gone” comes during the flashback to the youth of Ebeneezer Scrooge (Michael Caine) and is sung by his former love Belle when she calls off their engagement due to his transformation into a money-hungry miser. The song was long ago removed from the film due to the belief it was boring for children. That’s despite the altered reprisal of the tune, “The Love We’ve Found,” playing at the climax.
While we wait for the Disney Plus release to get here, please enjoy this vintage VHS rip of the missing song.