The Muppet Christmas Carol musical number "When Love Is Gone" may or may not be familiar to you depending on how you view the holiday staple, but it's now been confirmed the song will be reinstated for forthcoming editions of the film.
Director Brian Henson confirmed the news in conversation with BBC Radio 2, sharing that he was "excited" and "happy" that "When Love Is Gone" would return to its rightful place in the 1992 special that marked his directorial debut.
Henson, son of Muppets creator Jim Henson, shared in a 2018 interview that "When Love Is Gone" was removed for the film's theatrical release as a result of studio pressure for shorter runtime. While Henson and the studio agreed that the song would be included for the video release, the plan soon hit a snag.
"We made a video master with 'When Love Is Gone' then we cut it out, spliced the negative, for the theatrical release. But in the process [Disney] lost the video master and they still have not been able to find the negative," Henson explained at the time, adding that he would "call them like every month to ask if they're still looking."
While VHS copies of the film featured the song, DVD issues and subsequent home releases used the available cinematic master without it. Some digital versions of the film included the song as a standalone bonus feature.
Henson told BBC Radio 2 that The Muppets Christmas Carol is being remastered in 4K, and that the missing negative had been unearthed as part of the process.
"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 but it is coming back, the full-length version is coming back."
While we await the 4K remaster of The Muppet Christmas Carol, revisit "When Love Is Gone" in spectacular 240p below.
Director Brian Henson confirmed the news in conversation with BBC Radio 2, sharing that he was "excited" and "happy" that "When Love Is Gone" would return to its rightful place in the 1992 special that marked his directorial debut.
Henson, son of Muppets creator Jim Henson, shared in a 2018 interview that "When Love Is Gone" was removed for the film's theatrical release as a result of studio pressure for shorter runtime. While Henson and the studio agreed that the song would be included for the video release, the plan soon hit a snag.
"We made a video master with 'When Love Is Gone' then we cut it out, spliced the negative, for the theatrical release. But in the process [Disney] lost the video master and they still have not been able to find the negative," Henson explained at the time, adding that he would "call them like every month to ask if they're still looking."
While VHS copies of the film featured the song, DVD issues and subsequent home releases used the available cinematic master without it. Some digital versions of the film included the song as a standalone bonus feature.
Henson told BBC Radio 2 that The Muppets Christmas Carol is being remastered in 4K, and that the missing negative had been unearthed as part of the process.
"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 but it is coming back, the full-length version is coming back."
While we await the 4K remaster of The Muppet Christmas Carol, revisit "When Love Is Gone" in spectacular 240p below.
