Emmet Otter’s Jug~Band Christmas , 1977
Welcome to another Holiday Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! To close out 2018 J. Blake and Dion Baia are showcasing a cult Christmas classic that is getting some much-deserved love in recent years. They’re tackling the Jim Henson holiday classic, Emmet Otter’s Jug~Band Christmas, from 1977!
The boys lovingly unpack this once lost holiday gem that is celebrating its 40th anniversary in ‘the states’ this year. Dion and Blake utilize the original 1971 source book by Russell and Lillian Hoban for reference, and can’t hold back their utter amazement at the technical prose of the Jim Henson team and the unbridled magic they are able to create. Mixed with the genius that is Paul Williams and his music, they layout a Christmas Special that may have more film cuts than Blade Runner. So come pull up a chair and a have a listen as the boys grab their Mom’s washtub and head down to Waterville and Frogtown Hollow, on an all new holiday installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Extras!
Please go listen to J. Blake‘s 2014 Blues album, When You Coming Home?, as discussed in this week’s episode.
Here’s Dion with Paul Williams when they met at an Emmet Otter event in Queens, in December 2018.
Check out these hilarious outtakes from the 1977-78 Christmas Special!
Here’s an unused song from the special, written for the meek Music Store Owner, titled Born in a Trunk!
Lastly, take a look at this stirring rendition of the song “When the River Meets the Sea“, song by Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold at Jim Henson’s Memorial Service.
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Thanks for doing an episode on this! I came to it later in life too, but it has become one of my top holiday watches every year. I made a holiday special for my local TV station a few years ago. Can’t say it’s anywhere near Emmet Otter, but it has a musical number and a bunch of puppets too. When I first stumbled upon this site, I wasn’t too sure about the length about some of the episodes, but now I can easily listen to two and a half hours of Grumpy Old Men talk…
Take care guys!
Eric
The aforementioned local TV holidays special:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mCqY8Wg0vJM
Hey Eric! Thank you so much for dropping us a line! Yes, it certianky is a favorite over here at SNMS. And yes, it seems our listeners prefer the long-form casts we present, so that is why weve been comfortable keeping them that long. And thanks for the link, we will certainly check it out. See you down in Waterville or Frogtown Hollow! 🙂