'Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas' and Why it is a Special Holiday Film

Certain holiday movies invoke special memories for each person who is touched by their magic. For some of us, that may be "It's A Wonderful Life," while for others, we prefer something more whimsical like "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer."

With my family, that movie is "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas."

"Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas" was done by Jim Henson's Muppet studios and was a story of a widow and her son, living on the river and trying to scrape along and make ends meet. One Christmas, they see a town-wide talent show and its prize money as a way to get that special gift. The only problem is, they both set out to win it with the same intentions: getting that perfect Christmas present for the other. Only in the end, they learn that by teaming their efforts and remembering that being together is what is truly important during the holidays.

I had grown up seeing it every holiday season when it was in regular rotation on HBO. However, somewhere along the line, it was taken out of the rotation. For years, I lived under the misapprehension that I was the only person who knew of this movie. Sure, I would try to discuss it whenever a conversation regarding favorite holiday movies was had, but no one has ever heard of it.

When I started assembling my own movie collection, I intentionally sought it out. I can't quite explain it, there was just something about this movie about rag-tag, poor animals living on the river and finding the true meaning of Christmas through a talent competition, a washtub, and an old toolbox, that really spoke to me. I guess the River Bottom Nightmare Band had something to do with it too.

Skip forward a few years, and little Emmet, his pals, and the River Bottom Nightmare Band would play a huge part in another part of my life.

After I was introduced to my wife, we would spend hours each night just chatting away, either on the computer or on the phone. One such night, we were talking about random things that have escaped memory at this stage. However, during one awkward silence, the beautiful young woman on the other end of the line muttered, "Look at the birds, up in the trees." Without skipping a beat, I replied, "We're not birds, we're a jug band."

The rest, as they say, just fell into place after that.

It is funny how a menial little moment can be a sign that this is the right person for you. Two people connecting over a movie quote, from a little known Muppet movie doesn't represent the typical jumpstart to a relationship, but it certainly did for ours.

Now, we've been lucky to find Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas on both VHS and DVD over the years, and have made it a family tradition to watch it with out two young sons, each time retelling the story behind why it is so important to our family.

And every year, Emmet Otter gets to keep the Christmas movie magic alive in my house.