Disney+ to add long lost song into The Muppet Christmas Carol after unearthing footage
Director Brian Henson has revealed how the song was recovered.
In what certainly feels like a Christmas miracle, a brand new The Muppet Christmas Carol song long thought lost has been found.
Brian Henson, who directed the movie and is the son of muppets creator Jim Henson, revealed the news in an interview yet to air in full on BBC Radio 2.
"It’s the lost piece of negative of the movie, they found it two weeks ago," he said.
The song is titled When Love Is Gone, and is sung by Scrooge's young fiancee Belle (played by Meredith Braun) in a flashback. Henson explained it was originally cut from the finished movie because Disney believed it wouldn't appeal to a younger audience.
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Henson revealed they had been trying to find the negative for "years and years" without any luck – until now. As it turns out, someone in the editing room kept an unedited copy of the scene just in case, which means it can be added in to the film, currently available on Disney+ without the extra song (yet).
"They’re all set with the full-length version again, I don’t know if they’re 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," he added.
Speaking of his reaction to the news, Henson said Disney kept it as a surprise from him. He was asked to check the new, remastered 4K version, and that's when they revealed the footage.
"I was so excited. They actually hid it. So I went down and they said: 'But before we show it to you, we’ve got something else we want to show you'," he stated. "And they put up reel four of Christmas Carol with When Love Is Gone. I was like, 'No, you did not!' and they said, 'Yes we did! We found it!' I was so happy."
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