When Jim Henson died in 1990, he had already negotiated a deal to sell his beloved Muppet characters to the Disney corporation, feeling that a big, brand-driven company could keep Muppet movies alive while he took a break to focus on more creative, strange, ambitious projects. Disney has since run hot and cold with the Muppets, making several notable hit films, but also multiple forgettable TV specials, and a few TV shows, two of which spectacularly bombed. 

Making movies with the Muppets, Disney has learned, requires a gentle balance. Kermit the Frog is an innocent, honest character, devoid of cynicism, but the Muppets have always possessed an element of self-awareness. The original “The Muppet Show,” after all, was half a variety program with singing/dancing Muppet performers, and half backstage drama with picky Muppet actors and overwhelmed Muppet stagehands. Most of the Muppet movies have addressed their status as a theater troupe, and many Muppet stories spring from backstage drama between its members. 

Three of the extant Muppet movies, however, took a new, interesting tack with the franchise’s core concept. “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” “Muppet Treasure Island,” and “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” treated the troupe as mere repertory players, tackling cinematic versions of classic literature. In “Christmas Carol,” for instance, Kermit played Bob Cratchit. In “Treasure Island,” he was Captain Smollett. In “Wizard of Oz,” he was the Scarecrow. 

This is an ingenious approach to the Muppets, as they are pliable enough to exist in any great work of literature. Also, audiences get to see their range as Muppet performers; Kermit is, after all, a thespian. It’s a pity that the franchise only did it three times, though, as there were so, so many wonderful works of classic lit that could have been reshaped into Muppet productions. 

It’s a fun time, then, to theorize. What piece of classic literature would have made great adaptations into Muppet movies? Here are some suggestions: