The Muppet Christmas Carol were considered to portray Ebenezer Scrooge. Henson later offered the role to Michael Caine, who replied: "I'm going to play this movie like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me." Production took place at the Shepperton Studios, England. During filming, in order to allow for the Muppets and the human actors to be in the shot, floors had to be removed and re-inserted, with Michael Caine having to walk
A Christmas Carol around for many years – the earliest known written use was in a letter in 1534 – but Dickens's use of the phrase in "A Christmas Carol" popularised it among the Victorian public. The exclamation "Bah! Humbug!" entered popular use in the English language as a retort to anything sentimental or overly festive; the name "Scrooge" became used as a designation for a miser, and was added to the "Oxford English Dictionary" as such in 1982. In the early 19th century the celebration of Christmas was associated in Britain with the countryside and peasant revels, disconnected to the increasing urbanisation