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." He took inspiration for the role from "Wall Street cheats and embezzlers; I thought they represented a very good picture of meanness and greed." 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 across narrow planks between the Muppets and their performers. Additionally, the buildings in the London street scenes were constructed by hand but diminished in size in order to achieve the appearance that the streets were relatively longer. When the musical sequence "It Feels Like Christmas" ends with a crane shot, the short buildings became visibly seen in the background; Brian Henson explained on the DVD audio commentary that they were aware of the problem during shooting, but eventually decided that the closing shot was worth it as they believed not many people would notice the error. Release Box office Walt Disney Pictures appeared to have high expectations for the film, being their widest-released film of the holiday season and the second-widest release under the Disney banner that year. However, the film opened in sixth place, initially reported to have collected $5.9 million in box office estimates, which was later revised to $5 million. Ultimately, The Muppet Christmas Carol grossed a total of $27.3 million in North America. Despite being a modest box office success, The Muppet Christmas Carol did not have a large effect during its theatrical release, having to face competition from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Disney's own Aladdin. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's consensus states, "It may not be the finest version of Charles Dickens' tale to grace the screen, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is funny and heartwarming, and serves as a good introduction to the story for young viewers." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average