Original artwork, not a still
Light the lamp, not the rat. Light the lamp! Not the rat!
— The Muppet Christmas Carol ‧ 1992
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Rizzo is shouting an urgent instruction, and the joke is the rat he doesn't want set alight. The unlit lamp is the thing that's meant to be lit. It turns a frantic cry into a plain, funny correction.
Context reviewed
