A Miser Brothers' Christmas

A Miser Brothers' Christmas is a stop motion spin-off special based on some of the characters from the 1974 Rankin-Bass special The Year Without a Santa Claus.[2] Distributed by Warner Bros. Animation under their Warner Premiere label (the rights holders of the post-1974 Rankin-Bass library) and Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Studios, the one-hour special premiered on ABC Family on Saturday, December 13, 2008, during the network's annual The 25 Days of Christmas programming.[1]

A Miser Brothers' Christmas
Written byEddie Guzelian
Directed byDave Barton Thomas
StarringCatherine Disher
Mickey Rooney
Juan Chioran
George S. Irving
Brad Adamson
Theme music composerWilliam Kevin Anderson
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original language(s)English
Production
Producer(s)Howard Schwartz
Adam Shaheen
Linda Steiner
Running time49 mins
Production company(s)Warner Bros. Animation
Cuppa Coffee Studios
DistributorWarner Premiere
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkABC Family[1]
Original releaseDecember 13, 2008[1]
Chronology
Preceded byThe Year Without a Santa Claus

Mickey Rooney (at age 88) and George S. Irving (at age 86) reprised their respective roles as Santa Claus and Heat Miser.[1][3][4] Snow Miser (originally portrayed by Dick Shawn who died in 1987) was voiced by Juan Chioran,[4] while Mrs. Claus (voiced in the original by Shirley Booth who died in 1992) was portrayed by Catherine Disher.[5] The movie aimed to emulate the Rankin/Bass animation style.[6] This is the last Christmas special to feature Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus, as he died in 2014, as well as the last time George Irving voiced Heat Miser, as he died in 2016.

Plot

The feuding Miser Brothers attend their family reunion with Mother Nature and their fellow siblings, including North Wind, Earthquake, Thunder and Lightning, and the Tides. North Wind passively asks Mother Nature what might happen if Santa would be unable to complete his duties on Christmas. She responds that North Wind would take control instead. Self-absorbed and vain, North Wind becomes fixated with the idea of replacing Santa Claus as a way to achieve personal glory.

Despite his dashing appearance and veneer of flattery and devotion toward Mother Nature, North Wind is far more malevolent than either of his brothers. Beginning his machinations, North Wind sends two of his minions to crash Santa's Super-Sleigh, causing Santa to injure his back after falling in the middle of a fight between the brothers as he unintentionally crosses into their domain.

Despite what she told North Wind before and having been informed by Mrs. Claus about what happened to Santa, Mother Nature assigns the Miser Brothers the responsibility of running the toy factory. Their fighting continues as they move through several workshop stations. North Wind hatches a new plan to keep them fighting so it would appear as if they ruined Christmas themselves, but Mrs. Claus convinces the Miser Brothers to put aside their differences and cooperate by showing them the Naughty/Nice list station. The brothers' history is revealed, showing they've always been on Santa's naughty list for mutual bickering. Upon learning the error of their ways, they begin working together and successfully get work back up to speed. However, North Wind hatches a plan to destroy their truce and get them fighting again, leaving Santa to deliver the toys and giving North Wind the chance to finish him off.

On Christmas Eve, North Wind's minions surreptitiously attach heating and cooling units to the sleigh, apparently capable of heating or cooling entire regions of the planet. The discovery causes the Miser Brothers to blame each other. With them fighting again, Santa has no choice but to drive the sleigh as North Wind planned. After Santa leaves, Tinsel discovers the super-sleigh has been sabotaged, which stops the Misers' fight as they realize that neither of them was responsible for injuring Santa. Upon finding one of North Wind's Christmas cards with him dressed as Santa, the Misers realize the truth about their brother and comprehend his plan. Meanwhile, North Wind attacks Santa's sleigh in flight, whipping up a vortex to consume Santa, but the Miser Brothers, with the aid of Tinsel and a team of young reindeer, save Santa in the nick of time. North Wind's cover is blown and Mother Nature sentences him to do household chores for the next several millennia as punishment for trying to finish off Santa and making his brothers fight.

With North Wind thwarted, the brothers learn they've finally made the nice list. They deliver the presents for Santa and give gifts to each other in the process, making peace between them and ending their feud.

Cast

Reception

The movie had 3.7 million viewers in its first airing, as determined by Nielsen ratings.[7] It received a nomination for "Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children" in the 36th Annual Annie Awards.[8]

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References
  1. "ABC Family's Annual '25 Days Of Christmas' Kicks Off Monday, Dec. 1". Starpulse.com. 2008-11-27. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  2. Robert Lloyd (2008-12-13). "A few holiday tugs at the heartstrings". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  3. "New Christmas shows aren't destined to be classics - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Post-gazette.com. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  4. "New 'A Miser Brothers' Christmas' save Christmas". NY Daily News. 2008-12-13. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  5. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 197–198. ISBN 9781476672939.
  6. "Keeping classic Christmas TV shows alive". The Michigan Daily. 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  7. Levin, Gary (2008-12-18). "Nielsens: Dallas, 'Boston' score key ratings wins - USATODAY.com". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  8. "36th Annual Annie award nominations announced". Businessofcinema.com. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
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