A Miser Brothers' Christmas
Encyclopedia
A Miser Brothers' Christmas is a stop motion
spin-off
special based on the characters from 1974 Rankin-Bass special The Year Without a Santa Claus
. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation
(the rights holders of the post-1973 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 The 25 Days of Christmas Christmas programming. Mickey Rooney
and George S. Irving
reprised their respective roles as Santa Claus
and Heat Miser
. Snow Miser
, originally portrayed by Dick Shawn
who died in 1987, was voiced by Juan Chioran, while Mrs. Claus
, who was voiced by Shirley Booth
, who died in 1992, was done in this special by Catherine Disher
.
what might happen if Santa would not be able 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 for his personal glory. Despite his dashing appearance and veneer of flattery and devotion toward his mother, North Wind is far more malevolent than either of his brothers. Beginning his machinations, North Wind sends two minions to sabotage
the Super-Sleigh. The crippled sleigh causes Santa to injure his back after falling in the middle of the fight between the Miser Brothers when he unintentionally crosses into their region.
Despite what she told North Wind before, Mother Nature assigns the Miser Brothers the responsibility of running the toy factory, who were blamed for Santa's injuries. Their fighting continues as they're repositioned in several stations of the North Pole workplace. North Wind hatches a new plan to keep them fighting so it would appear as if they ruined Christmas themselves, but Mrs. Claus convinces them to put aside their differences and cooperate by showing them the Naughty/Nice list station. The history of the brothers is revealed, showing they've been on Santa's "naughty list" for mutual bickering since infancy. This history would contradict The Year Without a Santa Claus, in which they identify each other as stepbrothers, as they appear this time to be fraternal twins. Upon learning the error of their ways, the two 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 give him the chance to finish him off.
The night of the delivery, 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 the Brothers fighting again, Santa has no choice but to drive the sleigh as North Wind planned. After he leaves, Tinsel discovers the super-sleigh was sabotaged, stopping the Misers' fight when 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 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 household chores for the next several thousand years. With North Wind thwarted, the Brothers learn they've finally made the "Nice List." The Miser Brothers then volunteer to replace the recuperating Santa in delivering the toys, giving gifts to each other in the process, making peace between them and ending their feud.
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
special based on the characters from 1974 Rankin-Bass special The Year Without a Santa Claus
The Year Without a Santa Claus
The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Rankin/Bass stop motion animated television special. It usually airs during the Christmas season on United States television. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name, illustrated by Kurt Werth.-Summary:The show is set in the...
. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
(the rights holders of the post-1973 Rankin Bass library) and Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Studios, the one-hour special premiered on ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
on Saturday, December 13, 2008 during the network's The 25 Days of Christmas Christmas programming. Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
and George S. Irving
George S. Irving
George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
reprised their respective roles as Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
and Heat Miser
Heat Miser
Heat Miser is a character from the Rankin/Bass 1974 children's television special The Year Without a Santa Claus. A vaguely demonic ogre-like being, Heat Miser is a blustery, quick-tempered hothead who is ultimately harmless...
. Snow Miser
Snow Miser
Snow Miser is a character from the Rankin/Bass-produced 1974 stop-motion animated Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Snow Miser was voiced by actor/comedian Dick Shawn....
, originally portrayed by Dick Shawn
Dick Shawn
Dick Shawn was an American actor and comedian.-Early life and career:Shawn was born as Richard Schulefand in Buffalo, New York. He played Sylvester Marcus, son of Mrs. Marcus , in Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Lorenzo St...
who died in 1987, was voiced by Juan Chioran, while Mrs. Claus
Mrs. Claus
Mrs. Claus is the wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in North American Christmas tradition.While Santa Claus himself emerged from the 1820s from a number of traditions of European folklore, Mrs...
, who was voiced by Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
, who died in 1992, was done in this special by Catherine Disher
Catherine Disher
Catherine Wilder Disher is a Canadian actress who won a Gemini Award for Best Actress for her role in the Canadian mini-series Snakes & Ladders, and was nominated for her role as Dr...
.
Plot
Santa's chief mechanic, Tinsel, makes a new Super-Sleigh, which Santa decides to test the next day. Meanwhile, the feuding Miser Brothers attend their family reunion, where their brother, North Wind (voiced by Brad Adamson), passively asks Mother NatureMother Nature
Mother Nature is a common personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother. Images of women representing mother earth, and mother nature, are timeless...
what might happen if Santa would not be able 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 for his personal glory. Despite his dashing appearance and veneer of flattery and devotion toward his mother, North Wind is far more malevolent than either of his brothers. Beginning his machinations, North Wind sends two minions to sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
the Super-Sleigh. The crippled sleigh causes Santa to injure his back after falling in the middle of the fight between the Miser Brothers when he unintentionally crosses into their region.
Despite what she told North Wind before, Mother Nature assigns the Miser Brothers the responsibility of running the toy factory, who were blamed for Santa's injuries. Their fighting continues as they're repositioned in several stations of the North Pole workplace. North Wind hatches a new plan to keep them fighting so it would appear as if they ruined Christmas themselves, but Mrs. Claus convinces them to put aside their differences and cooperate by showing them the Naughty/Nice list station. The history of the brothers is revealed, showing they've been on Santa's "naughty list" for mutual bickering since infancy. This history would contradict The Year Without a Santa Claus, in which they identify each other as stepbrothers, as they appear this time to be fraternal twins. Upon learning the error of their ways, the two 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 give him the chance to finish him off.
The night of the delivery, 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 the Brothers fighting again, Santa has no choice but to drive the sleigh as North Wind planned. After he leaves, Tinsel discovers the super-sleigh was sabotaged, stopping the Misers' fight when 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 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 household chores for the next several thousand years. With North Wind thwarted, the Brothers learn they've finally made the "Nice List." The Miser Brothers then volunteer to replace the recuperating Santa in delivering the toys, giving gifts to each other in the process, making peace between them and ending their feud.