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MiserBrothersCast

A Miser Brothers' Christmas is a sequel to the classic 1974 television special The Year Without a Santa Claus. This stop-motion animated special was produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation (owners of the post-1973 Rankin/Bass animated special library) and Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Studios. It premiered as part of ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas on December 13, 2008, making it the network's first original animated special, and was aired annually on the network through 2015. Mickey Rooney reprised his role of Santa Claus, which originated in the 1970 special Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, while George S. Irving reprised his role as the Heat Miser. Original music was written by William K. Anderson, with the exception of "Snow Miser/Heat Miser", which was written by Maury Laws and Jules Bass for the 1974 special. Eddie Guzelian wrote the story and Dave Barton Thomas directed.

The special was nominated for the 2008 Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production; however, it lost to Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Synopsis

SPOILER: Plot details or story follow.
Family Reunion

Mother Nature with the rest of her kids.

Miser-brothersSantaTinsel

Santa gets advice from Tinsel the Elf on his new sled.

Santa's chief mechanic, Tinsel, makes a new Super-Sleigh, which Santa decides to test the next day. Meanwhile, the feuding Miser Brothers, Heat Miser and Snow Miser, attend their family reunion, where their brother, 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 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 a fight between the Miser Brothers as he unintentionally crosses into their domain.

Despite what she told North Wind before, Mother Nature assigns the Miser Brothers the responsibility of running the toy factory after they were blamed for Santa's injuries. Their fighting continues as they move through 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 the Misers 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 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 household chores for the next several thousand years as punishment for his actions. 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 to children, giving gifts to each other in the process, making peace between them and ending their feud.

Spoilers end here.

Songs

Availability

MiserBrosXmasDVD

The cover to the DVD release.

Warner Home Video released the special on DVD on October 6, 2009. The DVD contained a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette titled "What Makes Stop Motion Go". This DVD was later re-released as part of the 4 Kid Favorites: Holiday Family Fun Collection box set, released on October 1, 2013. The special itself was also included on the Santa's Magical Stories DVD set (sharing its disc with Jack Frost and Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July), released on October 4, 2011.

Cast

Voice actor/actress Character(s)
Mickey Rooney Santa Claus
George S. Irving Heat Miser
Juan Chioran Snow Miser
Catherine Disher Mrs. Claus
Reindeer Elf
Brad Adamson North Wind
Patricia Hamilton Mother Nature
Peter Oldring Bob
Elf #1
Susan Roman Tinsel
Dr. Noel
Others

External links

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed
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Warner Bros.
Movies
Warner Bros. Pictures Christmas in ConnecticutGremlinsLethal WeaponNational Lampoon's Christmas VacationBatman ReturnsJack FrostThe Polar ExpressKiss Kiss Bang BangFred Claus
New Line Cinema The Long Kiss GoodnightElfThe Nativity StoryFour ChristmasesA Very Harold & Kumar 3D ChristmasThe Conjuring 2Collateral BeautyShazam!8-Bit Christmas
Blue Ribbon Content A Christmas Story 2A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish
Warner Bros. Television National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island AdventureThe Year Without a Santa ClausChristmas on the Square
Live-action television episodes
Friends and Joey "The One With the Monkey" • "The One With Phoebe's Dad" • "The One Where Rachel Quits" • "The One With the Girl from Poughkeepsie" • "The One With the Inappropriate Sister" • "The One With the Routine" • "The One With All the Candy" • "The One With the Holiday Armadillo" • "The One With Monica's Boots" • "The One with Ross's Step Forward" • "The One With the Creepy Holiday Card" • "The One With Christmas in Tulsa" • "Joey and the Plot Twist" • "Joey and the Christmas Party"
DC Comics "Season's Greedings" • "Home is Where the Hurt Is" • "Twas the Night Before Mxymas" • "Lexmas" • "Gemini" • "Year's End" • "Three Ghosts"
Other shows "A Semi-Merry Christmas" • "Mel, the Magi" • "Mel's Christmas Carol" • "'Tis the Season to Be Jealous" • "A Christmas Story" (Growing Pains) • "The Kid" • "It's Not Easy Being Green" • "A Christmas Story" (Just the Ten of Us) • "Santa Goes Downtown" • "Let It Snow" • "The Night Court Before Christmas" • "Santa on the Lam" • "Have Yourself a Merry Winslow Christmas" • "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Urkel" • "Christmas is Where the Heart is" • "Miracle on Elm Street" • "Fa La La La Laagghh!" • "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" • "Deck the Malls" • "The Christmas Show" • "The Man Who Canceled Christmas" • "Christmas Day-Ja Vu" • "A Country Christmas" • "The Gift" • "A Miracle Happens Here" • "Homeless for the Holidays" • "Do You See What I See" • "The Miracle Worker" • "How the Finch Stole Christmas" • "The Greatest of Gifts" • "I'll Be Home For Christmas" • "Hindsight" • "Twas the Night" • "All About Christmas Eve" • "City of Mercy" • "Meet the Cuban Parents" • "Christmas Punch" • "A Clear and Presentless Danger" • "George is Being Elfish and Christ-Misses His Family" • "Santa's Secret Stuff" • "A Very Supernatural Christmas" • "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" • "The Maternal Congruence" • "The Santa Simulation" • "The Cooper Extraction" • "The Clean Room Infiltration" • "Christmas" (The Middle) • "A Simple Christmas" • "A Christmas Gift" • "Christmas Help" • "The Christmas Tree" • "The Christmas Wall" • "Not So Silent Night" • "A Very Marry Christmas" • "The Christmas Miracle" • "It's Beginning to Stink a Lot Like Christmas" • "Jolly Red Elf" • "The World Ain't Over 'Till It's Over" • "Santa's Village of the Damned" • "Walnuts and Demerol" • "Warning, It's Dirty" • "One False Move, Zimbabwe!" • "Give Santa a Tail-Hole" • "On Vodka, On Soda, On Blender, On Mixer" • "Family, Bublé, Deep-Fried Turkey" • "Home for Christmas" • "Jingle Bell Glock" • "The Walk-Out" • "Yule Never Know" • "Merry Ex-Mas" • "A Very Carrie Christmas" • "Veronica's Christmas Song" • "Veronica's Secret Santa" • "An Echolls Family Christmas" • "One Angry Veronica"
Animated productions
Looney Tunes and related shows The Shanty Where Santy Claus LivesBedtime for SnifflesGift WrappedBugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales • "It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special" • "'Twas the Day Before Christmas" • "Jingle Boo" • "The Great Wakkorotti: The Holiday Concert" • "A Christmas Plotz" • "Little Drummer Warners" • "No Time for Christmas" • "A Pinky and the Brain Christmas" • "It Happened One Night Before Christmas" • "In Arms Way" • "The Twelve Days of Christmas" • Christmas Eve with Yakko, Wakko & Dot • "Noel" • "The Christmas Tree" • "The Banks of the Delaware River" • "Feather Christmas" • "Yule Be Sorry" • "Christmas in July" • Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas • "A Christmas Carol" • "Tis the Seasoning" • "Winter Blunderland" • "The Legend of Burrito Monday" • Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special • "Looneyburg Lights" • "How the Brain Thieved Christmas" • "Santamaniacs"
DC Comics "Christmas With the Joker" • "Holiday Knights" • "Frozen Out" • "Comfort and Joy" • "Storybook Holiday" • "Invasion of the Secret Santas!" • "Second Christmas" • "The True Meaning of Christmas" • "Halloween v Christmas" • "Teen Titans Save Christmas" • "Party Animal" • "Beast Boy on a Shelf" / "Christmas Crusaders" • "A Holiday Story"
Hanna-Barbera co-productions "A Dickens of a Christmas" • A Scooby-Doo! Christmas • "Ho Ho Horrors" • Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker TaleScooby-Doo! Haunted HolidaysTom and Jerry: Santa's Little Helpers • "The Plight Before Christmas" • "Scary Christmas" • "Scroogey Doo" • "It's a Wacky Life" • "Dashing Thru the Snow" • "Signed, Sealed and Wacky" • "The Spirit of Frostnos" • Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land
Other cartoons "Yuletide and Redtide" • A Cool Like That Christmas • "Santa Mask" • The Polar Express • "The Match Before Xmas" • A Miser Brothers' Christmas • "Da Grinchy Code / Duck" • "FROST / Undercover Claus" • "Fantastic Four Christmases / Red and White Collar" • Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas • "Christmas in Oz" • "Top of the Naughty List" • "Mandora Saves Christmas" • Beebo Saves Christmas
Albums
Have Yourself a Looney Tunes ChristmasA Hip-Hopera ChristmasMerry Christmas: Animaniacs & Looney TunesThe Looney Tunes Kwazy ChristmasA Looney Tunes Sing-A-Long Christmas
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