Miser Brothers Coming to ABC Family

Friday, November 14, 2008
By: Ryan Ball

Fans of the Rankin-Bass animated Christmas classic The Year Without a Santa Claus will remember the characters Heat Miser and Snow Miser. This holiday season, the quarreling siblings are back in ABC Family’s new original animated special A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, which premieres Saturday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Mickey Rooney returns as the voice of Santa Claus and George S. Irving reprises the role of Heat Miser. The debut is part of the network’s “25 Days of Christmas” programming event.

Santa’s new chief mechanic, Tinsel, has created a speedy, new high-tech sleigh for Christmas, but North Wind has sabotaged it in the hope of taking Santa’s place this year. When Santa takes it out for a spin, he gets caught in the cross fire between the feuding Miser Brothers and the sleigh comes crashing down. North Wind frames the Misers for the accident and, with Santa stuck in bed with a bad back, seems poised to be the heroic fill-in. But much to his chagrin, Mother Nature punishes the Miser Brothers by forcing them to put their differences aside and do Santa’s job. In between comedic squabbles, the Brothers rediscover what it means to be family and, along the way, save Christmas for everyone.

Written by Eddie Guzelian (Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch), and directed by Dave Barton Thomas, the special is produced by Warner Bros. Animation in association with Cuppa Coffee Studios and is presented by Warner Bros. Animation and ABC Family. Exec producers are Adam Shaheen, Howard Schwartz and Linda M. Steiner.

Reader Comments

• Barkus :

  Friday, November 14, 2008

  THIS WILL BE THE BEST CHRISTMAS SPECIAL EVER!!!! (Well at least since the original Rankin-Bass specials hehe...)
  
  Seriously though, this looks like a VERY impressive folow-up to the original (better then Rudolph and the Island of Misfit Toys --- which was CGI).
  
  Of course I expect Christmas Special Purists to all cry foul before they see it, not grateful to see new additiond to the Rankin0Bass livrary in an effort to attract younger viewers to the table...

• Susan :

  Saturday, November 22, 2008

  OMG I love the Misers-this should be great!

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Monday, November 24, 2008

  Oh, come on, this doesn\'t even look good in the previews. There\'s nothing purist about it and it\'s not a case of expanding the Rankin/Bass library. Rankin/Bass doesn\'t even own any of their films anymore. This is just a ploy by a big corporation to make a lot of money off of something talented people made that is beloved by millions.
  
  If you want to see real modern Christmas tales with warmth then go here: www.jillchill.com

• E Lo :

  Tuesday, November 25, 2008

  It might not be that bad. Remember the sequel they did to Frosty the Snowman? It was passable. I know that \\\"Year Without a Santa Claus\\\" is so high on my pedestal that nothing anyone ever made could hold a candle to it. However, I\\\'m firing up the DVR to record this special.

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Tuesday, November 25, 2008

  If you\'re talking about that recent Legend of Frosty the Snowman then you have very low standards. That was terrible. The problem I have with these most recent films is they\'re so artificial where the others had warmth, even the bad ones from the past are better than the bad ones made today. The CGI Rudolph was bad as was the live action YWASC. Let\'s see some new Christmas specials with warmth rather than micromanaged companies remaking the past with no involvement with the behind the scenes creative forces who made the original efforts so great. I\'m just tired of the mainstream Christmas crap that\'s churned out every year and this looks to be no exception.

• MAC :

  Wednesday, November 26, 2008

  Let\'s face it: those of us who grew up on all the original Rankin/Bass specials know that NOTHING is going to even come close to those. All of the more recent holiday specials are not that impressive, but one of these days someone is going to get one right. Not sure this one will be it, but we\'ll soon see how far off the mark it is..

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Saturday, November 29, 2008

  Hey Mac,
  
  I don\'t think it\'s fair when people say \"Well you grew up with X and not Y so your view is tainted.\" You can tell when something is good or bad regardless if you grew up with it or not and I simply haven\'t seen a lot of great or even good holiday product made in the last 20 years ago. That\'s why I started making my own. If you go to www.jillchill.com you can see what I make and follow the link to my publisher, Cool Yule Comics where they print a sleigh load of great Christmas material. In 2006 they started printing a book about a Christmas superhero, how original. It was pretty well done too and I had nothing to do with that title. Anyhow, I have little hope for the Miser Brothers Christmas based on the trend in Christmas cartoons done these days and how the recent sequels have been.

• Jordan White : Movie Maker : Sampson Inc.

  Sunday, November 30, 2008

  You know, I\'m not really sure about this. It\'s Stop Motion, good, It\'s got George S. Irving as Heatmiser and Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus, even though he doesn\'t look like Santa from the original. This is not really a remake, it\'s some sequel, I don\'t know. They somehow kept the original Miser Bros songs. I\'m not that picky about this in a huge way. Nor is anyone else. The reason why they don\'t have the original puppets is that usually the puppets had a 3 to 4 month life span, then the producers dematerialized them with something. Also, another thing which made the original specials so good is that they were made in Japan, not the USA. The US never could do what the Japanese could. I\'m explaining it all to you. Warner Bros probably wanted to care about the original, but never got it close. This is exactly why when I get out of film school and fund my own production company, I\'m going to make stop motion specials in Japan, with a UPA influenced style. I would like to learn some things from Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, thank heavens they are still alive. So Warner Bros is trying their best to care, I guess. I don\'t know, but maybe it\'s what they think is right for their company.

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Monday, December 01, 2008

  Jordan,
  
  These big companies don\'t care. That\'s the problem. All they care about today is profits and merchandising. In the 60\'s and 70\'s these film makers could go to a company, pretty much make whatever they wanted without interference and that is a big reason why you had so much great film being made in those days. Today films, as a norm, are made by creative executives sitting around creating characters to fit age and racial demographics. Micromanagement is also a killer on modern films. When you have dozens of these creative executives they all want to contribute and that results in watered down product. This is exactly what happened to Disney Feature Animation causing the head executives to still not get it and think 2-D is the problem. Pixar is the only studio I see today who makes films for the sake of making good films. The others go with the demographics. The Misers sequel was most likely made because WB thinks the characters are popular and wanted to make some money. They made that awful live action film for the same reason. I\'m more optomistic about this project however.
  
  It is also a myth that the original stop motion puppets were destroyed in production. Dozens of them have surfaced in recent years and the only damage has been that done by children. Many of the actors also got puppets as gifts, you can see photos of those floating around too. So the puppets are out there if you know where to look. I\'m sure there are many that never left Japan and are still in the hands of the animators there. As a film maker I\'m sure you keep souveniers of your project as well.
  
  Good luck with your studio and I hope you\'ll produce good work. Believe me, I\'ll see it and tell you what I think of it. That\'s why they call me Christmas Boy. When I was in animation school the students and techers mocked the R/B stop motion films as being bad but I find them charming. It\'s good to see there are others in animation who still do. Take care!

• TFields : RN & MOM :

  Thursday, December 04, 2008

  I can\'t wait to show my kids.

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Sunday, December 07, 2008

  Why not show your kids the original right now rather than this lame immitation?

• MiserFan :

  Monday, December 08, 2008

  The original was ALL about the music. There\'s no way they\'ll be able to top the humor and originality of the original.

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Thursday, December 11, 2008

  Amen, Brother Miser Fan, Amen!!

• Scott Smith :

  Saturday, December 13, 2008

  Holy Crap! this is the worst animation ever. Who ever did it needs to go back to school. At least they could have looked at real stop motion animation, like oh say \"Chicken Run or ummmmm Nightmare before Christmas. What a cluster !*%$ this is ! Even my kids say this BLOWS!

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Sunday, December 14, 2008

  Ah, From the mouths of babes! I could actually forgive poor animation IF the story was good. You could have the best animation in the world but if the story stinks it wont make the film any better to watch. When I was in animation school the other students discredited George Pal and Rankin/Bass because they felt the animation was clunky. It still beats stuff made today!!

• A concern veiwer :

  Sunday, December 14, 2008

  This was a major disappointment. The characters all looked different, especially the Clauses and Mother Nature. I really could not get past the CIndy Crawford mole on the Northwind. I will take my classic Miser brothers any day.

• Terry : O\'Reilly :

  Wednesday, December 17, 2008

  First off - characters that differed, did so because Warner Bros. couldn\'t clear certain rights from the original. Thus they were re designed - deal with it! Second the show was universally loved - the show was the highest rated in its time slot over all cable and beat out NBC and ABC in its ratings. This means people watched it and stayed watching it and enjoyed it.
  It appealed to an audience and wasnt made to appeal to an audience of presumably unemployed animators with an axe to grind!
  Rankin Bass was what it was. Most officianados would debate that there work was actually \"good\" animation , but nearly all would continue to welcome their specials as charming and \"ever green\".
  That\'s what this should be about - creative discourse as opposed to ramblings of out of work, untalented animators who lack any grasp of eloquence and feel that open forums are about attacking as opposed to discussing.
  Its \"wonderful\" to always read the ramblings of those who criticize yet who have offered the world absolutely nothing. Its the perfect pace to be - Ed Mcray is a perfect example of that. Check out his website - http://www.edmccray.com
  
  Now that\'s entertainment.

• Francine St.Clair : Art Director :

  Wednesday, December 17, 2008

  I concur with Terry - these forums increasingly are irritating
  in who lurks in them. I am familiar with Cuppa Coffee Studios who did the animation and to clarify have never worked with them nor have any affiliation. What I do know is that they do remarkably good work and to see frivolous comments that the animation was terrible, does nothing for me and the discerning contributors of animation - other than reflect on the posters of such remarks and their lack of intellect .
  To be frank I guess Im disappointed that the animation world seems to attract such un-discerning minds.
  I\'d like if he wouldnt mind for Scott Smith to step forward and show his animation efforts and bravely accept the criticism of others more positively than he dishes out his own cynical diatribe!

• Sylvie : Animator

  Wednesday, December 17, 2008

  Ha! Good one Francine! I agree - ALL these people ragging on other peoples work - LETS See THERES!

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Tuesday, December 23, 2008

  \"First off - characters that differed, did so because Warner Bros. couldn\\\'t clear certain rights from the original. Thus they were re designed - deal with it!\"
  
  
  Uh, Warner Bros. OWNS the shows. DEAL with THAT!
  
  \"Second the show was universally loved - the show was the highest rated in its time slot over all cable and beat out NBC and ABC in its ratings.\"
  
  
  It\'s never hard to beat the networks at ratings when they air reruns every Saturday night.
  
  
  \"This means people watched it and stayed watching it and enjoyed it.\"
  
  Everyone loves to watch a car crash or a train wreck. We watched out of curiosity. I\'ll watch any Christmas film at least once and I\'ve seen some real crap this year.
  
  \"It appealed to an audience\"
  
  
  So did Adolf Hitler.
  
  \"and wasnt made to appeal to an audience of presumably unemployed animators with an axe to grind!\"
  
  
  I am not an unemployed animator and I have no axe to grind. I\'d just rather see new, original Christmas films made that have WARMTH instead of shameless attempts at raping a beloved classic. Good job attacking your public, as an EMPLOYED animator would know criticism is part of their JOB. If you can\'t take that then maybe you need to be in another business.
  
  
  
  \"Rankin Bass was what it was. Most officianados would debate that there work was actually \\\"good\\\" animation , but nearly all would continue to welcome their specials as charming and \\\"ever green\\\".\"
  
  The animation school I attended outright called their work s@#$ as well as the work of George Pal. A lot of animators sure are very ignorant people. Case in point.
  
  
  \"That\\\'s what this should be about - creative discourse as opposed to ramblings of out of work, untalented animators who lack any grasp of eloquence and feel that open forums are about attacking as opposed to discussing.\"
  
  I was not attacking, I was simply stating the facts of the matter. Every one of these \"sequels\" to a Rankin/Bass film in recent years has stunk. If you guys making this stuff can\'t get it right then why even bother making this stuff, other than to exploit the love people have for the originals rather than using NEW characters in a similar plot that would not have the built in fan base. I wanted to love this as I have wanted to love all the new Christmas cartoons this year but all have been unmatchable and forgettable.
  
  \"Its \\\"wonderful\\\" to always read the ramblings of those who criticize yet who have offered the world absolutely nothing. Its the perfect pace to be - Ed Mcray is a perfect example of that. Check out his website - http://www.edmccray.com\"
  
  1.) My name is spelled with two C’s, not one.
  
  2.) Go ahead and check out my website. I have done plenty and have a lot more coming every year. Go ahead and visit some of my other sites while you’re at it too:
  
  www.jillchill.com
  www.coolyule.com
  
  Yep, I just sit around doing nothing yet I am able to create characters and stories that people love. Just check out my reviews section. Just because you\'re incapable of having an original creative thought you need not attack those who go. Go ahead and make your crappy sequel ripoffs if that\'s what you prefer but some of us have new Christmas fields to conquer.
  
  \"Now that\\\'s entertainment.\"
  
  You\'re darn right it is and my index page even proudly proclaims so!
  
  After you read one of my spectacular Christmas books we\'ll see how quickly you find that I\'m right.
  
  \"I concur with Terry - these forums increasingly are irritating
  in who lurks in them. I am familiar with Cuppa Coffee Studios who did the animation and to clarify have never worked with them nor have any affiliation. What I do know is that they do remarkably good work and to see frivolous comments that the animation was terrible, does nothing for me and the discerning contributors of animation - other than reflect on the posters of such remarks and their lack of intellect .\"
  
  I never said the animation was bad, I disliked the story and reinventing of the wheel. If it ain\'t broke then don\'t fix it. This film screamed of the pop culture redesigning for the sake of being designy. You can also have the worst animation in the world but if your characters are appealing and have personality and are in a great story then the animation doesn\'t matter.
  
  \"To be frank I guess Im disappointed that the animation world seems to attract such un-discerning minds.\"
  
  
  Oh, so we should just accept every piece of trash that comes down the pike just because someone worked hard to make it? I actually feel sorry for the animators who are stuck making things like this and the Disney cheapquels rather than exploring new characters and stories and methods of animation. I know more about the history of animation and film than most people my age so when I speak you\'re getting the perspective of someone who is familiar with film from the dawn of film and I never just say things to be mean, cruel, or nasty. I form the opinions I have based on a well versed background in story and character and the genres that interest me. Christmas stories are chiefly among them. Just because you can\'t take an honest opinion you attack the poster as being ignorant or a loser rather than discuss it like an intelligent human being. Typical ignorant behavior if you ask me...
  
  \"Ha! Good one Francine! I agree - ALL these people ragging on other peoples work - LETS See THERES!\"
  
  
  Go ahead and please BUY as many copies as you require to form an intelligent opinion.
  
  Thank you, Merry CHRISTmas and GOD bless AMERICA!!
  
  
  P.S. learn how to spell.

• Steve Rankin :

  Wednesday, December 24, 2008

  I hate to say it but Ed you have your facts incorrect..I\'ll start with clearances...the writer is/was correct in saying that Warner Bros. doesn\'t have carte blanche on all the characters - so your factually incorrect. Certain designs had to be altered for legal reasons.
  I know this because I was a part of the legal clearances.
  I think the point is that animation, as an art form is like many things - subjective. I personally wasn\'t a fan of your work and also one of the sites didn\'t work, but I digress. It doesn\'t mean your work is bad or uninspired or even generic - I just wouldn\'t write such ludicrously negative comments about your characters - its your passion and good luck to you.
  I\'m sure Warner Bros. ABC Family or Cuppa Coffee won\'t be calling you so your good to go on with your constructive criticism and as you point out- its all about being constructive.

• Ed McCray : Chief Elf : Ed McCray Productions

  Wednesday, December 24, 2008

  Steve, with all respect, can you please clear up how WB can use the characters for merchandising then?
  
  
  The correct link is
  
  www.coolyulecomics.com
  
  
  Sorry about that.
  
  
  It doesn\'t bothere me when people dislike my work, everyone has their own tastes. It does surprise me though when people who are supposed to be professionals attack other people for sharing an opinion that they have about their work that is negative. That\'s very childish and I would expect more from people who are in the industry.

• grace ray :

  Wednesday, December 24, 2008

  I WANT SONGS NOW

• GRACE MCCARTY :

  Wednesday, December 24, 2008

  GRACE
  HI AM GRACE I AM SWEET I AM A CAZY GIRL
  SO MISER BROTHERS YEAAAAAAAAAAA
  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
  SROY
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BYE-BYE
  LOVE,
  GRACE

• Gina : Chores : Warner Brothers

  Saturday, January 17, 2009

  I thought A Miser Bothers Christmas was teriffic that I even still watch it on the computer at home. I hope it will come out on DVD sometime so I can own it like I do The Year Without A Santa Claus.

• Gina : Chores :

  Monday, August 10, 2009

  I loved the show just as much as I did \"The Year Without A Sant Clause\", because in \"The Year Without A Santa Clause\" I have two favorite songs and two favorite charactors and they are The Heat Miser Song and The Snow Miser Song and Heat Miser and Snow Miser. In \"A Miser Brothers\' Christmas I have two favorate songs and two favorat charactors as well and they are \'The Heat and Snow Miser Song\" and \"The Heat and Snow Miser Song Reprise\" and Heat Miser and Snow Miser as well.