A Miser Brothers’ Christmas

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Cartoon

A Miser Brothers' Christmas, 2009

The Plot

Santa is injured by the North Wind and it is up to the Miser Brothers to help save Christmas.

Starring

Mickey Rooney, George S. Irving, Juan Chioran, Catherine Disher, Brad Adamson, Patricia Hamilton, Peter Oldring, and Susan Roman.

The Review

I love, and I do mean love, the stop motion animation of Rankin and Bass and find their Christmas stories timeless and classic. So when I heard of the new version of A Miser Brothers’ Christmas, I just had to check it out.

First, let me start off by saying that this is definitely no Rankin and Bass Christmas story and to state otherwise would be an insult. After all, nobody—and I mean nobody—can ever come close to the brilliance of Rankin and Bass, and nobody should try.

That being said, I believe Cuppa Coffee Animation—based solely on their rendition—has done a fine job of bringing their voice and style to the table. The stop motion animation is cheery, bright, and well-done. The storyline is entertaining—in its own right, and the lessons learned are invaluable.

I, however, wasn’t too impressed with the North Wind being portrayed as Jay Leno. In fact, I found it kind of eerie and out-of-place and extremely weird that they would fashion a character after Jay Leno and then not give him the voice-over part.

The DVD comes with a cool bonus feature on “What Makes Stop Motion Go”. It is very detailed and thorough and covers things like the animation, the puppets, and the set design. There are also interviews with crew members and voice-over actors. To be honest, even if you find you don’t like the cartoon, the bonus feature is worth the money you paid for the DVD.

The Storyline

It all begins with Tinsel, the cheery and technologically smart elf. Determined to help Santa with his Christmas duties, he creates a high tech sleigh that is sure to make things easier on Santa. There’s just one problem, the North Wind—jealous of Santa’s fame and popularity—sabotages the sleigh and places all the blame on his brothers, Heat and Snow Miser.

Mother Earth, furious with all the bickering going on between Heat and Snow Miser, doesn’t notice North Wind’s attempts to sabotage Santa or his successful attempt at setting up the Miser Brothers. So in an effort to teach the brothers a lesson, she forces them to put aside their bickering and selfish ways and help Santa save Christmas.

It’s then that the North Wind’s plan to take over as the “new” Santa backfires. And the Miser Brothers rediscover what it means to be a family and the importance of teamwork while saving Christmas.

Your Task

After watching A Miser Brothers' Christmas, sit down with your kids and ask them how they felt about getting in trouble for something they didn't do and what part they thought all the bickering and fighting played in their mother's decision to punish them. Let your children talk openly and freely, even if it means sharing an incident when they felt unjustly accused and/or punished by you, or your spouse. Then share with them ideas on how they can change things and if necessary, apologize for any hurts that may come up.

Order A Miser Brothers' Christmas Today!