| Snow Miser | |
|---|---|
Snow Miser |
|
| First appearance | "The Year Without a Santa Claus" (1974) |
| Last appearance | "A Miser Brothers Christmas" (2008) |
| Created by | Rankin Bass |
| Portrayed by | Dick Shawn (1974) Michael McKean (2006) Juan Chioran (2008) |
| Information | |
| Species | Elemental |
| Gender | Male |
| Relationships | |
| Parents | Mother Nature |
| Sibling(s) | Heat Miser (stepbrother) |
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.
In the special, Snow Miser controlled cold weather all over the Earth; his archnemesis is his stepbrother, Heat Miser. Mother Nature herself is their stepmother.
Snow Miser was a Jack Frost-like creature, with the supernatural power to freeze objects at will. As he sang in his memorable ragtime song ("whatever I touch turns to snow in my clutch"), Snow Miser could cause objects to burst into snowflakes with a touch. He could also restore the objects at will. He could also project intense cold at will from his hands or mouth, even forming simple objects of ice. Snow Miser lived in a large ice castle, and was attended to by a host of miniature versions of himself. He defended his domain fiercely, yet unlike his stepbrother Heat Miser, was a gregarious, friendly, jocular sort, given to gales of laughter and bad puns about snow and cold weather; in other words, the Snow Miser had the "cool" personality (as opposed to a "bitter" or "cold" personality), in contrast to the Heat Miser's hot-headedness. . Both Snow and Heat Miser sing a memorable ragtime style song introducing themselves.
In the 1997 film Batman & Robin, Mr. Freeze (portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger) tries to teach his thugs the Snow Miser song, and it didn't work out too well.
In the 2006 NBC live-action remake, he is played by actor Michael McKean. Also, rather than miniature versions of himself, his underlings are replaced by women in white swimsuits and scarves, warring with Heat Miser by firing giant icicles from a ballista.
A 2008 sequel premiered on ABC Family, A Miser Brothers' Christmas had Snow Miser and Heat Miser set aside their differences to save Christmas when Santa once again is unable to make his run, and fight off their brother, North Wind. In this special, Canadian voice actor Juan Chioran provided Snow Miser's voice as Dick Shawn had died in 1987. The special, considered as the sequel, was produced by Warner Brothers Animation, owners of the post-1974 Rankin-Bass library and Cuppa Coffee Animation for ABC Family.
Action figures based on The Year Without a Santa Claus were produced by Palisades Toys in 2002 and included the Snow Miser, the Heat Miser and their tiny clone-like assistants. The figures were re-released by NECA in late 2006.
Both the Snow Miser and Heat Miser sing a song known commonly as the Snow Miser song or Heat Miser song, which goes as follows:
I'm Mister White Christmas
I'm Mister Snow
I'm Mister Icicle
I'm Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
I'm too much!
He's Mister White Christmas
He's Mister Snow
That's right!
He's Mister Icicle
He's Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
He's too much!
I never wanna know a day that's over forty degrees,
I'd rather it thirty, twenty, ten, five, and then it freeze!
He's Mister White Christmas
He's Mister Snow
That's right!
He's Mister Icicle
He's Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
I'm too much!
Too much!