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.

In the special, Snow Miser controlled cold weather all over the Earth; his archnemesis is his brother, Heat Miser. Mother Nature herself is their mother.

Snow Miser's a Jack Frost-like being, with an icicle staff and the supernatural power to freeze objects at will. As he sings in his memorable ragtime song ("whatever I touch turns to snow in my clutch"), he could cause objects to burst into snowflakes with a touch. He can even restore the objects at will. He can also project intense cold from his hands or mouth at will, even forming simple objects of snow. His cold abilities consist of snowballs, icicles, ice bolts and cold breath. Also, in his song, he sings about his preference for cold weather ("I never want to know a day that's over 40 degrees-I'd rather have it 30, 20, 10, 5 and let it freeze!"). Snow Miser lives in an ice castle, and is attended to by a host of miniature versions of himself. He defends his domain fiercely, yet unlike his stepbrother Heat Miser, is a gregarious, friendly, jocular sort, given to gales of laughter and bad puns about snow and cold weather; in other words, Snow Miser has the "cool" personality (as opposed to a "bitter" or "cold" personality), in contrast to the Heat Miser's hot-headedness. . Both Snow Miser 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.

Collectibles
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. Plushes of both were also released.

Song
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

Whatever I touch

Turns to snow in my clutch

I'm too much!

He's Mister White Christmas

He's Mister Snow

(Spoken:That's right!)

He's Mister Icicle

He's Mister Ten Below

Friends call me Snow Miser

Whatever I touch

Turns to snow in my clutch

He's too much!

I never want to know a day that's over forty degrees,

I'd rather it thirty, twenty, ten, five, and let it freeze!

He's Mister White Christmas

He's Mister Snow

(Spoken: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

Too much

Too much!