How Murray Saved Christmas

2014
6.5| 0h42m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 05 December 2014 Released
Producted By: Rough Draft Studios
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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One-hour animated special surrounding a surly deli owner Murray Weiner, who is forced to step into Santa's shoes for one Christmas and bumbles his way into doing a great job.

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Director

Peter Avanzino

Production Companies

Rough Draft Studios

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How Murray Saved Christmas Audience Reviews

GamerTab That was an excellent one.
VividSimon Simply Perfect
Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Staci Frederick Blistering performances.
dhu-84918 This short Christmas movie wasn't too bad (though not entirely the best Christmas film I've ever seen either). I liked the fact that traditional animation was employed (as not many cartoons, let alone holiday ones, use that these days). I also liked how Murray decided to give the bad kids presents as well. Scenes such as where the dragon burned the king guy's piano--and when Santa was saying "Got to deliver this garbage to the brats"--made me laugh. But other humor that this special employed was quite offensive.Most notable in the offensive category is when Murray singing "I'm so gay" was taken out of context by the other characters; then he went on to apologize for singing it (but at least added "But that way is okay"). I also noticed how many colored characters (such as the doctor, police officer, and Santa) were painted as antagonists; yet other characters like Edison Elf and Murray (white characters) were painted as protagonists. While this may seem like a subtle point to make, I would have preferred to see some more "white" villains to not make the antagonists seem so segregated.Offensive jokes aside, there was one other problem with this special: a bad Santa Claus. I personally liked the twist, but I doubt that kids would enjoy seeing Santa in such a bad light--especially around Christmas time. The Santa in this special was cheap, cruel, a scrooge, and didn't even transform into a better person in the end; the only thing that made him humble was receiving a concussion--twice. But suffering a concussion isn't the same as changing your heart (and that was what this Santa really needed). I understand that cartoons need their antagonists; but making Santa the antagonist in a Christmas special just gives children a sour taste for the holidays.Finally (and this is my main concern), some jokes employed in this special were quite outdated. For instance, not many kids today would know that Doc Holiday's song about Santa's concussion was a parody of that song from Mary Poppins that starts with an "S" (the title is far too long to write), nor would they know much about the "Mighty Ducks" (which the Hindu salesman mentioned when he was checking-out Santa's merchandise). When Murray was trying to recall the names of his reindeer for the little boy, he said names such as "Bambi, Rambo, Dopey", etc. I'm not saying that all kids wouldn't catch-on; but the producers would have a better chance of it by referencing current people such as Donald Trump, the Kardashians, (Star Wars as they've been popular since the 80s), etc. That said, this special would have been better understood had it aired in the 90s. But the offensive material would still have had to been dealt with.Even with its shortcomings, "How Murray Saved Christmas" was still a pretty nice watch. It wasn't the best Holiday Special, but there were still redeeming qualities that made up for the bad--such as the traditional animation, an original and interesting setting (i.e. Stinky Cigars), and the fact that other Holiday mascots were present besides the Christmas ones (it made the special more interesting and entertaining that way). Additionally (even though he wasn't the best example for Christmas' jolly man), Santa was still an intriguing character to me. Again, I personally liked the twist; but I also have to consider his influence on children who still have to learn that Kris Kringle is a good man--not a bad one.
powelleon 'How Murray Saved Christmas' is a lighthearted holiday cartoon aimed at adults, period. (And on Christmas Day itself? Oy! Such a concept!) Fast paced and filled with so many inside literary, historic and pop culture jokes, puns and sight gags that only adults will get. Yes, this is not like your standard "Children, Santa Claus loves you and Christmas because . . . " cartoon that will sit well with those who grew up only on Frosty, Rudolph and Snoopy. But those who live west of the Hudson and south of Yonkers, or are familiar with all of the multicultural references in "How Murray Saved Christmas" will find this cartoon to be a hoot. And, yes, it is forty-two minutes of silly rhymes, plus over-the-top Broadway-style show tunes, to boot.
toddeverett The second (after "Olive, the other reindeer) from somewhere inside the greater Simpsons universe, this adaptation of a book is a bit toned- down from the Simpsons, but you'll recognize the sensibility -- and, to a degree, the artists -- behind it. Well into adulthood, admittedly, I found the story, sometimes reaching but clever rhymes and songs to be great fun. Probably aimed more at older kids and their parents, many of the gags will sail by the kids with no harm done.There is no religious significance attached the Christmas here; in fact, Santa's Jewish surrogate winds up delivering gifts to children of several faiths. To me, that's a good thing; families who wish to celebrate Christmas as a religious (and in that, exclusionary) holiday can do that in their own homes and churches.
brelanda Just watched this travesty of a Christmas Special. A pointless but clever string of rhyming, singing, and punning. The constant striving to be clever with the rhyming left me crying(and not with laughter).The writers were, I guess, trying to make a sort of a Dr. Seuss story, but alas they have neither the wit nor the wisdom to pull this story off. The town name "Stinky Cigars" lets the viewer know from the start that this is going to be a bad trip. This is the town where all the mythical and real characters of all the holidays live and none of them are to a one a character that you would like to run into, even on their holidays. Worst of all Santa is portrayed as a mean, greedy and ignorant boss. The elves, that make the toys, are worked day and night, no breaks and no pay, that they gleefully sing about. One of the worst things about this travesty was that during the half hour break a commercial ran to tell one and all that in ten days you can own your own copy of this trash and "Make How Murray Saved Christmas a holiday tradition" The show was not even finished being shown and they already expect you to go out and buy a copy. As far as I can remember there was only one well executed pun in this travesty, when Santa was looking to get some toys, after waking up from his concussion, one of the closed stores is called "Salvador's Dollies" complete with a melting clock on the marque and lamp post. Unless you revel in the vile, skip this.