Eddie Murphy's Journey to Leading a Christmas Movie: From Missed Opportunities to Festive Success

Eddie Murphy's Missed Opportunity: The Grinch That Got Away

Eddie Murphy, a legendary actor with a long and varied history in the entertainment industry, surprisingly never acted in a true Christmas movie until his casting in Prime Video's newest holiday film, Candy Cane Lane.

Eddie Murphy next to Jim Carrey's Grinch from How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Despite his previous voice roles in Shrek Christmas television specials and his wintry setting role in Coming To America, a quintessential Christmas movie role had evaded him until Candy Cane Lane.

In Candy Cane Lane, Murphy leads the cast as a family man determined to win his neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, leading to a festive comedy filled with allusions to the Yuletide season.

The film's plotline is directly affected by the fact that it is Christmas, marking a significant milestone in Murphy's acting career.

The Missed Grinch Opportunity and Murphy's Christmas Journey

Before Candy Cane Lane, Murphy had the chance to star in the holiday cult classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas as the titular lead character, the Grinch, but the role was eventually given to Jim Carrey.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas became the number one film in the United States for four straight weeks and developed into one of the biggest Christmas hits of all time, showcasing the immense potential of the festive season for actors like Murphy.

While Murphy may have missed out on the opportunity to play the Grinch, it ultimately led to his role as Donkey in the Shrek franchise, where his incredibly expressive and comedic voice-acting ability made Donkey one of the franchise's most beloved characters.

Donkey performing at a stage in the Christmas Special

The lucrative potential of Donkey, in fact, still holds strong, with the possibility of Murphy's return in the highly anticipated franchise sequel, Shrek 5.

Eddie Murphy's Festive Success and Future Endeavors

Missing out on the opportunity to play the Grinch actually freed up Murphy to be cast in an even bigger and more lucrative role as Donkey in the Shrek franchise.

Donkey's integral role in the appeal of Shrek led to Murphy reprising the character in all four films of the franchise, showcasing the enduring success of his festive endeavors.

With the massive success of Shrek and now his leading role in Candy Cane Lane, Eddie Murphy's journey to finally leading a Christmas movie highlights the resilience and creativity of a legendary actor in the entertainment industry.