Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross talk new holiday film 'Candy Cane Lane'

Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross talk new holiday film 'Candy Cane Lane'

The stars hope the new film will be an instant Christmas classic.

ByJade Lawson

Video byNidhi Singh

November 27, 2023, 10:15 AM

'Tis the season to enjoy some favorite holiday movies, and Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross hope to add their new film, “Candy Cane Lane,” to your collection of classics.

“We were looking for something special and we decided to do a Christmas movie,” Murphy told “Good Morning America.”

In the film, out Dec. 1, Murphy plays an over-the-top dad named Chris Carver, who is determined to win his neighborhood's Christmas decorating contest. Carver strikes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell), forcing Carver, his wife Carol (Ross) and their three children to race against the clock to break the elf's spell and save Christmas for everyone.

While this is Murphy's first-ever holiday project, he hopes fans can enjoy the film every holiday season.

“We wanted to do something that would be around forever, that people could watch over and over again like the Christmas movies when I was a kid,” said Murphy, who is also a producer on the project.

Ross, an Emmy Award-winning actress, says the script “lends itself to a timeless classic.”

Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross talk about their new Christmas movie, “Candy Cane Lane” and share some of their holiday traditions.Claudette Barius/Prime Video

In the Christmas spirit, the stars also shared their own holiday family traditions with “GMA.”

“We go all out every Christmas,” Murphy said. “Lots of gifts, big tree, actually too many decorations, lots of kids around — and I love it.”

Although Ross said she enjoys the cooking part, she said she saves the holiday decorating for others.

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Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross talk about their new Christmas movie, “Candy Cane Lane” and share some of their holiday traditions.Claudette Barius/Prime

“I do not decorate at home. My favorite part of Christmas is being around my family,” Ross said. “But the magic of Christmas through the eyes of my nieces and nephews is everything.”

Ross' acting credits span three decades, while Murphy's stretch across four, and as the two reflected on past projects, they said it's been a “blessing” to have such tenured careers.

“Looking back, I'm proud of everything I've done. I feel really blessed,” Ross said. “The fact that I got two long-running shows, ['Girlfriends' and 'Black-ish'], that went eight years blows my mind — and that those things have brought me to a place where I can do a movie with Eddie Murphy.”

She added, “It's really an extraordinary thing to be at a place in your career when you have the option to work with people that you've admired.”

Murphy said he believes its often rare to have such longevity in the entertainment industry.

“Most movies don't work, most TV shows and most records, you never hear them,” he said. “I'm grateful to be in this business for as long as I've been, to be able to make a living doing what I do, to look around my house and be like, 'Wow, everything you have is from making people laugh,' and that's a blessing.”