Frosty the Snowman (TV special)

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Title card.

Frosty the Snowman is an animated Christmas television special produced by Videocraft International and first aired on 1969-12-07. The film was made to be an adaption of the popular 1950 song, Frosty the Snowman.

In the film, a magician's hat brings to life a snowman named Frosty, but, upon learning his hat is magical, the magician takes it back. However, the children return the hat to their snowman and reanimate him. The snowman begins to melt, so the children decide to help him get to the North Pole, but they're hindered by the magician.

The film was modified several times over the years. The original 1969 airing featured June Foray as Karen, but a later versions replaced her with Suzanne Davidson. Several sequels were made, though, none of them became popular. The film has been released to home video several times in a variety of formats.

Personal

When I was a kid, my family didn't have much of a movie library, so, the few Christmas films I watched were the ones I saw on television, and this, along with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Garfield Christmas, and A Charlie Brown Christmas, were among my favorites. When I would see advertisements for it on TV, I'd get really excited, and begged my parents to let me have access to the TV when it would be on. Then, I would watch with glee for the few minutes of film between long commercial breaks. As an 80s child, I grew up with the Suzanne Davidson version. Having later listened to the original audio, I prefer her voice for Karen, although, the new voices for the children are worse.

Watching it again as an adult, I was surprised to realize just how awful the production value is. Also, I realized that, because he is animated snow and ice, Frosty is actually an ice golem.

I don't own this film, but I have seen it many times. I showed the film to my daughters in 2021, and they wanted to re-watch it dozens of times, and frequently acted out scenes from it and repeated the dialogue.

Cast

Actor Roles
Jackie Vernon Frosty
Jimmy Durante Narrator
Billy De Wolfe Professor Hinkle
June Foray Schoolteacher, Karen (original airing), Karen's friends (original airing), Vocal effects
Suzanne Davidson Karen (later airings)
Greg Thomas Karen's friends (later airings)
Paul Frees Traffic Cop, Ticket Man, Santa Claus

Review

Good

  • The story, though childish, it still good. Ultimately, it's about a greedy villain who would kill someone for wealth who is foiled by caring children who want to help their friend.
  • Professor Hinkle makes a good bumbling villain.
  • There are several jokes for adults. Like the ticket master saying the route to the North Pole passes through Aurora Borealis and Nanook of the North.

Bad

  • The lip sync is off for a lot of the film, and some of the Foley is noticeably off.
  • The hat really does belong to Professor Hinkle. Yes, he threw it into the trash for a second, but he can be seen chasing it again in the next scene, clearly indicating that he still wanted it.
  • Why are all the children wearing shorts in the snow?
  • Santa drops Karen off on the top of her roof in the middle of the night with no way to get down!

Ugly

  • The animation is really choppy and a fair amount is poorly drawn. Drawing styles and colors change for objects all throughout the film.

Media

Covers

Fan Art

Quotes

  • "Are you coming to the North Pole, too?" "I'm sure my mother won't mind, as long as I'm home in time for supper."
  • "Think nasty! Think nasty!"
  • "We evil magicians have to make a living, too."

Adaptions

This TV special has been adapted into a book by Little Golden Books.

Links

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