Frosty The Snowman/Frosty Returns (DVD)

...another holiday hit, he recorded Frosty the Snowman the following year. This time, the song was about a snow man who comes to life thanks to a magic hat, plays with the local children, before "hurrying away". it proved to be the monster Christmas hit of 1950, and endeared itself into popular culture, being covered by many well known artists. In 1969, Rankin Bass took their animated talents and produced a TV special based upon the song. ...
...is really magic, and brings Frosty to life when the children place it upon his head. of course, the magician then wants his hat back, and things get further complicated when the weather begins to warm a bit, threatening to melt the snow. Will the children be able to save Frosty, and will the magician learn the meaning of Christmas and giving?

I am sure you can guess the answer to that already, especially seeing as there is a sequel ... more

In 1949, Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer was a holiday recording hit for American music star Gene Autry. In search of another holiday hit, he recorded Frosty the Snowman the following year. This time, the song was about a snow man who comes to life thanks to a magic hat, plays with the local children, before "hurrying away". it proved to be the monster Christmas hit of 1950, and endeared itself into popular culture, being covered by many well known artists. In 1969, Rankin Bass took their animated talents and produced a TV special based upon the song. Unlike their previous puppet animation, the pair decided to venture into traditional drawn animation and aiming for the look of a Christmas card. To this end, they hired Paul Coker Jr, who at the time was working as an actual greeting card illustrator.

With the voice talents of Jimmy Durante (narrator) and Jackie Vernon (Frosty), the production values were not stinted on and it shows.The result saw a holiday favourite that enshrined the special into the heart of millions of children over the decades, including myself. I can dimly recall being about 3 years old and watching this for the first time, sat down with my parents shortly before Christmas. The tree was twinkling in the corner, and we were sat munching cookies and enjoying a glass of milk (actually my parents had coffee!) on TV trays while this played out across the screen. It was watched every year after, and I suppose its no surprise that I simply HAD to get a copy of this for my own children. With the upbeat bouncy title song and the charming animation, its still a hit with children today. My two children can sing the song by heart now thanks to this, and recount the story from the special.

Admittedly, to get a 30 minute special, a bit more detail had to be added to the storyline. The children are at school and build a snowman, dressing him in bits as children do. The twist here is the presence of a magician who is very bad at magic and not a particularly nice person, whose hat is really magic, and brings Frosty to life when the children place it upon his head. of course, the magician then wants his hat back, and things get further complicated when the weather begins to warm a bit, threatening to melt the snow. Will the children be able to save Frosty, and will the magician learn the meaning of Christmas and giving?

I am sure you can guess the answer to that already, especially seeing as there is a sequel on this disc. Strangely, it is not the original Rankin Bass sequel that was made in 1976 (Frosty's Winter Wonderland), but rather a non Rankin Bass offering that was produced by the American broadcaster CBS. This feature is nonetheless a high quality affair, with animation by Bill Melendez (the Snoopy specials) and using the talents of Jonathan Winters (narrator) and John Goodman (Frosty.). John Goodman was asked to do Frosty's voice as Jackie Vernon had died a few years previously, and the story also differs in that none of the other original characters from the Frosty specials are present. Indeed, if any criticism can be levelled, its at the note of political correctness that has crept into the storyline. It's Christmas, and the town is having a Winter Carnival. There is snow on the ground, which brings Frosty to Beansboro. But Beansboro is e enjoying the benefits of Summer Wheeze, an air additive sprayed from chemical trucks that dissolves snow and brings the air to a summer type existence as long as the spray lasts. It's the brainchild of local inventor Mr Twitchell, who is NOT a particularly nice man. A local councilwoman visits him to question it's safety, as it uses aerosol and has not been laboratory tested. he drops her through a trapdoor, so he is left free to spread his summer time thrill by spraying Summer Wheeze everywhere. Can Frosty and his new friend Holly convince the town to restore winter, stop Mr Twitchell, and restore Christmas? Thumpity thump thump , thumpity thump thump...

Altogether, the over all production values of both specials were quite high, and the production of this DVD does them justice, though Melendez doesn't hit the same high notes here as he does for his Peanuts offerings. For the long time fan of Rankin and Bass animation, such as myself, the extras make for a nice treat though. There is a look at the original animator's pencil test for Frosty the Snowman, as well as an interview with Arthur Rankin. Children are not likely to enjoy these, but for us grown ups who like a behind the scenes peek, its great. I learned a few things I had not known about the animator, and about the making of the show as well, which have actually added to my long standing enjoyment. Being shows that were produced before the advent of wide screen TVs, its not in wide screen nor is the sound in Dolby digital 5:1. The picture print is clean and clear though and the sound free of distortion. At 70 minutes running time, it's not terribly long for children aged from 2-3 to sit through, but if they do get restless at sitting that long or time is short, the animated menu screen allows you to simply select the episode you wish to watch, so you don't have to go through the entire disc at once.

My children and I find the second special watchable, but it lacks that certain something that makes a true classic. Because of this, we take advantage of the double menu and usually watch the first special, and skip the second. If I wanted a politically correct Christmas, I could get one anywhere, but not with my helping of traditional Christmas, thank you! Melendez's animations are well done as well, but lack the same qualities found in the original, making them a mismatched pair. As CBS own the rights to the original still, as well as this sequel, and American broadcaster ABC own the rights to the original Rankin bass sequel, this looks set to continue as a paired set however, and is apparently aired as such together in the US annually still. Still, its a small quibble, and one can simply skip the second special if desired, as we choose to do on all but the rarest occasion. The DVD still makes a nice addition to our Christmas TV fun that we do each night from December 1st to the 6th of January. Yes, that's a LOT of Christmas specials, and only the best make our cut, so keep your eyes peeled for more reviews to come! 

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