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Frosty the Snowman (TV special)

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Please do not use {{Infobox television film}} directly. See the documentation for available templates. Frosty the Snowman is an American animated television special based on the popular song of the same title. He was popular because his eyes was made of gold. The program, which first aired on December 7, 1969 on CBS (where it has aired ever since), was produced for television by Rankin/Bass and featured the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as narrator and Jackie Vernon as the titular character. This special marked the first use of traditional cel animation (as opposed to stop-motion animation) for Rankin/Bass. Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass wanted to give the show and its characters the look of a Christmas card, so Paul Coker, Jr., a greeting card and Mad magazine artist, was hired to do the character and background drawings. The animation was produced by Mushi Production in Japan. Rankin/Bass veteran writer Romeo Muller adapted and expanded the story for television as he had done with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Plot

One December, Karen and her friends create a snowman after school. Karen decides to name him "Frosty". They later acquire a top hat discarded by inept magician Professor Hinkle. When Karen places it on Frosty's head, the snowman comes to life (and always says "Happy Birthday!" in response). When Hinkle learns of the magic power his hat actually possesses, he takes it back and departs, pretending that he did not see Frosty come to life. However, the professor's pet rabbit Hocus Pocus returns the hat to Frosty.

Frosty soon senses the temperature is rising and worries about melting. The children suggest putting him on the next train to the North Pole, where he will never melt, and they all parade into the city on the way to the train station, where Frosty has his confrontation with the traffic cop mentioned in the lyrics. When Karen explains that Frosty came to life and doesn't know what a traffic light or a lamp post is, the traffic cop lets Frosty go. Frosty, Karen and Hocus stow away aboard a refrigerated train car, since they didn't have any money for a train ticket. As the train is about to leave the station, Hocus Pocus warns Frosty and Karen that the train is about to pull out. With that, Frosty, Karen, and Hocus Pocus wave goodbye to the kids as they wave back. Unbeknownst to them, Hinkle has also hitched a ride on the same train, intending to get his hat back. Soon Frosty notices Karen freezing up in the box car so they jump off the train, leaving Hinkle behind once again, Much to Hinkle's chagrin. Hinkle then waves his fist and shouts "Oh, you tricked me! No fair!" and jumps off the train and falls down the mountain and crashes into a tree where a pile of snow falls on him and a squirrel laughs at him. Hocus Pocus tells some forest animals that are preparing for Christmas to build a campfire. Fearing that Karen cannot survive the cold weather, Frosty asks Hocus who might be able to help them. Hocus suggests (by pantomiming) the President of the United States and the United States Marines, before suggesting Santa Claus. Frosty agrees, and promptly takes credit for the idea himself (much to Hocus' dismay). Hocus hops off to get Santa, but Hinkle confronts them once again. Frosty and Karen are again forced to flee, this time with Karen riding on Frosty's back as he slides head-first down a hill. At the bottom of the slope, Karen and Frosty discover a greenhouse filled with poinsettias. Despite Karen's objections, Frosty steps inside the warm greenhouse, suggesting that he could afford to lose a little weight, but Hinkle locks him and Karen in the greenhouse.

Hocus brings Santa Claus to the greenhouse only to find Karen in tears and Frosty melted on the floor. Santa explains to Karen that Frosty is made from Christmas snow, and that he can never completely melt away. With a gust of cold wind through the open greenhouse door, the puddle that was Frosty blows out the door and magically changes back into a typical snowman form. Before Santa can put the finishing touch on and bring Frosty back to life, Hinkle again arrives on the scene and demands the return of his hat. He relents only when threatened with being removed from Santa's Christmas list for the rest of his life. Santa states that if Hinkle is truly repentant for his mean attitude and harming Frosty, that he may find a gift in his stocking on Christmas morning, which makes Hinkle bid Frosty and Karen farewell and run home to repeatedly write his apologies, assuming he may get a new hat. Santa then takes Karen home and Frosty to the North Pole, but promises that Frosty will be back next winter.

The end credits show all the characters the next Christmas marching through the town square with Frosty in the lead, singing the "Frosty the Snowman" song. Among them is a redeemed Professor Hinkle, who is proudly wearing his new top hat. At the end of the parade, Frosty gets back into Santa's waiting sleigh and they return to the North Pole, with Frosty proclaiming, "I'll be back on Christmas Day!"

Cast

  • Jackie Vernon as Frosty the Snowman, a snowman brought to life by a magical top hat.
  • June Foray as Karen (a schoolgirl), the school's teacher, and one of the boys (using her "Rocky" voice). Many of her parts were edited out in subsequent airings (see "Edits" below).
  • Billy De Wolfe as Professor Hinkle, a magician whose goal is to kill Frosty to reclaim the magic top hat.
  • Paul Frees as the Policeman, the Ticket man, and Santa Claus.
  • Jimmy Durante as the Narrator, who sings most of the special's songs.

Soundtrack

CD cover

Released by Rhino on October 1, 2002, the entire audio portion of Frosty the Snowman is available on CD along with the entire audio portion of Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, the Rankin-Bass special produced in 1970. This edition contains the full dialogue and song audio of both specials.

The tracklisting is as follows:

  1. Medley: Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town...Be Prepared To Pay 25:18
  2. Medley: Put One Foot In Front Of The Other...Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (finale) 24:55
  3. Frosty The Snowman Theme & Narration (Beginning) 13:45
  4. Frosty The Snowman Theme & Narration (Conclusion) 11:48
  5. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (Soundtrack Version) 1:50
  6. Frosty The Snowman (Soundtrack Version) 1:04

Edits

In 1970, June Foray's voice was replaced by an uncredited voice (Foray still provides Karen's singing voice). The dubbing is also obvious on the DVD, as the audio quality of the replacement voice is better than that of the other sounds.The current restored version, which debuted in 2005, does not restore Foray's voice. At the time, rumors implied a controversy over copyrights and/or royalties as the reason behind the change, but the reason remains unknown. The original soundtrack with Foray's original voice track is available on CD.

Television rights

In the United States, CBS continues to hold the telecast rights to the original program (under license from the current copyright holder, Classic Media, the owner of much of the pre-1974 Rankin/Bass library) and still airs it yearly with the CBS-produced sequel Frosty Returns (see below). The CBC holds broadcast rights in Canada. The special also airs on ABC Family in some territories. However, CBS does not own the telecast rights to the 1976 sequel Frosty's Winter Wonderland (that film currently airs on ABC Family), which prompted CBS to produce its own "sequel" of sorts, Frosty Returns (see below).

Sequels

Frosty returned in several sequels:

  • Frosty Returns - This 1992 half-hour special is not truly a sequel to the 1969 classic, as it was produced not by Rankin-Bass but by CBS. The characters, setting, and voices are different and the animation (by Bill Melendez) is vastly different. Despite this, it is shown with the original special every year on CBS and was even included as a bonus on its DVD release. John Goodman provides the voice of Frosty in this special, as Jackie Vernon, the original voice of Frosty, died in 1987.
  • The Legend of Frosty the Snowman - This 2005 straight-to-video film was produced by Classic Media, the current rights holder for the original Rankin/Bass special, and the remainder of their pre-1974 library. This movie has been bundled with the original 1969 Rankin/Bass special and the CBS sequel, and has also aired on Cartoon Network. The appearance of Frosty resembles much more the Rankin-Bass character design from their original animation, and another character, Professor Hinkle, returns in a cameo, shown in a picture and flashback during this special. Frosty is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke in this special.
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