Frosty the Snowman

While it is a total joy to have the classic Rankin and Bass Christmas classic "Frosty the Snowman", on DVD what is disappointing is that it is unfortunately paired on this DVD with a dour "update", of the adventures of the most famous Snowman in the world titled "Frosty Returns", that is a clear victim of "politically correct", agendas. The original 1969 classic "Frosty the Snowman", is a story beloved by generations of television viewers with its catchy tunes, beautiful animation, likeable characters, and unabashed celebration of Christmas and all its traditions. "Frosty Returns", however is seemingly driven by a desire to down play the importance of Christmas traditions altogether, indeed Christmas amazingly is never even referred to once in the story, being instead replaced by a rather unfortunate "Winter festival". Imagining Frosty the Snowman without Christmas is like trying to picture Rudolph without his shiny nose! While the original has charm aplenty "Frosty Returns", also displays a number of less than charming characters, namely Frosty himself who in this story is more sarcastic and jive talking and far less jolly than in the memorable original. This sequel also has some of the most woeful animation and songs in it that you could imagine which only succeeds in making the original classic shine ever more brightly. Seeing these two features side by side on this disk made a number of decades apart clearly illustrates the often discussed "war on Christmas", that seems to be taking place in our western culture and after one screening of the "update" "Frosty Returns", I know I'll be sticking with the original classic "Frosty the Snowman", which still charms all these decades after it was produced by the legendary team of Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass.

A gold member of the Christmas classics elite, Frosty the Snowman has entertained generations of children and adults with its holiday magic. Jimmy Durante narrates this 1969 animated creation that features the birth of Frosty - a happy, upbeat snowman brought to life by a magic hat. The story is based on a popular Christmas song of the same name. Since her children are forced to attend school on Christmas Eve (with snow outside none-the-less), a schoolteacher hires a local magician named Professor Hinkle to entertain her class. But Professor Hinkle is anything but a master of his trade. He entertains the kids only by means of their laughter as his ridiculous screw-ups. Frustrated by his failure to perform the famous magic trick of "pulling a rabbit out of a hat," Hinkle throws the old hat out the window. When the children are finally dismissed from school, they build a snowman and name him Frosty. And then something truly magical occurs. A gust of wind blows Professor Hinkle's discarded hat onto the snowman's head, and "presto"! ...Frosty the snowman comes to life with a call of "Happy Birthday"! Immediately, Professor Hinkle decides that he wants to keep his hat after all (so he can profit from its obvious magic powers), but the kids fight him off to save Frosty. However, Professor Hinkle is the least of Frosty's worries. The temperature is on the rise, and Frosty and the kids conclude that the North Pole is where he belongs. Together, they travel to the local train station to buy a ticket to the North Pole. Karen, the leader of the schoolchildren, boards a cargo container along with Frosty, and the two set off for the North Pole. What they don't know is that Professor Hinkle is following them. When they reach the North Pole, Frosty is doing great, but Karen is icy cold. In an attempt to keep her from freezing to death, Frosty takes Karen into a warm greenhouse and lays her inside, but Professor Hinkle slams the door shut - melting Frosty. The greedy magician is perfectly content to walk off in triumph with the confiscated hat, when Santa Clause appears and chastises him for what he has done. He promises Hinkle that he'll never again receive another present if he doesn't help Frosty. Hinkle relents and the cool, North Pole wind restores Frosty into his original snowman form. The hat brings him back to life, and he's reunited with Karen. Santa loads Karen and Frosty on his sleigh, and Karen is flown back to her house, where Frosty promises to return every year. A holiday television classic unrivaled by none, Frosty the Snowman is "must-see" Christmas entertainment for the entire family. Its central theme of life and death are aptly portrayed by a snowman's good cheer and the love a young girl harbors for him. Frosty's charisma solidifies this as an enduring classic, right up there with some of the greats like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)... The DVD Report

Who didn't grow up watching Frosty ? Certain Christmas traditions were inevitable where I grew up: no school (yea!), toys (obviously), snowball fights and sled races (yea again!) and of course, christmas cartoons. "Frosty the Snowman" was already a classic when I was a kid and time has changed nothing about the tale of a Snowman brought to life by a magical tophat. Memorable vocal contributions by Jimmy Durante (whose unique song-stylings turn his rendition of the Frosty song into the stuff of legend), Billy De Wolfe (tricky, tricky, tricky, Professor Hinkle), and the unforgettable Jackie Vernon as the bellywhopping magical man of snow, Frosty.Now there's only one reason why I'm unhappy with this release: NO extras on the DVD. There is a trend in studios nowadays to release as many titles as they can on DVD to see how well they do, then re-release a new version with cool extras and features much later. I don't know if FROSTY will be re-released, but I'd be willing to wait it out a year to see what happens.

No holiday film is more beloved and revered than Frosty the Snowman, other than Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the Grinch. This 1969 Masterpiece was written by the GREAT Romeo Muller, the GREATEST writer who ever lived, the man REALLY understood children. This film has a lot for both parents and children to enjoy. It has Jackie Vernon, giving warmth and kindness to Frosty the Snowman, Jimmy Durante as the EXCELLENT narrator, and Billy Dewolf as the SILLY Professor Hinkle (one of my all time favorite characters of Christmas Mythology.) This film also includes my personal favorite recording of ANY Christmas Song, the Jimmy Durante rendition of the title song. (I must recomend that you purchase the spliced version on CD.) You just can't go wrong with this film. A great one for children just seeing it for the first time, or for parents who grew up with it themselves. You must also buy the sequel, "Frosty's Winter Wonderland" and the semi sequel "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July", both buy Romeo Muller. PLEASE AVOID THE PIECE OF GARBAGE CLAIMING TO BE A SEQUEL ENTITLED "FROSTY RETURNS", ALSO ISSUED BY GOLDEN BOOKS. IT IS A POOR PLOTLESS ATTEMPT AT A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL INDEED AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FROSTY THAT WE KNOW AND LOVE.

Frosty the Snowman is simply superb! It's another of author Romeo Muller's 16 animated Christmas films--all of which are splendid and marvelous. Jimmy Durante is a most endearing narrator and singer here, and the enchanting story of Frosty is both humorous and heart-tugging. Watch it, and learn why there's magic in Christmas snow! You'll also enjoy the sequels by the same author, "Frosty's Winter Wonderland," narrated by Andy Griffith; and "Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July," narrated by Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus.