Frosty the Snowman (TV special)


Frosty the Snowman is a 1969 American animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and currently distributed by Universal Television. It is the first television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. The special first aired on December 7, 1969, on the CBS television network in the United States; it has aired annually for the network's Christmas and holiday season every year since, with Freeform sharing the rights to the special with CBS beginning in 2019. The special was based on the Walter E. Rollins and Steve Nelson song of the same name. It featured the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as the film's narrator, Billy De Wolfe as Professor Hinkle, and Jackie Vernon as Frosty.
The special's story follows a group of school children who build a snowman called Frosty and place a magic hat on his head, which makes him come to life with enchanted power. But after noticing the high hot temperature and fearing that he would melt, Frosty, along with a young girl named Karen and a rabbit named Hocus Pocus, must go to the North Pole to be safe from melting.
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 Tokyo, Japan, with Hanna-Barbera staffer Yusaku "Steve" Nakagawa and then-Mushi staffer Osamu Dezaki among the animation staff. Durante was one of the first people to record the song when it was released in 1950 ; he re-recorded the song for the special.
Rankin/Bass veteran writer Romeo Muller adapted and expanded the story for television, as he had done with the "Animagic" stop motion production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
TV Guide ranked the special number 4 on its 10 Best Family Holiday Specials list.

Plot

In the schoolhouse on Christmas Eve, a teacher hires Professor Hinkle, an inept magician, to entertain her class for their Christmas party. After fumbling a trick, he throws his hat away in disgust. It then bounces off the trash can and releases his white rabbit, Hocus Pocus, who wears the hat and humiliates Hinkle, much to the otherwise bored and impatient children's amusement. Class is dismissed and the children go to play in the snow where they build a snowman. After suggesting several names, a girl named Karen names him "Frosty" to her classmates’ jovial agreement. Hocus comes out of the school with the hat, which is then caught in a gust of wind until Karen grabs it and puts it on Frosty's head, causing him to magically become conscious. When Hinkle sees this, he takes the hat back after another wind blows it off Frosty's head, turning the snowman back to his previous inanimate form. Hinkle refuses to give the hat back, planning to use the hat's magic to become rich.
Hocus brings the hat back to the children, who return Frosty to an animate state. While celebrating with the children, he feels the temperature rising and fears he will melt. The children then suggest putting him on the next train to the North Pole and parade through town on the way to the train station. This shocks several townspeople, including a police officer who accidentally swallows his whistle. Because they have no money for a ticket to the North Pole—noted by the receptionist as a $3,000 fare, Hocus, Frosty, and Karen hop a refrigerated boxcar on a northbound train. Hinkle clings to the undercarriage of the caboose of the same train, scheming to recover the hat.
As the train continues northward, Frosty notices Karen getting colder and realizes that she has to get out as soon as possible. When the freight train stops to let a passenger train full of Christmas travelers pass, they disembark in search of somewhere to warm Karen, with Hinkle following in pursuit. By nightfall, Frosty, Karen, and Hocus struggle through the woods. Hocus convinces a group of animals to build a campfire for Karen. Fearing that she still cannot survive for long in the cold weather, Frosty asks Hocus who else might be able to help them. Hocus suggests the United States Marines and President of the United States before they agree upon looking for Santa Claus. Hocus then goes off in search of him, and soon after, Hinkle catches up to Frosty and Karen, extinguishes the fire, and forcefully tries to steal Frosty's hat. The team then flee with Karen riding on Frosty's back as he luges down a hill on his stomach
At the bottom of the slope, they discover a greenhouse filled with poinsettias. Despite Karen's objections, Frosty steps inside with her, suggesting that he could afford to lose a little weight while she warms up. When Hinkle arrives, he locks the door and traps them inside.
Meanwhile, Hocus leads Santa to the greenhouse, only to find a heartbroken Karen crying over a melted Frosty; this segues into a flashback sequence through the puddle of water. After Santa breaks a fourth wall and refutes the Narrator’s claim that he and Hocus were “too late,” he explains to Karen that Frosty cannot permanently die because he is “made of Christmas snow”, meaning he will return every winter. He then opens the greenhouse door, causing a gust of wind to reconstruct Frosty’s lifeless figure. Just as they are about to put his hat back on, Hinkle arrives and demands its return. Santa intervenes, threatening to never give him any more presents if he assumes the hat. With Hinkle having to give up his plans, Santa tells him to go home and write an apology in order to receive a present; Hinkle leaves realizing that it might be a new hat and excitedly rushes off the screen. Santa then places the current hat on Frosty's head, bringing him back to life, before the three of them celebrate. Later, he returns Karen home and takes Frosty to the North Pole, promising to return on Christmas Day.
The ending shows Santa making good on his promise as Frosty parades through town again with Karen and her classmates, but this time joined by a reformed Hinkle with a new hat, the traffic cop, Hocus, the Narrator, and several townspeople. At the end, Frosty boards Santa's sleigh to be taken back north and said he'll be back on Christmas as the sleigh takes flight to end the parade.

Voice cast

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 track listing 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 24:55
  3. Frosty The Snowman Theme & Narration 13:45
  4. Frosty The Snowman Theme & Narration 11:48
  5. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town 1:50
  6. Frosty The Snowman 1:04

    Television rights

In the United States, CBS holds the telecast rights to the original program, and airs annually with the CBS-produced sequel Frosty Returns, making it the longest run of a television special on the same network, longer than any other currently airing Christmas special. The CBC holds broadcast rights in Canada. The special also airs on Freeform in some territories, and it began airing on that network in the U.S. beginning in 2019. The telecast rights to the 1976 sequel Frosty's Winter Wonderland are held by AMC as part of its “Best Christmas Ever” block. CBS would later commission its own "sequel" of sorts, Frosty Returns.

Home media

VHS and LaserDisc

released Frosty the Snowman on VHS as part of the Christmas Classics Series in 1989 and 1993, with multiple re-prints throughout the 1990s. It was paired with The Little Drummer Boy on LaserDisc in 1992. Upon its 1989 and 1993 releases, the special was also bundled in box sets with the other Rankin/Bass Christmas specials including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, the 1973 Chuck Jones holiday special, A Very Merry Cricket and the sequel Frosty Returns which aired on CBS in 1992. In 1998, Sony Wonder and Golden Books Family Entertainment released the special on VHS, and also paired it with these other Rankin/Bass Christmas specials including Cricket on the Hearth in the separate Holiday Classics Collection box sets.

DVD and Blu-ray

The special was also released on DVD by Sony Wonder and Classic Media in 2002 and 2004, and by Genius Entertainment in 2007. Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment released it on DVD and Blu-ray on October 12, 2010, and on the DVD/Blu-ray combo pack on November 6, 2012. Most DVD releases also include Frosty Returns. On September 8, 2015, Classic Media released both the special and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town in their 45th Anniversary Collector's Edition on Blu-ray and DVD in addition to the 50th Anniversary release of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 2014. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released a Deluxe Edition of the special, along with other specials on Blu-ray and DVD on October 16, 2018.

Sequels

Frosty returned in several sequels:
On July 1, 2020, a live-action film adaptation of Frosty the Snowman was announced to be in development at Warner Bros. and Stampede Ventures, with Jason Momoa voicing the titular snowman, Jon Berg and Greg Silverman producing alongside Geoff Johns, Roy Lee and Momoa, and David Berenbaum writing the screenplay.