I had no idea that there was another Frosty sequel out there
that was made by Rankin/Bass. The only clue that I had of its existence was
during a bit in the Michael Keaton film "Jack Frost", when Keaton's
son is flickering through the channels and sees kids sliding down a snowy hill
with Frosty as the song plays. But being that I've never heard of it before,
and somehow couldn't gather any information of it online before viewing it on
TV, I figured that it may have been perhaps an old commercial involving the
Frosty character. But no, it’s real, and somehow the non-Rankin/Bass sequel
gets more attention than this one. I only saw the last half of the special when
I first saw it, and I thought to myself how is this overlooked? It certainly
looks more like a Frosty sequel, especially when considering that half of the
new characters that were introduced in it would appear in a Rankin/Bass
crossover. Is it underrated, or is it forgotten for a reason? ON WITH THE
REVIEW!
It's been a few years since Frosty left for the North Pole
(wait, didn't Frosty say that he would come back for each Christmas day; and
that every time he came back, there would be a Christmas parade as shown in the
last scene of the special), and after finding out that the first snowfall of the
winter season is coming, he decides to return to the children to "frolic
and play" the Frosty way. However, since the kids have to eventually leave
Frosty alone to warm up and spend time with their folks, Frosty begins to feel
lonesome. Noticing how sad Frosty is, the kids decide to build him a snow-wife
named Crystal who eventually comes to life to legally marry Frosty. But as the
two are preparing for their wedding, an angry Jack Frost seeks revenge on
Frosty for stealing away the winter spotlight from him.
Incase if you haven't noticed, the plot for this Special
isn't nearly as exciting as the plot to the original. The goal in the first
film was to get Frosty to the North Pole before he'll melt, and to keep Karen
safe and warm or else she'll freeze to death, while they're both trying to
escape an evil magician who wants Frosty's hat that keeps him alive so that he
can be rich. Here, Frosty seeks to marry a snow-lady. There are obstacles, like
figuring out how to make Crystal come to life, Jack Frost trying to steal Frosty's
hat, a parson refusing to marry them since it’s not legal of him to do so, and
Spring getting near; but all these obstacles are solved in almost no time, and
half of the time don't make sense (mainly involving the logic of the snowmen
coming to life, after when its clearly established that it's the power of a
magic hat that can only do that kind of impossible). Jack Frost himself,
shockingly doesn't come as close to succeeding with stealing Frosty's hat as
the goofy magician in the original either since he's either being foiled by his
cocky naivety, or a quick last minute loop hole that has him questioning the
logic just as much as I was. The special even has a message about why we need all
the other seasons since the characters want to have Winter going on longer to
keep Frosty and Crystal present, and though not a bad message, its brought up
in the second to last scene of the special, that makes it feel pointless since
the special wasn't at all about the characters pushing for a longer winter
until this point. I don't wish to admit it, but "Frosty Returns"
legitimately has a better story than this sequel. It wasn't good, because the
message of tampering with Mother Nature did feel horribly forced and preachy,
but it did have a more suspenseful plot than what this sequel has since it
involves a can of snow spray that will make Frosty disappear forever if he gets
sprayed, as well as message in the center of it all that doesn't feel last out
of left field. The writing for this special takes so many short-cuts to move the plot along that you get the feeling that Rankin/Bass were only making this special just because the original classic was so popular, and wanted to rush-in a story as quickly as possible.
For me what made this special such a downer is that with the
exception of the traffic cop (doing the same bit as he did before, only this
time he’s reacting to Frosty’s wife), and our title character, none of the
original characters from the original special return. No Professor Hinkle, no
furry white rabbit Hocus Pocus, no Santa, and worst of all, no Karen! Out of
all the supporting characters that should return, they leave out the character
who Frosty has a close connection with! If this was a completely
different town, while being disappointed I'd buy it, but since the traffic cop
from the original is there, this is obviously the same town that Frosty has
paraded through before (even if it barely looks at all like the town
from the original). And what's worse is, the kids that Frosty spends time with
are so forgettable for how lacking of character and visually appealing designs,
that they feel more like characters that belong in the background instead of the
foreground interacting with Frosty. Not a single one of them captures the same
kind of level cuteness or personality as the character of Karen. If anything
they look almost as creepy as the kids from awful Christmas cartoons like "The Christmas Tree" and "Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa" (there's a short and fat kid who wears a scarf around his face the entire time). Gazing at their creepy smiles while we stare
into those gigantic lifeless cold dark eyes is absolutely terrifying! I know the kids
in the original can look uncanny at times too, but this reached a whole new level
of awkwardness for how in your face it is. For crying out loud, I remember the
two kids in "Frosty Returns" more than I do the kids here. Yes,
they're still terribly bland and dull, but I still remember them since they
look like rejected designs for Peppermint Patty and Marcie (if she were a boy).
As lifeless as the kids look most of the time,
they're nothing when compared to Andy Griffith's sinister design. Andy Griffith
subs for Durante as our new narrator who walks around and sings Christmas songs
such as "Frosty the Snowman" and "Winter Wonderland". He does just as wholesome of a job at taking us into the special's Christmas
environment as Durante did in the original, except that every time I have to look at his
design, a large part of me feels taken out of the mood. Sure, I've mentioned how Fred
Astaire in "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" and Burl Ives as Sam the
snowman in "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" can look creepy at times,
but at least they looked friendly. I take one good look at Griffith here, and I
would easily mistake him to be the special’s villain for how he smiles and
looks at us so dastardly. And sometimes, his scary face would just pop-out at
us when you least expect it too, which just makes his on-screen presence even
more uncomfortable. This Rankin/Bass caricature of Griffith was really in desperate need of a redesign.
As soulless as the kids are, and as wicked as good old Andy
Griffith appears, the rest of the characters and their designs are charming and
pleasant to look at. Jackie Vernon returns to voice Frosty, and everything that
was sweet and lovable about his character and performance still remains here. I
was even finding myself feeling legitimately bad for his loneliness and still
promising to love his snow-wife whether she'll be "all livin'" like
him or not. His design is slightly different, and there are a few tiny things
that are a bit out of character (like his ability to count for instance), but I
still feel that they captured his character well enough. Shelley Winter's
provides the voice of Frosty's wife Crystal, and she too brings a performance
just as endearing as Vernon's. The love between has to be by far the fastest
love story arc that I've ever seen in any Rankin/Bass Special, given that she
instantly knows who he is when she just came to life, and that the two decide
to get married right off the bat because...they're snow-persons; BUT GOSH DARN
IT, they're still so adorable together, whether it makes sense or not. Jack
Frost (voiced by the great Paul Frees) is as joyfully mischievous as we
associate the character to be, and as painfully rushed as his motivation and
redemption is, you still find yourself liking this character since you can
understand why he would stoop to such a low, even if it doesn't feel as organic
as Hinkle turning nasty. The last of the new characters is Dennis Day as Parson
Brown, who is mighty humble as this voice of reason character. But in all
seriousness, did the special really need him to build a snow-parson to perform
the marriage ceremony? I feel like once we got to seeing the snow-parson come
to life for no rhyme or reason (much like the other magical loop holes that keep
Frosty and Crystal alive), the concept of snowman coming
to life no longer feels as magical and special, as if almost anyone now can
create their own personal walking and talking snowman in this world.
The animation, though just as clunky as the animation in the
original, for its awkward movements, continuity errors, and some uncanny
designs and poses, still maintains a festive and colorful winter environment
that looks enchanting. Just like how the original made me wish to
spend Christmas with the animals in the woods, ride in a train full of
Christmas goodies, and enter a warm greenhouse full of Christmas poinsettias;
this special makes me wish to play with Frosty in this winter wonderland, and
go to a Snowman wedding. It's certainly captures the childlike wonder of
spending the winter with a talking snowman, that is more visually pleasing than
that coloring book full of "Peanuts" knock-offs in "Frosty
Returns".
I can see why this special doesn't get that much attention.
It's not as badly offensive as "Frosty Returns", but there's nothing in it that's all that memorable. It has little to no plot. The writing is incredibly lazy. The absence of the
supporting characters from the first Frosty special is highly disappointing.
And some of the designs are very frightening! There's really no need for this sequel
to exist at all. But though this isn't saying much, it at least feels more like
a sequel to Frosty than the other ones. Mainly because it's done by Rankin/Bass
and that Jackie Vernon returns to voice for Frosty, as we get plenty of nods to
the original. But obviously having the original team and referencing the
first cartoon doesn't automatically make it good, and it isn’t, but I was still mostly
charmed by it. The voice acting is good. Most of the characters are sweet. And
the animation gives a magical winter environment that you wish to take part in.
I say stick to the original, but if you're tired of watching the original
classic over and over each holiday season and don't wish to resort to
"Frosty Returns" that's somehow paired up with the original on its
DVD releases, then this will satisfy you fine.
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