''Frosty the Snowman'' is a 1969 American

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

Christmas television special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in literature and in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptations of Ch ...

produced by

Rankin/Bass Productions Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...

. It is the first television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. The special first aired on December 7, 1969, on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television network in the United States, airing immediately after the fifth showing of ''

A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Str ...

'', both scoring high ratings. The special aired annually for the network's Christmas and holiday season until 2023. After 55 years,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

acquired the broadcast rights to the special, and continues to air it yearly. The special was based on the

Walter E. Rollins Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

and Steve Nelson song of the same name. It featured the

voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (1 ...

of comedians

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

(in his final film role) as the film's narrator,

Billy De Wolfe William Andrew Jones (February 18, 1907 – March 5, 1974), better known as Billy De Wolfe, was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. Early life and early stage career Born William Andrew ...

as Professor Hinkle, and Jackie Vernon as Frosty.

Arthur Rankin Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and screenwriter, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion and ...

and

Jules Bass Julius Caesar Bass (; September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft ...

wanted to give the show and its characters the look of a

Christmas card A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during ...

, 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 or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima. The studio was headed by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka started it as a rivalry wi ...

in Tokyo, Japan, with Yusaku "Steve" Nakagawa and then-Mushi staffer

Osamu Dezaki , also known as , , or , was a Japanese anime director and screenwriter.

(who is uncredited) among the animation staff. Durante was one of the first people to record the song when it was released in 1950 (though at the time the song had slightly different lyrics), and re-recorded the song for the special. Rankin/Bass veteran writer

Romeo Muller Romeo Earl Muller, Jr. (August 7, 1928 – December 30, 1992) was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays for the Rankin/Bass Christmas specials including ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'', ''The Little Drumm ...

adapted and expanded the story for television, as he had done with the "Animagic" stop-motion production of ''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on C ...

''. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' ranked the special number 9 on its 10 Best Family Holiday Specials list.

Plot

Inept magician Professor Hinkle unsuccessfully performs his tricks during a school's

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

party. Later when the children go outside to play in the snow and build a

snowman A snowman is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes wit ...

they name "Frosty" after some debate. Professor Hinkle's hat lands on Frosty's head and brings him to life. Hinkle realizes the hat is actually magic and sees this as a chance to become "a millionaire magician". Hinkle reclaims the hat until his rabbit, Hocus Pocus switches it with a

Christmas wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

and brings the hat back to the children, who revive Frosty. However, the temperature begins to rise, and Frosty fears he will melt unless he can get to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. The children suggest putting him on a train to get there and they parade through town on the way to the train station, shocking several townspeople, including the

traffic cop Traffic police (also known as traffic officers, traffic enforcement units, traffic cops, traffic monitors, or traffic enforcers) are units and agencies who enforce traffic laws and manage traffic. Traffic police help to assist in patrolling ...

. Because they have no money for tickets, Hocus, Frosty, and Karen secretly board a northbound

freight train A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...

refrigerator car A refrigerator car (or "reefer") is a Refrigeration, refrigerated boxcar (U.S.), a piece of railroad rolling stock designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Refrigerator cars differ from simple Thermal insulation, insulated b ...

filled with

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

and

Christmas cake Christmas cake is a type of cake, often fruitcake, served at Christmas time in many countries. British variations Christmas cake is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. A traditional English Christmas cake is made with moist Zan ...

s while Professor Hinkle follows them to reclaim the hat. As the train continues northward, Karen starts to get

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

and Frosty realizes she cannot withstand the extremely cold temperatures. When the train stops to let a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

pass, the group disembarks in search of somewhere to warm Karen, with Hinkle following in pursuit. By nightfall, Frosty and Hocus struggle to bring Karen through the forest. Hocus asks the forest animals to build a campfire for Karen, which they succeed in doing. Fearing that the fire will not be good enough, Frosty decides to look for

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, whom he assumes can save Karen and bring him to the North Pole. While Hocus searches for Santa, Professor Hinkle arrives and puts out Karen's fire. Karen and Frosty flee and arrive at a

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

, which Frosty brings Karen inside to warm up. Hinkle arrives and shuts the door, locking them inside. By the time Hocus and Santa arrive at the greenhouse, Frosty has melted. Santa comforts a distraught Karen, explaining that Frosty is made of magical Christmas snow and will return every winter. He then opens the door and the winter wind blows in magic snow to remake Frosty into a snowman. As they are about to put the hat on his head, Hinkle arrives, demanding the hat. Santa intervenes by threatening not to bring Hinkle anymore presents, and tells him to write his apologies. Thinking he might get a new hat, Hinkle runs off. Santa revives Frosty, drops Karen off at her house, and then takes Frosty to the North Pole, promising that he will return every year with the magical Christmas snow. Later, Frosty leads a parade with the children, Hocus, the narrator, the traffic cop, and the rest of the town, including a redeemed Professor Hinkle sporting a new hat, revealing that Santa has kept his promise to him. As the parade ends, Frosty boards Santa's sleigh and they fly off to the North Pole with Frosty altering the song's last line saying “I'll be back on Christmas Day!”

Voice cast

as himself (Narrator) * Jackie Vernon as Frosty *

as Professor Hinkle *

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...

as Karen (first airing), schoolchildren, and the Teacher *

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986), better known as Paul Frees, was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass and Walt Disney the ...

as The Traffic Cop, The Ticket Taker, Hocus Pocus, and Santa Claus * Suzanne Davidson as Karen (later airings) * Greg Thomas as children (later airings)

Production credits

* Producers/Directors:

Arthur Rankin, Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and screenwriter, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion and ...

* Writer:

* Based on "Frosty the Snowman" by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins * Character Designer:

Paul Coker, Jr. Paul Coker Jr. (March 5, 1929 – July 23, 2022) was an American illustrator. He worked in many media, including '' Mad'', character design for Rankin-Bass TV specials, greeting cards, and advertising. Career Coker was born in Lawrence, Kansa ...

* Continuity Designer: Don Duga * Sound Effects Engineers: Jim Harris and Phil Kaye * Editorial Supervisor: Irwin Goldress * Animation: Mushi Studios ** Animation Supervisor: Steve Nakagawa ** Animation Director:

Osamu Dezaki , also known as , , or , was a Japanese anime director and screenwriter.

(uncredited) * Musical Director:

Maury Laws Maury Laws (December 6, 1923 – March 28, 2019) was an American television and film composer from Burlington, North Carolina. Biography In his teens, Laws performed in local country, jazz and dance bands as a singer and guitarist in his home s ...

Soundtrack

Released by

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

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

Release

The special debuted on December 7, 1969, on

. It was ranked as the No. 1 television program for the week of December 1–7, 1969, by

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

, earning a 30.5 rating and a 45 share. It remained on CBS for the next 55 years until

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

, which owned the program along with the rest of the pre-1974 Videocraft (Rankin/Bass) catalog, brought the special (along with ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'') onto its own network,

for 2024.

Home video

Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment (FHE) was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California. History The company was found ...

released ''Frosty the Snowman'' on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

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 "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Austrian Trapp Family, the song was further popularized ...

'' on

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

in 1992. Upon its 1989 and 1993 releases, the special was also bundled in box sets with the other Rankin/Bass Christmas specials including ''

'' and ''

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas music, Christmas song written by John Frederick Coots, J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, and first recorded by Harry Reser and His Orchestra. When it was covered by Eddie Cantor on his radio show ...

'', the 1973

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

holiday special, '' A Very Merry Cricket'' and the sequel ''

Frosty Returns ''Frosty Returns'' is an American animated Christmas television special directed by Bill Melendez and Evert Brown, starring the voices of Jonathan Winters as the narrator and John Goodman as Frosty the Snowman. The special premiered on CBS on Dece ...

'' which aired on

in 1992. In 1998,

Sony Wonder Sony Pictures Kids Zone is the kids and family entertainment label of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the former record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Despite the similarity in name, Sony Wonder is not directly related to the fo ...

and

Golden Books Family Entertainment ''Family Entertainment'' is the second album by the British progressive rock band Family, released in March 1969. The cover of the album was a takeoff from the sleeve of the Doors' second album, '' Strange Days'', as Family admitted. Backgrou ...

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. The special was also released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

by Sony Wonder and Golden Books Family Entertainment in 2001 and

Classic Media DreamWorks Classics is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded as Classic Media in 2000 by Eric Ellenboge ...

in 2002 and 2004, and by Genius Entertainment in 2007.

Vivendi Entertainment Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment (formerly known as Vivendi Entertainment, Vivendi Visual Entertainment and Visual Entertainment) was a film, television, DVD and digital distribution company that operated in the United States and Canada. It was also a ...

re-released it on DVD and for the first time on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

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 re-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 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

released a Deluxe Edition of the special, along with other specials on Blu-ray and DVD, on October 16, 2018. In 2022, Universal released the special in 4K Ultra HD as part of ''The Classic Christmas Specials Collection'' (with ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' and ''Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town'').

Streaming

DreamWorks Animation made the entire special available for free through its

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel Mini Moments from 2017 to 2023. CBS's rights to the program did not include streaming rights, forcing the network to black out the special on all streaming platforms, including its own

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

and feeds provided to cable and satellite alternatives such as

YouTube TV YouTube TV is an American Pay television, subscription Over-the-top media service, over-the-top streaming television service operated by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, which in turn is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., who announced YouTube TV ...

and

Hulu + Live TV Hulu (, ) is an American subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as a joint venture between ...

Reception

The special received positive reviews, albeit more modest than most of its contemporary specials. Clarke Williamson's 1970 survey of Christmas specials aired that year ranked ''Frosty'' as having a "fair" reception, which other than a 1960s compilation of ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' performances was the lowest ranking of any special on the survey. On review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the special received an approval rating of 73% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Frosty the Snowman is a jolly, happy sing-along that will delight children with its crisp animation and affable title character, who makes an indelible impression with his corncob pipe, button nose, and eyes made out of coal."

Sequels

Frosty returned in several sequels: * ''

Frosty's Winter Wonderland ''Frosty's Winter Wonderland'' is a 1976 animated Christmas television special and a standalone sequel to the 1969 special ''Frosty the Snowman'', produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and animated by Topcraft. It is the second television special ...

'' – This 1976

standalone sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

by Rankin/Bass was also written by Romeo Muller. Narration is provided by

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy ...

(Jimmy Durante retired after a stroke in 1972) and Jackie Vernon reprised the role of Frosty. The animation was produced by

Topcraft Topcraft Co., Ltd. (株式会社トップクラフト ''Kabushiki-gaisha Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established in 1972, by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was f ...

in Japan. Unlike the original, the sequel takes place later in the winter season and is based upon the 1934 song "

Winter Wonderland "Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himb ...

." The plot follows Frosty's pursuit of a wife and the town's efforts to preserve him into the springtime.

Jack Frost Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, a ...

is introduced as the new antagonist, and no characters besides Frosty and the traffic cop return from the original. As the special takes place in the late winter, it makes no mention of Christmas (the original song likewise did not mention Christmas). * ''

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July ''Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July'' (titled on-screen as ''Rudolph and Frosty: Christmas in July'') is a 1979 American–Japanese Christmas/Independence Day film produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, featuring characters from the company' ...

'' – This 1979 Rankin/Bass feature-length sequel was filmed in the "Animagic" stop-motion style of ''

''. While the Frosty special is 30 minutes long, and the Rudolph special runs 60 minutes, this film is feature-length, at 97 minutes long (120 minutes on television, including commercials). Jackie Vernon returned as the voice of Frosty for the final time. Jack Frost also makes a brief return from ''Frosty's Winter Wonderland''. Although set during the

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

, this sequel is the only one to mention Christmas, and Santa Claus plays a major role. This is also the only ''Frosty'' special not to feature a narrator. * ''

'' – This 1992 half-hour special is not truly a sequel to the original since it was produced not by Rankin/Bass but by

from December 1, 1995 until December 16, 2023. The characters, setting, voices and animation (by

Bill Melendez José Cuauhtémoc "Bill" Melendez (November 15, 1916 – September 2, 2008) was an American animator, director, producer, and voice actor. Melendez is known for working on the ''Peanuts'' animated specials, as well as providing the voices of Sno ...

) have all changed. Frosty's physical appearance, personality, and humor are markedly different, and he has the ability to live without his

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

, in direct contrast with the Rankin/Bass specials. Despite this, it was included as a bonus on previous

releases and was paired with the original on all of CBS's television airings.

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...

provides the voice of Frosty in this special, and

Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. He started performing as a stand up comedian before transitioning his career to acting in film and te ...

serves as narrator. The special avoids all mention of Christmas and has an environmentalist theme, as Frosty works to stop a corporate executive whose spray product wipes out snow. * ''

The Legend of Frosty the Snowman ''The Legend of Frosty the Snowman'' is a 2005 Christmas animated television special film that was simultaneously released direct-to-video, and produced by Classic Media (now DreamWorks Classics), Studio B Productions and Top Draw Animation. T ...

'' – This 2005 straight-to-video film was produced by

, the previous rights holder for the original

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City. It was known for its seasonal television specials, ...

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 aired on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

. The story features almost entirely new characters and there are some inconsistencies in continuity, though Frosty's appearance closely resembles the Rankin/Bass character design. Professor Hinkle also appears in a flashback cameo role, and is later revealed to be the grandfather of main protagonist Tommy Tinkerton (voiced by

Kath Soucie Kath Soucie (, ). is an American voice actress, known for voicing Phil, Lil and their mother Betty DeVille in '' Rugrats'', Lola Bunny in the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise, Fifi La Fume and Li'l Sneezer in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Maddie Fent ...

), who as an adult is the narrator (voiced by

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

). Frosty is voiced by

Bill Fagerbakke William Fagerbakke ( ; born October 4, 1957) is an American actor. He voices Patrick Star in the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' franchise, and played Michael "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom '' Coach''. He also appeared in 12 episodes of the sitcom ' ...

, best known as the voice of

Patrick Star Patrick Star is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He is voiced by actor Bill Fagerbakke and was created and designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. He first ...

on ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'' (

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...

, the voice of SpongeBob himself, voices Tommy's father and town mayor Mr. Tinkerton).

Notes

References

External links

*
Holiday Central
' at CBS.com * {{Frosty the Snowman 1960s American television specials 1969 in American television 1969 television specials 1960s animated television specials CBS television specials NBC television specials Christmas television specials Frosty the Snowman television specials Rankin/Bass Productions television specials Santa Claus in television American Christmas television specials Animated Christmas television specials Anime-influenced animation