Frosty's Winter Wonderland

I got to admit that this is a perfect sequel to the FROSTY THE SNOWMAN tale. Narrated this time by Andy Griffith and with Shelly Winters as the voice of Crystal, it's the perfect addition to the story of Frosty the Snowman. Now I got to admit, the animation took a slight downgrade from the first cartoon and has a 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE Christmas look to it. But even the slightly less then perfect animation isn't dampening my fondness for this series of movies, in my book RANKIN AND BASS does it again. The story is cool, the voice talents is cool, the music is cool, the humor is cool. Other then the animation I can't think of one bad thing to say about this holiday special. Again, if you aren't into Christmas this isn't for you. I give it 10 STARS

Frosty's kind of lonely, so the kids think of making him a wife, Crystal. But will Jack Frost let them be happy?

While maybe not as powerful or memorable as the original, this cartoon deserves very much to be in the must-see canon of Christmas specials. The team of Rankin and Bass (not to mention Romeo Muller) consistently pumped out good specials year after year. Did they ever make a bad one?

Personally, I like this one better than some of the others simply because it has Andy Griffith, an actor I am quite fond of. With all due respect to Burl Ives and Fred Astaire, Griffith is the kind of guy who excelled at telling folksy stories (even if this was typecasting him).

It's the sequel to 1969's Frosty the Snowman. Frosty is still in the North Pole hoping to return to the kids. News arrive that snow has fallen and Frosty returns to town. The kids are overjoyed and Jack Frost is jealous. Jack Frost steals the wrong hat. Frosty is lonely and the kids build him Crystal the Snowwoman. Frosty brings her to life with a bouquet of snow flowers. They are about to get married and Crystal invites Jack Frost to be the best man.

This half hour Christmas TV special is fine. It's not a classic like the first. I won't demean Frosty's wedding although Crystal could be better designed. Her hair looks like a mop. Jack Frost's design could be cuter. Animated Andy Griffith narrator is too ugly. The animation is a little less pretty overall and some of the charm has faded. This is fine.

This has been my favorite Rankin Bass special since childhood! In the lighthearted sequel to "Frosty the Snowman", we find Frosty (the incomparable Jackie Vernon) returning to the children once "someday" finally comes. Yet Frosty is unhappy... he has spent three lonely seasons in the North Pole, and even when he's reunited with his beloved band of kids, he's still lonesome (they always have to go inside, and they can't bring him along 'cause, well, he'll melt). Even worse, Frosty's popularity has incurred the wrath of Jack Frost (Paul Frees, Rankin Bass's favorite villain). He's determined to steal Frosty's magic hat to regain his popularity. Meanwhile, the kids conjure up the perfect cure to Frosty's blue Christmas: a snow-wife! So they build a lovely snow-wife named Crystal (Shelley Winters), who comes to life via the magic of love. She and Frosty hit it off immediately, but Jack Frost is now doubly jealous. Will the "icy miracle" of Frosty and Crystal's wedding melt Jack Frost's envious heart before it's too late? By 1976, Rankin-Bass's hand drawn animation took on a different, more Anime-inspired look, and it works. I thought Frosty looked better in this one, with more expressive eyes, smaller shape and a nice new scarf (hope it's not too warm). Andy Griffith is the narrator this time around, and he's absolutely superb. His familiar, down-home voice really fits the mood, and he also gets to display his most underrated gift: his excellent singing voice. The entire cast is in fine form, especially Vernon, who is the ONLY voice of Frosty in my mind. Winters is also good; her normally harsh voice is so warm and tender, you almost forget that this is the same brassy dame from "Lolita" and "A Double Life". Happy Birthday! What a great sequel!!

When I was a kid I had the vinyl version of this show and loved it. Too bad it wasn't included in the DVD version instead of the lame "Frosty Returns".

This is a charming addition to the original and well worth the half hour.