A Disappointing Continuation

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The magic just isn't there although the voicework effort tries to lift this sequel-of-sorts out of the doldrums. What hurts, I think, besides the underwhelming animation (which isn't awful just not stimulating) is the rather blah story. A businessman voiced with unscrupulous relish by Doyle-Murray sells a snow-melting product in a bottle that takes over a small town which threatens the life of Frosty, the Snowman (voiced with good energy by John Goodman) as little Holly (voiced by Mad Men's Liz Moss) tries to help him save Christmas from getting rid of a significant part of the holiday season. With a grumpy teacher voiced with nasty curmudgeon attitude from the talented comedienne, Andrea Martin, veteran genius comedian, Jonathan Winters, as the host (his likeness in the animated character captures his warm twinkle and winsome smile but it pales to the actor himself), and Jan Hooks as Holly's mom; the cast try to inject some life into their animated characters, but the story just doesn't leap from the screen and tug on our hearts. Goodman gives it a good go, though, but nothing at all extraordinary or special makes any impression. It is almost immediately forgotten after its over. That this wasn't following the original in its time, resurfacing thanks to its inclusion with the superior first Frosty in a recent box set release with far more recognized classics, doesn't help. In the early 90s, when animated Christmas specials weren't commonplace, further resulted in its burial.

Jonathan Winters as the narrator visits Beansborough's annual carnival but it may not happen this winter. Little Holly would rather play with her magic set. A heavy wind blows her magic hat which lands on a snowman. Frosty (John Goodman) comes alive with her hat. Mr. Twitchell has invented a spray Summer Wheeze which disappears snow and he sends out his trucks to spray his invention. Frosty is in danger. Holly has to convince everybody that snow is actually good.The animation looks simplistic like old 70s kids show. However, it's different from the original Frosty the Snowman. The original is softer and more charming. This animation looks uglier. The spray actually seems like a good idea although Twitchell doesn't make sense. He's a weird villain who is battling nature. The whole thing seems like a late-night writing session gone wrong. This is way too stupid without the charm of the original. Also the songs are pretty weak. This is one Christmas special that doesn't need to be repeated.

I don't understand all the negativity towards this TV special. I thought it was enjoyable. Honestly, I thought it was better than the original.The original Rankin/Bass special was about school kids who built Frosty, a snowman who came to life. In an effort to keep this new friend from melting, the kids sent him on a train heading north, all on the very same day they built him. That story always felt ham-fisted to me. (Surely there was plenty of time before springtime, right? What's the rush?) Also, there wasn't much time for character development. Only one child, Karen, accompanied Frosty on his train ride. Frosty and Karen's friendship always felt forced into the story to me. They were friends just because.In comparison, Frosty Returns is a story about Frosty visiting a new town and meeting a new child, Holly. Holly is a school girl who doesn't have many friends, but Frosty teaches her some things about friendship. Holly learns to be thankful for what she has. That's the kind of message I felt the original TV special was sorely lacking.Something more fascinating to me is that there is a new danger: man-made summer. Where the original TV special had Frosty in danger of natural summer, this new story has him in danger of melting at the hands of people who want to get rid of snow. It's a scary concept. Imagine being in a place where people just don't like you because of what you're made of. Eventually, Frosty and Holly show the town that snow can be magical. Snow can be a good thing. "Let there be snow."The production values aren't top-notch. There are a few goofs, but they shouldn't be too big a problem. The art style is simple, and the animation is decent. Just take it for what it is: a cute wintertime special.

Frosty the Snowman is a timeless Christmas classic with memorable characters, beautiful music and great animation. Frosty's Winter Wonderland while not as good was quite nice. However, this was close to abominable really. It has little to do with Christmas, and is a mockery of the original. It is completely charmless and quite obnoxious and mean-spirited. The animation is very shoddy, and the music is completely unmemorable. The story is disjointed and laboured, and the writing is dreadful. The characters, including Frosty, are devoid of charm and likability and the villain was actually quite annoying. The voice cast try their best but they are wasted. Overall, an embarrassing mess with few if any redeeming features. 1/10 Bethany Cox