Frosty Returns

Frosty Returns
Title page
Genre	Children's animated Christmas television special Fantasy Family Musical
Written by	Oliver Goldstick Jim Lewis
Directed by	Evert Brown Bill Melendez
Starring	John Goodman Elisabeth Moss Michael Patrick Carter Brian Doyle-Murray Andrea Martin Jan Hooks
Narrated by	Jonathan Winters
Theme music composer	Mark Mothersbaugh Denis M. Hannigan
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Lorne Michaels
Producers	Eryk Casemiro Bill Melendez
Cinematography	Nick Vasu
Editors	Chuck McCann Warren Taylor
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Bill Melendez Productions Broadway Video CBS Entertainment Productions
Original release
Network	Direct-to-video
Release	September 15, 1993 (1993-09-15)
Network	CBS
Release	December 1, 1995 (1995-12-01)

Frosty Returns is a 1993 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. It is the fourth special in a series beginning with Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment's 1969 television adaptation of Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins's 1950 holiday song. It was produced in 1992 and released on VHS by Family Home Entertainment in 1993. It premiered on TV on December 1, 1995, on CBS.

Plot

The special begins with a musical number showing that Beansboro Elementary School is canceled for the day due to a seven-inch snowfall. While the adults incessantly complain about the problems they have to deal with due to the snow and ice, the children enjoy the opportunity to play outside in the snow.

The scene then shifts to Holly DeCarlo, a depressed and lonely young girl and aspiring magician with only one friend, a tone-deaf nerd named Charles who has a knack for climatology. While practicing a magic act with Charles, the wind blows Holly's hat off her head, out the window, and onto a snowman who comes to life as Frosty, thus revealing that Holly's hat was "that old silk hat" featured in the original song and previous adaptations.

Meanwhile, a new product appears in Beansboro: an aerosol spray called "Summer Wheeze" that causes snow to instantly disappear, and thus poses a fatal threat to Frosty. Summer Wheeze's inventor, Mr. Twitchell, hopes to use the product to win over the people of Beansboro so that he will be crowned King of the Beansboro Winter Carnival, apparently believing that the title will give him actual dominion over them. At a presentation before the town council, a trustee voices concern about the environmental impact of the untested product; Mr. Twitchell orders his pet cat Bones to open a trapdoor beneath her seat.

To Twitchell's delight, and Frosty's dismay, the town of Beansboro embraces Summer Wheeze, putting Frosty's existence in jeopardy. When many of their classmates rally for the end of snow when in class the next day, only a day after singing about its virtues, Holly and Charles become Frosty's protectors, hiding him in a freezer and securing refuge for him in an ice castle built for the Carnival. Later, Holly gets Frosty to appear at the Winter Carnival in an attempt to persuade the townspeople that Twitchell's product is dangerous to the environment, hoping the citizens will rethink their dislike of snow.

Singing about the joy of winter, the townspeople are convinced and Frosty is unanimously declared king. A vengeful Twitchell tries to run over Frosty with his delivery truck but misses and falls in a frozen lake; now humbled, Frosty and Holly rescue him and let him wear the crown and cape as they all ride in the sled. Later Frosty must leave Beansboro, but he assures Holly that he will return someday.

Cast

• Jonathan Winters as The Narrator
• John Goodman as Frosty
• Elisabeth Moss as Holly DeCarlo
• Michael Patrick Carter as Charles
• Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Twitchell
• Andrea Martin as Ms. Carbuncle
• Jan Hooks as Lil DeCarlo

Production

An original advertisement for the special coupled with the 1969 Frosty the Snowman, as is commonplace though the two shorts were produced by different studios.

Contrary to its title and consistent pairing with the 1969 Frosty the Snowman special, the two were produced by different companies (Rankin/Bass produced the original, while this special was made by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, with help from longtime Peanuts director Bill Melendez, for CBS), and Frosty Returns makes no effort to establish itself in the 1969 special's fictional universe, using different characters, setting and voice actors. Because of Michaels' involvement, most of the cast consisted of sketch comedians from Michaels's other shows; Andrea Martin had starred in The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, while Jan Hooks and Brian Doyle-Murray were cast members on Saturday Night Live (a show where John Goodman had made frequent guest appearances). Since Broadway Video produced this special and owned the 1969 original prior to Golden Books' acquisition of the Videocraft International catalog in 1996, Frosty Returns followed the CBS showings of the original and is coupled with the original on most DVD releases; it was not included in the package sold to Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas cable telecasts, nor the package sold to AMC's Best Christmas Ever.

2023 was the last year CBS aired the special. When CBS relinquished its rights to Frosty the Snowman to NBC in 2024, CBS opted not to continue airing Frosty Returns, while NBC also chose not to carry the special despite Michaels's long association with that network through his work with SNL and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; NBC will instead pair the original Frosty special with Shrek the Halls and the 1966 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Frosty Returns was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh; two songs are featured prominently on the soundtrack:

• "Frosty the Snowman":
  • At the beginning of the film, an instrumental version plays at the beginning of the film.
  • A full-cast version plays over the closing credits.
• "Let There Be Snow": an original song created for the special; the song has three verses sung at various points.

See also

• Frosty's Winter Wonderland
• List of Christmas films

External links

• Frosty Returns at IMDb