The classic Christmas cartoon about the talking snowman with top hat and corn cob pipe who needs to find a cold place to live or else melt. With Jimmy Durante narrating, Jackie Vernon voicing jolly ole Frosty, Rocky & Bullwinkle's own June Foray as little Karen who follows Frosty as he decides to go to the North Pole, and the great Paul Frees as Santa Claus, this cast of wonderfully rich, memorable voices make it all so worthwhile. The hothouse scene where Frosty sacrifices himself for Karen after she becomes ill from the cold, turning into a puddle, is a real gulp in the throat. Billy De Wolfe voices the magician who follows after Frosty, looking to get his hat back, rounding out the cast. Short and sweet, this Rankin & Bass special is such a treat some/many might wish it could have been a bit longer. And it was always a pleasure to see Santa show up to save the day. This was a wonderful experience to share with my children as I once did with my mother.

Like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," this review won't be long so its pretty much going to be a short review. "Frosty the Snowman" is about a snowman that is brought to life by a magical hat, which it happens to be own by a very poor magician; so Frosty can talk, dance, etc. However, things don't go well as the weather's temperature rises up to be hot for Frosty. So, now, Frosty must make his to get to the North Pole where its colder or else he will melt. The animation itself is presented in traditional animation instead being in stop-motion like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer;" with that said, I thought the animation in this special is actually really good. The songs are also great, while the acting is alright but there could be some that are a bit wooden for my taste, but I digress. So that is how short that I am about say. "Frosty the Snowman" is an enjoyable Christmas special, but I love "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" more since they are both made by Rankin and Bass. I give it a 9 out of 10.

A living snowman (Jackie Vernon) and a little girl (June Foray) struggle to elude a greedy magician who is after the snowman's magic hat.What does it say about a short Christmas cartoon made over forty years ago that it still gets watched regularly by children today? I mean, kids who saw it in 1969 may now be watching it with their grandkids. That is a pretty powerful cartoon, if you ask me.Not that there is anything amazing about the story, the animation or much else... but just the way this has become so iconic. The song was a hit in 1950, but I suspect that this special is what really made it a timeless Christmas song.(Worth noting: character designs were created by Paul Coker, who is perhaps better known as an artist for Mad Magazine!)

As one of Jimmy Durante's last films, it's good to see some cheeriness. How often does one see a famous musical or even regular actor appearing in cartoons nowadays? Most of the time would be in parodies to make fun of them or someone else. But not in this fashion. So for this reason it's fun to watch because a show like this would not air on live television anymore.This 22-minute clip tells us the brief story of how Frosty came to life and the friends he made along the way. Of course, since this is a Christmas special, Santa Claus will appear, no doubt about that. It's even funnier when you see various other individuals who cannot believe a snowman is walking down the street. Some of their reactions are too hilarious,...especially the traffic cop.The dialog is good and so is the animation for its time. It could have been worse. However, some scenes are a little too cheesy. I understand that it's a cartoon but for this particular one, you'd think some of the characters would be a little smarter. Oh well, can't have everything.This film is one of the TV specials that have withstood the test of time and are still going. If there's by any chance you can get your hands on it, take advantage of that chance.