Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A discarded silk top-hat becomes the focus of a struggle between a washed-up stage magician and a group of schoolchildren, after it magically brings a snowman to life. Realizing that newly-living Frosty will melt in spring unless he takes refuge in a colder climate, the magic snowman and Karen, a young girl whom he befriends, stow away on a freight train headed for the North Pole. Little do they know that the magician is following them, and he wants his hat back!
Frosty the Snowman is a beloved holiday special with a charming, simple premise, but its plot is thin and episodic even by TV special standards — the conflict with the magician is underdeveloped and the stakes feel minimal. The voice performances (Jimmy Durante as narrator, Billy De Wolfe as Hinkle) give it personality and warmth. The animation is serviceable Rankin/Bass-adjacent work, functional but unremarkable for the era. As a holiday special it has a distinctive, warm identity and the iconic title song gives it cultural staying power, earning modest novelty points. The ending is bittersweet but resolves neatly with a hopeful promise of Frosty's return, which is emotionally satisfying for its young audience without being particularly inventive.