Christmas Review – “Frosty Returns”

The countdown continues. Yes, the Frosty specials are out of order in the review sequence, but they’re being reviewed in the order they’ve been packaged, both on DVD and when sold to networks.

Cast and Crew

John Goodman as Frosty the Snowman

Jonathan Winters as the Narrator

Jan Hooks as Lil

Andrea Martin as Miss Carbuncle

Brian Doyle-Murray as Mr. Twitchell

Elisabeth Moss as Holly

Michael Patrick Carter as Charles

Complete information is available from this IMDB page.


Buy from: Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. Note that this is on the same DVD as Frosty the Snowman, reviewed here yesterday.

Original Airdate


Frosty Returns first aired in 1992.

Synopsis

Frosty shows up in a random town just in time to deal with an evil old man whose environmentally unsafe product makes snow melt instantly, threatening Frosty’s life. No reason is given for Frosty’s inability to go to another town, as he was planning to do anyway.

High Point

The “support group” line. It’s in the first two or three minutes; don’t feel as though you need to keep watching once that line has been delivered.

Low Point

He kept taking the hat off! It’s possible that they were trying to follow the storyline where Frosty’s Winter Wonderland left off, but in that case, they should have included Mrs. Frosty.

The Review

This was a fairly new plot for the sequel, so I’ll give the originality 4 out of 6.

The animation was lousy, and in a completely different style. It looks more like an attempt to rip off Charlie Brown and Rugrats than like a continuation of the Rankin/Bass series. I give it 3 out of 6.

The story is weak, with loose ends and illogical decisions all over. It deserves some credit for the multi-denominational take by working with a “winter carnival” instead of a specific religious occasion, but that’s about it. I give it 3 out of 6.

The voice acting was terrible. If you make a cartoon musical, you need to get voice actors who can actually sing. I give it 2 out of 6.

The emotional response was just as bad as the voice acting. This cartoon is lame from start to finish. I give it 2 out of 6.

The production is cheap and shoddy, full of shortcuts and awkward movement around the backgrounds, rather than having backgrounds large enough to handle natural movement. I give it 3 out of 6.

Overall, it’s not a great show, and not going to become a multi-generational holiday tradition. I give it 2 out of 6.

In total, Frosty Returns receives 19 out of 42.