Frosty the Snowman
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| "Frosty the Snowman" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Gene Autry & The Cass County Boys, Orchestra under the direction of Carl Cotner | ||
| Released | 1950 | |
| Genre | Christmas Song | |
| Label | Colombia Records | |
| Writer(s) | Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson | |
Frosty the Snowman is a popular Christmas song written by Steve "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson and recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. Like Jingle Bells and several other songs about winter, Frosty the Snowman is considered to be a Christmas song despite not mentioning Christmas at all. It was written after Gene Autry recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and the single sold 2 million copies. Rollins and Nelson shipped the new song to Autry, who recorded "Frosty" in search of another seasonal hit. Like "Rudolph", "Frosty" was subsequently adapted to other media including a popular television special. The song was originally titled "Frosty The Snow Man"
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[edit] The original song
The song is about a snowman who came to life thanks to a magical hat some children found; he then had playful adventures before he "hurried on his way". It has been covered by many artists over the years, including Nat King Cole, Ray Conniff, the Cocteau Twins, the Beach Boys, and countless other musical acts (including a 2005 recording of the song by famous Hollywood actor Burt Reynolds)
The Canadian Brass are known for a version that is both jazzy and darkly humorous.
Also, in the original song, Frosty has a "button nose." It is unclear exactly when his nose became a carrot in most representations of him. Perhaps having a carrot in the winter is something that has only happened as the technology to grow and preserve food has changed.
[edit] 1954 short film
In 1954, the UPA studio brought "Frosty" to life in a three-minute animated short which appeared regularly on WGN-TV. This production included a bouncy, jazzy version of the song. It has been a perennial WGN-TV Christmas classic, and was most recently broadcast on December 24 and 25, 2005, and again in 2006, as part of a WGN-TV children's programming retrospective, along with their two other short Christmas classics, "Suzy Snowflake" and "Hardrock, Coco and Joe".
[edit] 1969 Rankin-Bass television special
In 1969, the Rankin-Bass company produced a thirty-minute animated television special of Frosty the Snowman that featured the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as narrator and Jackie Vernon as the title character. This special marked the first use of traditional cel animation for Rankin-Bass. Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass wanted to give the show and its characters the look of a Christmas card, so Paul Coker, Jr., a greeting card artist who would later be known for his work in MAD Magazine, was hired to do the animation. Rankin-Bass veteran writer Romeo Muller adapted and expanded the story for television as he had done with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1964.
The Rankin-Bass special became one of the studio's most popular and endearing Christmas specials, ranking alongside their other major hit Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Over the years, a number of sequels were created and aired to continue the story of Frosty the Snowman:
- Frosty's Winter Wonderland - In this 1976 sequel by Rankin-Bass, also written by Romeo Muller, narration is provided by Andy Griffith. Jackie Vernon reprised his role as the voice of Frosty.
- Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July - This 1979 Rankin-Bass sequel was filmed in stop-motion animation in the style of their classic 1964 Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Where Rudolph was 60 minutes, and all of the other Frosty specials were just 30 minutes, this ambitious special was feature length, at 97 minutes long. Jackie Vernon once again played the role of Frosty.
- Frosty Returns - This 1992 half-hour special is not truly a sequel to the 1969 classic, as it was produced not by Rankin-Bass but by CBS. The characters, setting, and voices are different and the animation (by veteran Peanuts director Bill Melendez) is vastly different. Despite this, it is shown with the original special every year on CBS and was even included as a bonus on its DVD release.
- The Legend of Frosty the Snowman - In this 2005 made for video, Frosty returned again in 2005 in an animated film produced by Classic Media, the current rights holder for the original Rankin/Bass special and the remainder of their pre-1974 library. This movie has also been bundled with the original 1969 Rankin/Bass special and the CBS sequel. Airs on Cartoon Network's Holiday Rush since last year. The character design of Frosty is that of the original Rankin Bass appearance he had in the original animation, and another character, Professor Hinkel, returned in a cameo, shown in a picture during this special, possibly in an attempt to tie the two shows together, or else to be an in-joke for those who have seen the original classic.
[edit] External links
- Frosty the Snowman at Keyframe - the Animation Resource
- Frosty's Winter Wonderland at Keyframe - the Animation Resource
- Frosty Returns at Keyframe - the Animation Resource
- Frosty the Snowman at the Internet Movie Database
- Frosty's Winter Wonderland at the Internet Movie Database
- Frosty and Rudolph's Christmas In July at the Internet Movie Database
- Frosty Returns at the Internet Movie Database
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