Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

If you're a Ranken and Bass fan like I am, then you're bound to enjoy this one! As soon as Halloween wraps up, it seems as though Im waiting around with my Tivo at the ready to record each and every R/B stop-motion holiday special. "Christmas in July" is the longest of the group, running at an hour and a half, and was one of the last produced. Sure, its a little ridiculous in that its a Holiday plot in the middle of the summer, but its fun-filled reunion-ensemble show! And it has one of the best R/B villains: Winterbolt. This special is a personal favorite of mine! Anyone who cant enjoy it is either a Scrooge, or not appreciative of the lost art of stop-motion film-making.

The King of the North Pole, Winterbolt, ruled ruthlessly with his Ice Scepter. Lady Borealis casts a spell putting him to sleep for many winters. Santa Claus arrives to built his toy factory. Borealis fades and Winterbolt wakes. He aims to get rid of Santa Claus by stopping him from delivering his toys. Borealis leaves her last magic onto the nose of baby Rudolph the reindeer. With Rudolph, Santa is able to defeat the fog laid down by Winterbolt's Snow Dragons. Winterbolt has an elaborate plan to lure Rudolph out of the north and extinguish his magic nose. Ice cream man Milton arrives on his balloon who convinces Rudolph and Frosty to go save the circus. Milton is in love with circus owner Lily Loraine's daughter Lainie. Winterbolt gives amulets to keep the Frosty family from melting until 4th of July ends. Winterbolt sends sneaky reindeer Scratcher south to lead Rudolph astray.

This is a mashup of the Christmas characters from a few different specials. I don't like the circus idea or a lot of the convoluted story. I wish the story is simpler and more natural. I do like Rudolph's dilemma. It is a touching moment. In the end, this is Rudolph and Frosty together. It's good family fun over the holidays.

COME ON!!!!!! How do you get confused just because frosty is now a puppet, big deal. This is just like the people who need the godfathers to be played in order. The singing in this movie is plentiful, original, but gets annoying. The story line is very different and extravagant (as all Rankin Bass films are). The film is very rare and is a small treat to watch because you'll most likely never find someone who's seen it. It was kind of cheap how they tried to make a bang of the success of the original character's movies and tie them together, but if people didn't do that we wouldn't have any James Bond Films. All in all you should at least give it a look especially if you have kids that you can watch it with.

Okay, I'm a big fan of all that is Rankin/Bass, so I'm a little biased in enjoying this film. I got to watch this film on a cold winter day, huddled up in some blankets and reconnect with some old TV X-mas friends from winter's past. First of all it was nice to see Frosty and his clan finally made into clay-mation form. The Frosty cartoons are great, but clay-mation makes it more original and unique. Plus all the guest appearances by Big Ben, Jack Frost, Santa and Mrs. Claus from previous Rankin/Bass specials. Sure it is a long (over an hour and a half), but you do find the true origin of Rudolph's shiny nose!

I adore holiday specials, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, you name it. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman as far as I am concerned are both timeless yuletide classics.

So it was a joy to see both title characters in the same special, which is exactly what we have here with Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.

For me, the only drawbacks to Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July are the length and some of the plot twists. At just over an hour and a half, the special does feel a little too long, anywhere around an hour to seventy five minutes would have been more sufficient. Also, while the idea of the story is great, started off really well and remained interesting, there are a few too many plot twists that makes the storytelling a tad convoluted.

However, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is a very enjoyable and re-watchable special. The animation is unique and holds up very nicely. The characters are all very well modelled and the backgrounds are meticulously detailed.

The special also contains some fun and well-written songs, my favourite being Ethel Merman's nifty little number. The writing is engaging, humorous and easy to remember, and all the characters are fun and add a lot to the movie, Winterbolt especially is a wonderful villain.

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July has a very talented vocal cast, every one of whom gives their all here. Billie Mae Richards and Jackie Vernan do great jobs as the title characters, and Ethel Merman, Shelley Winters, Mickey Rooney and Red Buttons bring a pleasing shine to their characters and material and also to the special in general. The standout is Paul Frees in my opinion, who is just wonderful as Winterbolt.

In conclusion, overlong but never less than enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox