The Legend of Frosty the Snowman

The original Frosty the Snowman special is a classic, Frosty's Winter Wonderland was not as good but still delightful, while Frosty Returns was excrement. Watching Legend of Frosty the Snowman was like having my intelligence insulted again, except much worse. If you thought Frosty Returns was a mockery to the original, this thing in my opinions literally urinates over it. The animation consists of poorly drawn characters, flat colours and backgrounds that don't look completely finished, while the music is mind-numbingly bad with dull melodies, so dull in fact it makes you want to throw your Christmas dinner up. The voice talents consists of talented actors, who are wasted by their dialogue and characters, Frosty has absolutely no personality and Bill Fagerbakke's voice work is monotone and sounds as though he's bored. Speaking of the dialogue and characters, they are enough to ruin this on their own. The writing is unfunny and forced, and every single one of the characters are forgettable and annoying. The story is what really sinks Legend of Frosty the Snowman, it is thin, drawn-out and predictable, filled with disconnected scenes, and there are a few contradictions regarding the magician, his son and Karen. The pace feels stretched and considering how thin the story is the special feels too long. Overall, dreadful and an utter disgrace. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Though technically a sequel to the classic 1969 Rankin/Bass Frosty the Snowman, The Legend of Frosty the Snowman holds only loose continuity with it. The characters in flashbacks resemble those of the original film but have different names and roles. The young Mayor Tinkerton strongly resembles one of the unnamed children from the first film, and his father also shares the design of Professor Hinkle. Hocus Pocus has a cameo during the bob-sled scene. On the cover of the comic used in the film are two other children that also resemble the original film's cast. Frosty's back story is strongly altered, but still features him coming to life due to the hat's magic.

If you love the original classic then you will hate this. The charm and innocence of that feature is lost here. There isn't any likable or Relatable children in this.

The animation also comes across as cheap and tacky.

Frosty the Snowman goes where he is needed most, and the town of Evergreen sure needs a visit. Mr. Tinkerton, the mayor (Tim Kenny), runs a tight ship, and there is no room for talk of magic or any other such nonsense.

What brought my attention to this film was the casting of Burt Reynolds. Now, I figure if the film has a big enough budget to have a known entity narrate (and sing), it can't be too bad. But I would be wrong. Reynolds was alright, but his presence did not make up for this disgrace.

Most of the characters are annoying, the special runs too long, the plot seems to flatly contradict earlier Frosty stories (all of which are better). Even the jokes, which could be funny, are delivered in such a way they just fall flat. How did this happen? Something went horribly wrong and this never should have made it to completion.

Frosty's magical hat escapes from a series of locked boxes. Tommy Tinkerton in a town called Evergreen needs Frosty more than anyone. There is no magic in this pristine town. Walter has overprotective parents. Frosty befriends Walter who breaks curfew. Tommy discovers a hidden basement in the library. News of Frosty starts to spread and the parents fear the kiddie rebellion.

The Tinkerton dad is obsessed with rules. That is presented as wrong and opposite to magic. First off, the rules need to be more draconian so that opposing them would make sense. Magic is mostly reckless. It's not until that town hall meeting when the evil of oppressive rules is shown. The principal should have a bigger role earlier in the movie. The theme, the structure, the characters, and the animation are all a bit wonky. This does not have the magic of the classic Frosty.

I can imagine Jordan Peterson saying something about how Frosty is the embodiment of necessary chaos when order becomes too rigid and stifling. But that's being a little bit too generous. This was an insipid and longwinded insult to the first one, and makes the other sequels look like masterpieces. That being said, the animation style was ok and it had a decent voice cast, even if they were wasted on this tripe. At the end of it all, I can say that I've finished this series. The only one worth returning to, of course, is the original.