Jack Frost (TV special)
Encyclopedia
Jack Frost was an animated television special, directed by Jules Bass
and Arthur Rankin, Jr.
and written by Romeo Muller
; it premiered on NBC
on December 13, 1979. This stop motion
animated special tells the tale of Jack Frost
, the winter
sprite, and his adventures as a human. This special airs annually on the ABC Family
cable network.
(voiced by Buddy Hackett
) who has a deal with Jack Frost to extend winter by six weeks, letting him sleep that much longer.
Jack Frost
(voiced by Robert Morse
), an immortal winter sprite, falls in love with a human girl named Elisa (voiced by Debra Clinger) after rescuing her. Jack asks Father Winter if he can become human in order to be with her. Father Winter (voiced by Paul Frees
) gives him a chance, but warns that Jack must prove he can succeed as a human, by earning a house, a horse, a bag of gold, and a wife by the first sign of spring
; if not, he will become a sprite again. Jack agrees and turns human, assuming the identity of Jack Snip. He runs a tailor shop in the town of January Junction with two friends who also turned human, Snip the snowflake
maker (voiced by Don Messick
) and Holly the holiday snow gypsy. Snip and Holly were sent by Father Winter to ensure Jack does not get into trouble (Snip bears similarities in skin tone and clothing to Snow Miser
from The Year Without a Santa Claus
and A Miser Brothers' Christmas
). Elisa is charmed by "Jack Snip," but she harbors romantic dreams of Sir Raveneau, a "knight in golden armor."
Elisa is kidnapped by the evil Cossack
King Kubla Kraus (voiced by Paul Frees
), who has an army of robots called "Ka-Nights" as well as a menacing mechanical horse named Klangstomper. Kraus also possesses all the brick, gold, and timber that January Junction used to. He lives in a castle on Miserable Mountain with his sidekick, a ventriloquist's dummy (aptly named Dummy). After Elisa is rescued by a knight named Sir Raveneau, Kubla vows to destroy January Junction, and he imprisons Jack Snip, Snip, and Holly. Jack decides to become a sprite again in order to whip up the biggest snow storm ever seen, freezing Kraus in his castle. Snip and Holly change back to sprites as well. This tactic works until Groundhog Day
comes. Jack Frost uses his shadow to scare Pete back to hibernation, and continues whipping up the storm. Finally, with only one hour left before the arrival of spring, Jack returns to human form in an attempt to meet Father Winter's conditions and win Elisa. He battles Kubla Kraus which ends with him falling out of his castle and blown very far by Father Winter. Jack then claims the gold, the mechanical horse, and the castle. He races off to ask Elisa for her hand in marriage, but during his absence she has fallen in love with Sir Raveneau, and he with her. Jack becomes a sprite again for good, and blows ice onto Elisa's wedding
bouquet
, turning it white. When asked about the change, she sheds a tear, saying "An old friend just kissed the bride." Snip calls out to Jack that winter wouldn't be the same without him.
since the mid 1990s and has been released on DVD before, but in the fall of 2008, Warner Bros. re-released it. Since they own all of the original Rankin/Bass film materials of this show (as part of their ownership of Rankin/Bass' post-1973 output), this is considered to be an official version and is the first time the film is displayed from a 35 mm print as opposed to the 16 mm the public domain versions have used.
Jules Bass
Jules Bass is an American director, producer, composer, and author.- Biography :Educated at New York University, he first worked at an advertising agency in New York until the early 1960s, when he founded the film production company Videocraft International with Arthur Rankin, Jr...
and Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Arthur Rankin, Jr. is an American-born, Bermudian director, producer and writer, mostly working in animation.The son of actor , in the early 1960s he founded the film production company Videocraft International with Jules Bass...
and written by Romeo Muller
Romeo Muller
Romeo Muller, Jr. was an American screenwriter and actor most remembered for his screenplays such as for the 1964 TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.-Early years:...
; it premiered on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on December 13, 1979. This stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animated special tells the tale of Jack Frost
Jack Frost
Jack Frost is a sprite-like character with roots in Viking lore. There, he is known as Jokul Frosti . In Britain and United States, Jack is a variant of Old Man Winter and is held responsible for frosty weather, for nipping the nose and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, and...
, the winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
sprite, and his adventures as a human. This special airs annually on the ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
cable network.
Plot
The story is narrated by Pardon-Me-Pete the GroundhogGroundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
(voiced by Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett
Buddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
) who has a deal with Jack Frost to extend winter by six weeks, letting him sleep that much longer.
Jack Frost
Jack Frost
Jack Frost is a sprite-like character with roots in Viking lore. There, he is known as Jokul Frosti . In Britain and United States, Jack is a variant of Old Man Winter and is held responsible for frosty weather, for nipping the nose and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, and...
(voiced by Robert Morse
Robert Morse
Robert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
), an immortal winter sprite, falls in love with a human girl named Elisa (voiced by Debra Clinger) after rescuing her. Jack asks Father Winter if he can become human in order to be with her. Father Winter (voiced by Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
) gives him a chance, but warns that Jack must prove he can succeed as a human, by earning a house, a horse, a bag of gold, and a wife by the first sign of spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
; if not, he will become a sprite again. Jack agrees and turns human, assuming the identity of Jack Snip. He runs a tailor shop in the town of January Junction with two friends who also turned human, Snip the snowflake
Snowflake
Snowflakes are conglomerations of frozen ice crystals which fall through the Earth's atmosphere. They begin as snow crystals which develop when microscopic supercooled cloud droplets freeze. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Complex shapes emerge as the flake moves through...
maker (voiced by Don Messick
Don Messick
Donald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
) and Holly the holiday snow gypsy. Snip and Holly were sent by Father Winter to ensure Jack does not get into trouble (Snip bears similarities in skin tone and clothing to Snow Miser
Snow Miser
Snow Miser is a character from the Rankin/Bass-produced 1974 stop-motion animated Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Snow Miser was voiced by actor/comedian Dick Shawn....
from The Year Without a Santa Claus
The Year Without a Santa Claus
The Year Without a Santa Claus is a 1974 Rankin/Bass stop motion animated television special. It usually airs during the Christmas season on United States television. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name, illustrated by Kurt Werth.-Summary:The show is set in the...
and A Miser Brothers' Christmas
A Miser Brothers' Christmas
A Miser Brothers' Christmas is a stop motion spin-off special based on the characters from 1974 Rankin-Bass special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Produced by Warner Bros...
). Elisa is charmed by "Jack Snip," but she harbors romantic dreams of Sir Raveneau, a "knight in golden armor."
Elisa is kidnapped by the evil Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
King Kubla Kraus (voiced by Paul Frees
Paul Frees
Paul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
), who has an army of robots called "Ka-Nights" as well as a menacing mechanical horse named Klangstomper. Kraus also possesses all the brick, gold, and timber that January Junction used to. He lives in a castle on Miserable Mountain with his sidekick, a ventriloquist's dummy (aptly named Dummy). After Elisa is rescued by a knight named Sir Raveneau, Kubla vows to destroy January Junction, and he imprisons Jack Snip, Snip, and Holly. Jack decides to become a sprite again in order to whip up the biggest snow storm ever seen, freezing Kraus in his castle. Snip and Holly change back to sprites as well. This tactic works until Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter-like weather will soon end...
comes. Jack Frost uses his shadow to scare Pete back to hibernation, and continues whipping up the storm. Finally, with only one hour left before the arrival of spring, Jack returns to human form in an attempt to meet Father Winter's conditions and win Elisa. He battles Kubla Kraus which ends with him falling out of his castle and blown very far by Father Winter. Jack then claims the gold, the mechanical horse, and the castle. He races off to ask Elisa for her hand in marriage, but during his absence she has fallen in love with Sir Raveneau, and he with her. Jack becomes a sprite again for good, and blows ice onto Elisa's wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
bouquet
Flower bouquet
A flower bouquet is a collection of flowers in a creative arrangement. There are different kinds including nosegay, crescent, and cascading bouquets. Flower bouquets are often given for special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries. They are also used extensively in weddings. Traditionally...
, turning it white. When asked about the change, she sheds a tear, saying "An old friend just kissed the bride." Snip calls out to Jack that winter wouldn't be the same without him.
Home video releases
This film has been in the public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
since the mid 1990s and has been released on DVD before, but in the fall of 2008, Warner Bros. re-released it. Since they own all of the original Rankin/Bass film materials of this show (as part of their ownership of Rankin/Bass' post-1973 output), this is considered to be an official version and is the first time the film is displayed from a 35 mm print as opposed to the 16 mm the public domain versions have used.
Cast
- Robert MorseRobert MorseRobert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
- Jack Frost - Debra Clinger - Elisa
- Paul FreesPaul FreesPaul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
- Father Winter, Kubla Kraus - Dave GarrowayDave GarrowayDavid Cunningham "Dave" Garroway was the founding host of NBC's Today from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing, relaxed, and relaxing style belied a battle with depression that may have contributed to the end of his days as a leading television personality—and, eventually, his life...
- Groundhog Day Reporter - Buddy HackettBuddy HackettBuddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
- Pardon-Me-Pete - Dina Lynn -
- Sonny MelendrezSonny MelendrezSonny Melendrez is an American actor, radio-TV personality, and keynote speaker based in San Antonio, Texas, USA, and is the host of SonnyRadio.com....
- - Don MessickDon MessickDonald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
- Snip - Larry StorchLarry StorchLawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch is an American actor best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for top cartoon shows, including Mr...
- Papa - Dee Stratton -
External links
- Jack Frost at The Internet Movie Database