The Legend of Frosty the Snowman
Encyclopedia
The Legend of Frosty the Snowman is a 2004 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. The special airs annually on Cartoon Network in the US. Narrated and sung by Burt Reynolds
, with veteran actor/voice artist Bill Fagerbakke
in the role of Frosty, this new chapter in the saga revisits Frosty many years after he shouts out his first “Happy Birthday!”, when he appears in a little town where magic, silliness, and nonsense of all kinds are strictly against the rules. It has a run time of 42 minutes.
), the son of the town’s impossibly upbeat but no-nonsense mayor, Mr. Tinkerton (Tom Kenny
). Tommy dares not to accept Frosty’s invitation to play outside in the snow, because he’s afraid of disappointing his father. So Frosty instead befriends Tommy’s best friend, Walter Wader, who shocks everyone, especially his very strict mother, by breaking curfew and flying, sledding, and snowball-fighting with Frosty.
Walter’s rule-breaking gets all the kids of Evergreen talking, but it greatly upsets Principal Pankley (Larry Miller
), who is even more adamantly opposed to magic than Mr. Tinkerton. Principal Pankley uses the arrival of Frosty to sow doubts among the townspeople about Mayor Tinkerton’s leadership, and little by little he begins to take over the town.
But once magic is stirred up, it isn’t easily contained. One by one, Frosty wins over the other kids of Evergreen, including Sara Simple (Tara Strong
) (a sharp, independent girl who tells her mom, “I don’t want to be a princess—I want to be an urban planner”); Tommy’s brother, Charlie Tinkerton; and Sonny, Sully, and Simon Sklarew. Frosty befriends each of them through the simple means of believing in them, which inspires them to begin to believe in themselves.
Increasingly desperate to deny the existence of Frosty and keep Evergreen fun-free, Principal Pankley tricks Walter Wader into helping him lure Frosty for some ice-skating fun, then tricks Frosty into venturing onto thin ice. Before Walter can save his friend, Frosty falls through the ice and melts, and Principal Pankley captures Frosty’s hat, which is the key to his magic.
As all of this unfolds, Tommy Tinkerton, who was the first one to whom Frosty appeared, has been sitting on the sidelines, watching his best friend, his brother, and his hoped-for sweetheart experiencing adventure and magic in which he could share. But he has held back, even though he yearns to meet Frosty, out of loyalty to his dad (because he knows his dad would disapprove of him acknowledging the existence of magic).
Everything changes, though, when Tommy finds a secret room beneath the library, in which he discovers a comic book filled with secrets about Frosty. At first, most of the comic book is blank. Each time Tommy checks it again, new panels appear. Over the course of several scenes, Tommy learns that Frosty’s magic is in his hat; that his dad (Mr. Tinkerton) met Frosty when he was a boy, and did believe in magic once upon a time; and that Principal Pankley, a childhood friend of his father’s, took Frosty’s hat and hid it away in an attic (the same attic from which the hat escaped at the beginning of the story), causing young Mr. Tinkerton to lose his faith in magic. The comic book also reveals to Tommy what Principal Pankley has just done (with Walter Wader’s unwitting help) to recapture Frosty.
All this time, Tommy has held back from befriending Frosty out of loyalty to his dad, who has always told Tommy not to believe in magic. But now Tommy sees that his dad once believed in magic, too, but was tricked into losing faith. And Tommy realizes that the most loyal thing he can do is not to hide from magic, but to help his dad rediscover that magic is indeed real.
Tommy explains what’s really going on to Charlie, Sara, Walter, and the Sklarew triplets, and leads a daring rescue of Frosty’s hat in which all the kids help out. A climactic series of scenes follows in which Principal Pankley tries and fails to recapture the hat, then tries to deter the townspeople (including Mr. Tinkerton) from going into the woods to see what all the ruckus and noise are about. But Mr. Tinkerton refuses to be deterred, and Tommy is able to reintroduce his dad to the old friend, who Mr. Tinkerton had long since stopped believing in.
Meanwhile, the other parents are confused and angry: why are their kids out at night? And can this magical snowman they’ve been hearing about be real after all? Principal Pankley tries to stir them up to regain control of the situation, but Walter Wader breaks the spell by throwing a snowball at Principal Pankley. And one by one, the other kids and parents join in, until the town of Evergreen, which had forgotten how to have fun, gives itself over joyously to a “snowball-fighting, horseplaying, lark of a good time.”
A brief epilogue shows us Evergreen transformed — with Mr. Tinkerton doing magic tricks, Charlie Tinkerton playing football, Tommy Tinkerton skateboarding, and Sara Simple reading a book about urban planning.
All along, the story has been narrated (à la “Our Town
”) by a warm, wise, seemingly omniscient old man, who appears periodically and comments on the events unfolding in Evergreen. In the final scene of the movie, the narrator reveals that he is Tommy Tinkerton, all grown up and now married to Sara Simple; and he has been telling us his own story.
Frosty the Snowman
, The Legend of Frosty the Snowman holds only a loose continuity with it. The only connections between the two seems to be Professor Hinkle the magician, Karen appearing in the comic on its cover and helping her friend (a young Mr.Tinkerton) build Frosty, the magic hat. Other than Professor Hinkle, Karen and Frosty, no character appears in both stories, nor do the stories match up in details such as who first brought Frosty to life or what happened to him afterward. Despite this, the film has more continuity with the original than does the show more commonly recognized as its sequel, CBS
's Frosty Returns
.
Classic Media
Classic Media, LLC, is an American production company and distributor of family programming. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to...
(the current rights holder for the original Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
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. The special airs annually on Cartoon Network in the US. Narrated and sung by Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, with veteran actor/voice artist Bill Fagerbakke
Bill Fagerbakke
William Mark "Bill" Fagerbakke is an American actor and voice actor. He is well-known for his long-running-roles as Patrick Star in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants and "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom Coach....
in the role of Frosty, this new chapter in the saga revisits Frosty many years after he shouts out his first “Happy Birthday!”, when he appears in a little town where magic, silliness, and nonsense of all kinds are strictly against the rules. It has a run time of 42 minutes.
Plot
At the beginning of the story, we see Frosty’s hat escape from a locked chest in an attic, fly out a window, and descend on the picture perfect town of Evergreen. Frosty first reveals himself to Tommy Tinkerton (Kath SoucieKath Soucie
Katherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E...
), the son of the town’s impossibly upbeat but no-nonsense mayor, Mr. Tinkerton (Tom Kenny
Tom Kenny
Thomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on...
). Tommy dares not to accept Frosty’s invitation to play outside in the snow, because he’s afraid of disappointing his father. So Frosty instead befriends Tommy’s best friend, Walter Wader, who shocks everyone, especially his very strict mother, by breaking curfew and flying, sledding, and snowball-fighting with Frosty.
Walter’s rule-breaking gets all the kids of Evergreen talking, but it greatly upsets Principal Pankley (Larry Miller
Larry Miller (actor)
Lawrence J. "Larry" Miller is an American actor, voice artist, comedian, podcaster, and columnist.-Early life:Miller was born in Valley Stream, New York, attended Valley Stream South High School graduating in 1971. He attended Amherst College...
), who is even more adamantly opposed to magic than Mr. Tinkerton. Principal Pankley uses the arrival of Frosty to sow doubts among the townspeople about Mayor Tinkerton’s leadership, and little by little he begins to take over the town.
But once magic is stirred up, it isn’t easily contained. One by one, Frosty wins over the other kids of Evergreen, including Sara Simple (Tara Strong
Tara Strong
Tara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
) (a sharp, independent girl who tells her mom, “I don’t want to be a princess—I want to be an urban planner”); Tommy’s brother, Charlie Tinkerton; and Sonny, Sully, and Simon Sklarew. Frosty befriends each of them through the simple means of believing in them, which inspires them to begin to believe in themselves.
Increasingly desperate to deny the existence of Frosty and keep Evergreen fun-free, Principal Pankley tricks Walter Wader into helping him lure Frosty for some ice-skating fun, then tricks Frosty into venturing onto thin ice. Before Walter can save his friend, Frosty falls through the ice and melts, and Principal Pankley captures Frosty’s hat, which is the key to his magic.
As all of this unfolds, Tommy Tinkerton, who was the first one to whom Frosty appeared, has been sitting on the sidelines, watching his best friend, his brother, and his hoped-for sweetheart experiencing adventure and magic in which he could share. But he has held back, even though he yearns to meet Frosty, out of loyalty to his dad (because he knows his dad would disapprove of him acknowledging the existence of magic).
Everything changes, though, when Tommy finds a secret room beneath the library, in which he discovers a comic book filled with secrets about Frosty. At first, most of the comic book is blank. Each time Tommy checks it again, new panels appear. Over the course of several scenes, Tommy learns that Frosty’s magic is in his hat; that his dad (Mr. Tinkerton) met Frosty when he was a boy, and did believe in magic once upon a time; and that Principal Pankley, a childhood friend of his father’s, took Frosty’s hat and hid it away in an attic (the same attic from which the hat escaped at the beginning of the story), causing young Mr. Tinkerton to lose his faith in magic. The comic book also reveals to Tommy what Principal Pankley has just done (with Walter Wader’s unwitting help) to recapture Frosty.
All this time, Tommy has held back from befriending Frosty out of loyalty to his dad, who has always told Tommy not to believe in magic. But now Tommy sees that his dad once believed in magic, too, but was tricked into losing faith. And Tommy realizes that the most loyal thing he can do is not to hide from magic, but to help his dad rediscover that magic is indeed real.
Tommy explains what’s really going on to Charlie, Sara, Walter, and the Sklarew triplets, and leads a daring rescue of Frosty’s hat in which all the kids help out. A climactic series of scenes follows in which Principal Pankley tries and fails to recapture the hat, then tries to deter the townspeople (including Mr. Tinkerton) from going into the woods to see what all the ruckus and noise are about. But Mr. Tinkerton refuses to be deterred, and Tommy is able to reintroduce his dad to the old friend, who Mr. Tinkerton had long since stopped believing in.
Meanwhile, the other parents are confused and angry: why are their kids out at night? And can this magical snowman they’ve been hearing about be real after all? Principal Pankley tries to stir them up to regain control of the situation, but Walter Wader breaks the spell by throwing a snowball at Principal Pankley. And one by one, the other kids and parents join in, until the town of Evergreen, which had forgotten how to have fun, gives itself over joyously to a “snowball-fighting, horseplaying, lark of a good time.”
A brief epilogue shows us Evergreen transformed — with Mr. Tinkerton doing magic tricks, Charlie Tinkerton playing football, Tommy Tinkerton skateboarding, and Sara Simple reading a book about urban planning.
All along, the story has been narrated (à la “Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
”) by a warm, wise, seemingly omniscient old man, who appears periodically and comments on the events unfolding in Evergreen. In the final scene of the movie, the narrator reveals that he is Tommy Tinkerton, all grown up and now married to Sara Simple; and he has been telling us his own story.
Cast
- Grey DeLisleGrey DeLisleGrey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
as Miss Sharpey, Simon Sklarew, Sullivan Sklarew - Jeannie EliasJeannie EliasJeannie Elias is a Canadian American film and voice actress.-Anime Roles:* Blood+ - Young Haji, Nahabi, Additional Voices* Ergo Proxy - Kitty* Naruto - Kaori-Non-anime Roles:...
as Charlie Tinkerton, Librarian - Bill FagerbakkeBill FagerbakkeWilliam Mark "Bill" Fagerbakke is an American actor and voice actor. He is well-known for his long-running-roles as Patrick Star in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants and "Dauber" Dybinski on the sitcom Coach....
as Frosty - Evan Gore as Paperboy
- David Jeremiah as Mr. Simple, Townsperson #1, Mr. Sklarew
- Tom KennyTom KennyThomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on...
as Mr. Tinkerton - Tress MacNeilleTress MacNeilleTress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
as Mrs. Simple, Girl #1 - Kenn Michael as Walter Wader
- Larry MillerLarry Miller (actor)Lawrence J. "Larry" Miller is an American actor, voice artist, comedian, podcaster, and columnist.-Early life:Miller was born in Valley Stream, New York, attended Valley Stream South High School graduating in 1971. He attended Amherst College...
as Principal Pankley - Candi MiloCandi MiloCandi Milo is an American voice actress and singer. She voiced many different animated characters such as the voice of Jacobo on Disney's The Replacements, Coco, Madame Foster and Cheese on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Irma Lair on Disney's W.I.T.C.H., lead character Maya Santos on Maya &...
as Mrs. Tinkerton, Girl #2 - Burt ReynoldsBurt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
as Narrator - Kath Soucie as Tommy Tinkerton, Old Sara Simple
- Tara StrongTara StrongTara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
as Sara Simple, Sonny Sklarew - Vernee Watson-JohnsonVernee Watson-JohnsonVernee Watson-Johnson is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on Welcome Back, Kotter and as Viola "Vy" Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, playing the mother of Will Smith's character.She played a small role on Sister, Sister as Lisa's best...
as Mrs. Wader - Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
as Slyvester
Continuity
Though a sequel to the classic 1969 Rankin/BassRankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
Frosty the Snowman
Frosty the Snowman (TV program)
Frosty the Snowman is an American animated television special based on the popular song of the same title. The program, which first aired on December 7, 1969 on CBS , was produced for television by Rankin/Bass and featured the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as narrator and Jackie Vernon as the...
, The Legend of Frosty the Snowman holds only a loose continuity with it. The only connections between the two seems to be Professor Hinkle the magician, Karen appearing in the comic on its cover and helping her friend (a young Mr.Tinkerton) build Frosty, the magic hat. Other than Professor Hinkle, Karen and Frosty, no character appears in both stories, nor do the stories match up in details such as who first brought Frosty to life or what happened to him afterward. Despite this, the film has more continuity with the original than does the show more commonly recognized as its sequel, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Frosty Returns
Frosty Returns
Frosty Returns is an animated Christmas television special featuring the character Frosty the Snowman. It first aired on December 1, 1992. The special is not a direct sequel to the original 1969 special, and the two were produced by different companies Frosty Returns is an animated Christmas...
.