Frosty The Snowman Is Simple, But Charming

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

God that's a creepy image.

Like Rudolph, Frosty The Snowman was a song long before it was TV special, but it's this 1969 cartoon that many identify as the ultimate incarnation of the frosty fellow. The special, turning 45 this year, is a special that isn't quite perfect, but does manage to find itself some moments of quality, albeit moments have more than an ounce of cheesiness to them.
The primary plot of Frosty is simple; kids try to help get Frosty to the North Pole, so he won't melt. After all, they gotta protect a rare entity like a walking talking snowman! But someone else is after Frosty; Professor Hinkle (a magician, not an educator despite his name), who wants the magic hat that brought Frosty to life. The story is by the numbers and never really goes off in a surprising direction, but Frosty's unfamiliarity with our world gets some laughs, and his final "demise" is surprisingly emotionally potent.

The supporting cast, such as a rabbit named Hocus Pocus, aren't really that memorable, though the animation choice for the special certainly is.  Unlike other Rankin-Bass projects, this one is done in 2D animation, which varies in terms of quality. The backgrounds have a loose feeling to them that feels at once cozy and inviting, though the character designs (namely on the supporting human characters) feel more sloppy than anything else. Frosty The Snowman could certainly better from more consistent animation, but there's no denying it's charms in going through a time worn journey.