Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Frosty the Snowman 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Professor Hinkle was robbed.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III November 3, 2022

Finally released on 4K as part of Universal's The Classic Christmas Specials Collection (which also includes Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town) as well as this separate combo pack, Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass' 1969 special Frosty the Snowman is an odd duck among the others in that set: it's the only one made with hand-drawn animation and, at just 25 minutes, is considerably lighter in the story department. But it's still a fun family favorite and most likely holds the Guinness World Record for "Quickest character main death to earn a sappy flashback montage". Universal's new 4K restoration wrings what it can out of Frosty's modest source material, improving upon older home video presentations though unavoidably not to the extent of its two stop-motion brothers.

For a synopsis and appreciation of the film, please see Kenneth Brown's review of Classic Media's Original Christmas Classics gift set. But since you're probably here for the technical write-up, let's get right down to business.

Frosty the Snowman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the included Blu-ray, which utilizes the same new 4K master but is downsampled to 1080p and presented in SDR. My thoughts on that disc are also included below.

Unlike its stop-motion brethren, the flat hand-drawn animation of Frosty the Snowman doesn't exactly lend itself to a jaw-dropping 4K presentation even though Universal's 2160p, HDR10-enhanced transfer advances beyond their fairly rough-looking older Blu-ray. Textures are light but noticeable thanks to the presence of actual fine film grain this time around, linework is also better defined, and contrast levels are improved too; all are the result of far less flagrant digital noise reduction, which absolutely plagued earlier releases. Color timing is also better, with more natural skin tones that have a more accurate pinkish-peach tint than the more greenish-yellow of yesteryear (exceptions are present, like the sickly tint of Professor Hinkle in a climactic scene below), though several primaries seem a bit too heavily saturated for my liking. Overall, though, this restoration certainly checks the "win" column from a pure base-level perspective, even if its lesser amount of native fine detail and not-all-that-noticeable use of HDR10 enhancement don't make this 4K presentation stand out much more strongly than a really, really good-looking Blu-ray.

It's ironic, then, that the similarly restored new Blu-ray doesn't fare quite as well, due to a combination of slightly iffy HDR to SDR conversion and disc compression. While fine detail and stability compete closely with the 4K disc due to Frosty's visual aesthetic -- and share more or less the same color timing, unlike Rudolph -- the bolder saturation tends to fight with film grain, often leading to a noise and other fluctuations here and there. Similarly, the disc encoding isn't as well done and mild levels of macroblocking and striping can be spotted on flat colors and background elements. It's not all that distracting in motion but there's room for improvement here, although again it's a still a better overall presentation than the older Universal disc. Maybe Frosty is just forever stuck with the bronze medal?

Frosty the Snowman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The new 4K master may have wrung a touch more sonic detail out of its source elements than what we heard on the studio's previous Blu-ray, but the included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS 2.0 Mono options sound more or less identical to those older tracks and get the job done just fine. Obviously, this isn't Dolby Atmos territory.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature and all applicable extras.

Frosty the Snowman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with artwork similar to previous Universal releases (same goes for the menus), a matching slipcover, and a Digital Copy redemption code. The bonus features, which are repeated on both discs, are likewise identical to the older Universal Blu-ray and are all detailed below.

• The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass (47:00) - This 2018 retrospective featurette runs twice as long as the special itself but also covers other entries in the duo's celebrated catalog including Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, and a few lesser-known works. It's clip-heavy but very entertaining with great behind-the-scenes footage, TV promos, pencil tests, rare photos, and comments from lots of filmmaking fans including Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Jon Favreau (Elf), Kevin Lima (Enchanted), Brenda Chapman (Brave), the friggin' Chiodo Brothers (Killer Klowns from Outer Space), producer Lee Mendelson (A Charlie Brown Christmas), animation historian Jerry Beck, and more. I'd award this one more points, but it's also included on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, which you'll probably buy too.

• Original Pencil Test (1:04) - Briefly glimpsed during the Rankin/Bass featurette above, this short and silent pencil test of the Jimmy Durante introduction shows Frosty's artwork in its rawest form.

• Audio Commentary - This feature-length track by animation historian Mark Evanier covers an expected amount of ground, from the original song (written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950) to the voice acting, Rankin/Bass lore, animation, and more.

Frosty the Snowman 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though it's the weakest of "the big three", Rankin/Bass' Frosty the Snowman is still a pretty fun little adventure with charming hand-drawn animation and a great lead performance by comedian Jackie Vernon. Unfortunately, its source material and style don't lend itself to as noticeably strong a 4K presentation as those found on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, which are also included with Frosty as part of the more cost-effective Classic Christmas Specials Collection. But it's still better than previous editions and worth a look either way.