7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A discarded silk tophat becomes the focus of a struggle between a washed-up stage magician and a group of schoolchildren after it magically brings a snowman to life. Realizing that newly-living Frosty will melt in spring unless he takes refuge in a colder climate, Frosty and a young girl who he befriends stow away on a freight train headed for the north pole. Little do they know that the magician is following them, and he wants his hat back. This animated short is based on the popular Christmas song of the same name.
Starring: Jackie Vernon, Suzanne Davidson, Billy De Wolfe, Paul Frees, June ForayFamily | 100% |
Animation | 74% |
Comedy | 64% |
Fantasy | 49% |
Holiday | 43% |
Musical | 34% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS 2.0 Mono
Spanish: DTS 2.0 Mono
French: DTS 2.0 Mono
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
1969
1969
45th Anniversary Collector's Edition
1969
Deluxe Edition
1969
1969
Deluxe Edition
1969
Deluxe Edition
1969
1970
Deluxe Edition
1964
1966
1974
1967
1985
2016
1992
2021
1976
1968
2004
Dance Party Edition
2020
1979
Anniversary Edition | The Signature Collection
1989
2013
2011
30th Anniversary Edition
1992
2013
2000