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Editorial Reviews
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Frosty's Winter Wonderland
It's no secret that sequels to classic TV specials rarely stack up--they're usually guilty of getting too fancy with characters and story lines, causing irritating fissures to form in our perceptions of the originals. Lucky for a new generation of holiday viewers, that's not the case with Frosty's Winter Wonderland. In fact, lining up a Frosty double feature at home in which the original is directly followed by the new title is a fully cringe-free proposition, thanks mostly to the down-homey, pleasant narration of Andy Griffith and the near-perfect portrayal of the Frosty we all know and love by Jackie Vernon. The Wonderland dialogue doesn't trouble itself with tiresome throwbacks, and even the plot isn't overly ambitious: Frosty, lonely at the North Pole, is bent on keeping his famous promise to the kids that he'll be back again someday, so when the news of a snowstorm in their town reaches him, he waddles off. But once the belly-whopping's run its course, he's lonely again. The children, hoping to salvage Frosty's stay with them, hit upon a solution: they'll build Frosty a wife. Crystal fits every snowman's fantasy of a dream bride, but will jealous Jack Frost sabotage their wintry wedding? For all classic Christmas special fans who harbor hopes that the fun can continue, it's worth finding out. Kids 2 and older will love the songs and the still-intact dribbles of silliness. --Tammy La Gorce
It's no secret that sequels to classic TV specials rarely stack up--they're usually guilty of getting too fancy with characters and story lines, causing irritating fissures to form in our perceptions of the originals. Lucky for a new generation of holiday viewers, that's not the case with Frosty's Winter Wonderland. In fact, lining up a Frosty double feature at home in which the original is directly followed by the new title is a fully cringe-free proposition, thanks mostly to the down-homey, pleasant narration of Andy Griffith and the near-perfect portrayal of the Frosty we all know and love by Jackie Vernon. The Wonderland dialogue doesn't trouble itself with tiresome throwbacks, and even the plot isn't overly ambitious: Frosty, lonely at the North Pole, is bent on keeping his famous promise to the kids that he'll be back again someday, so when the news of a snowstorm in their town reaches him, he waddles off. But once the belly-whopping's run its course, he's lonely again. The children, hoping to salvage Frosty's stay with them, hit upon a solution: they'll build Frosty a wife. Crystal fits every snowman's fantasy of a dream bride, but will jealous Jack Frost sabotage their wintry wedding? For all classic Christmas special fans who harbor hopes that the fun can continue, it's worth finding out. Kids 2 and older will love the songs and the still-intact dribbles of silliness. --Tammy La Gorce
Twas the Night Before Christmas
Animators of all things Christmas, Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass (Frosty the Snowman) take on the famous poem by Clement Moore. Narrated by Joel Grey, the story opens on the night before Christmas, but the reading of the poem must be stopped when two creatures in the house begin to stir: family men Mr. Trundle and Father Mouse. Their restlessness stems from the fact that Santa is angry at the residents of Junctionville, returning all their letters without even opening them. The reason? Somebody wrote a letter to the editor of the paper saying that he doesn't exist. In an attempt to fix the situation, Mr. Trundle, a clockmaker, comes up with a plan to lure Santa into town with a clock that will sing an enchanting song at midnight. When the clock doesn't work on its first test, the townsfolk lose all faith in him. Turns out the cause of all the trouble is Albert, a book-smart young mouse who thinks he knows the truth about Santa Claus. There are a few good songs in the 23-minute program, whose the moral is: don't believe the kids on the playground if they say that Santa doesn't exist. --Andy Spletzer
Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/03/2006 Rating: Nr
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 41 people found the following review helpful
What a deal, two rare Rankin/Bass hoiday specials available for the first time on DCD, and we get 2 for the price of 1.
FROSTYS WINTER WONDERLAND: Just like the song says, Frosty comes back again someday. Frosty returns to play with the children, but Jack Frost is envious of him. He tries to steal Frosty's magic hat to take his powers. The children build Frosty a wife named Crystal according to magic instructions from Frosty. When Jack Frost finally gets Frosty, it's his wife that must save him with love.
The studio that made the first hour long cel animated Frosty special that first aired on CBS television in 1969 is Rankin/Bass Productions, the kings of holiday specials. That show was based on the original song written in 1951 by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. The studio made a terrific half hour sequel in 1976 for ABC television titled "Frosty's Winter Wonderland". That special starts right where the first one left off. The character design was by Paul Coker Jr., who did the same work for the first special, so the visual continuity works very well and the characters have that classic Rankin/Bass 'look'. He also did the unique lettering for the credits in both specials. The famous voice actor Paul Frees stars as Jack Frost, and the policeman. Frees was a regular in studio productions and had also voiced the policeman, ticket seller, and Santa Claus in the original. Jackie Vernon voiced Frosty just like he did before, and Selly Winters is his new wife. The writer for both Rankin/Bass shows was Romeo Muller, and Maury Laws returned as the musical director. Interestingly, while Rankin/Bassis known for the high quality of their original songs, they used Christmas standards in their sequel. While the first show was narrated and sung by Jimmy Durante, the second time we had the voice talents of Andy Griffith. Nothing against Andy, but it is a big change.
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS: The story of two families, one human family of Joshua Trundel the clockmaker, the other a mouse family that lives in their house. In Junctionville, all letters to Santa have been returned and the townsfolk are worried. Turns out that Santa is upset at a letter from "all of us" to the editor in the paper, saying that he didn't exist. A young genius mouse named Albert turns out to be the culprit. The town starts the Joshua will build a special clock to encourage Santa to come by singing a song "Calling Santa" at midnight on Christmas Eve. But the clock breaks down too. The people turn against Joshua, and he starts losing customers. Soon enough, his family is starving, and so in turn is the mouse family. It is eventually found that Albert is responsible for the clocks malfunction but did not do it on purpose. He is sorry, but his dad encourages him that sorry is not enough, you must fix what you did wrong. If Albert can fix the clock in time, then Christmas may be saved yet, along with the reputation of Joshua.
Rankin/Bass Studio created this wonderful traditional cel animated special for CBS televison. It first aired on December 8, 1974 in a half hour format on CBS television. The screenplay was by Jerome Coopersmith, inspired by the Clement Moore poem, it does not literally follow the lines of the poem until near the end. The memorable song "Calling Santa" is one of best songs to come from the studio. Also has the songs "Even a Miracle Needs a Hand" (really good), and "Give Your Heart a Try". Character design was by Paul Coker, Jr. who designed the characters appearance for nearly every holiday special from the studio. With musical direction by Maury Laws... Yes, he was the musical genius behind the Rudolph special and it shows. The songs are really good in this special. Lyrics were written by Jules Bass. The actual songs and narration are performed by Joel Gray, and he voices the character of the human father Joshua. Tammy Grimes stars as Albert Mouse, and George Gobel as Father Mouse. John McGiver as the Mayor.
FROSTYS WINTER WONDERLAND: Just like the song says, Frosty comes back again someday. Frosty returns to play with the children, but Jack Frost is envious of him. He tries to steal Frosty's magic hat to take his powers. The children build Frosty a wife named Crystal according to magic instructions from Frosty. When Jack Frost finally gets Frosty, it's his wife that must save him with love.
The studio that made the first hour long cel animated Frosty special that first aired on CBS television in 1969 is Rankin/Bass Productions, the kings of holiday specials. That show was based on the original song written in 1951 by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. The studio made a terrific half hour sequel in 1976 for ABC television titled "Frosty's Winter Wonderland". That special starts right where the first one left off. The character design was by Paul Coker Jr., who did the same work for the first special, so the visual continuity works very well and the characters have that classic Rankin/Bass 'look'. He also did the unique lettering for the credits in both specials. The famous voice actor Paul Frees stars as Jack Frost, and the policeman. Frees was a regular in studio productions and had also voiced the policeman, ticket seller, and Santa Claus in the original. Jackie Vernon voiced Frosty just like he did before, and Selly Winters is his new wife. The writer for both Rankin/Bass shows was Romeo Muller, and Maury Laws returned as the musical director. Interestingly, while Rankin/Bassis known for the high quality of their original songs, they used Christmas standards in their sequel. While the first show was narrated and sung by Jimmy Durante, the second time we had the voice talents of Andy Griffith. Nothing against Andy, but it is a big change.
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS: The story of two families, one human family of Joshua Trundel the clockmaker, the other a mouse family that lives in their house. In Junctionville, all letters to Santa have been returned and the townsfolk are worried. Turns out that Santa is upset at a letter from "all of us" to the editor in the paper, saying that he didn't exist. A young genius mouse named Albert turns out to be the culprit. The town starts the Joshua will build a special clock to encourage Santa to come by singing a song "Calling Santa" at midnight on Christmas Eve. But the clock breaks down too. The people turn against Joshua, and he starts losing customers. Soon enough, his family is starving, and so in turn is the mouse family. It is eventually found that Albert is responsible for the clocks malfunction but did not do it on purpose. He is sorry, but his dad encourages him that sorry is not enough, you must fix what you did wrong. If Albert can fix the clock in time, then Christmas may be saved yet, along with the reputation of Joshua.
Rankin/Bass Studio created this wonderful traditional cel animated special for CBS televison. It first aired on December 8, 1974 in a half hour format on CBS television. The screenplay was by Jerome Coopersmith, inspired by the Clement Moore poem, it does not literally follow the lines of the poem until near the end. The memorable song "Calling Santa" is one of best songs to come from the studio. Also has the songs "Even a Miracle Needs a Hand" (really good), and "Give Your Heart a Try". Character design was by Paul Coker, Jr. who designed the characters appearance for nearly every holiday special from the studio. With musical direction by Maury Laws... Yes, he was the musical genius behind the Rudolph special and it shows. The songs are really good in this special. Lyrics were written by Jules Bass. The actual songs and narration are performed by Joel Gray, and he voices the character of the human father Joshua. Tammy Grimes stars as Albert Mouse, and George Gobel as Father Mouse. John McGiver as the Mayor.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Twas the Night Before Christmas was one of my favorite Christmas specials when I was a kid and it still is.
The story begins with a reading of Clement's The Night Before Christmas but creatures are stirring because they have learned that Santa is upset with their town and he isn't stopping to bring toys this year. The story is told jointly from a mouse/human perspective through a flashback to reveal why Santa is upset and how they hope to remedy the situation.
Other Christmas shows (such as Rudolph and Charlie Brown) have received more attention over the years but, in my estimation, Twas the Night Before Christmas belongs in the same lofty company. It's a great story and we got the DVD so our kids could enjoy the show too.
The story begins with a reading of Clement's The Night Before Christmas but creatures are stirring because they have learned that Santa is upset with their town and he isn't stopping to bring toys this year. The story is told jointly from a mouse/human perspective through a flashback to reveal why Santa is upset and how they hope to remedy the situation.
Other Christmas shows (such as Rudolph and Charlie Brown) have received more attention over the years but, in my estimation, Twas the Night Before Christmas belongs in the same lofty company. It's a great story and we got the DVD so our kids could enjoy the show too.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
I have been waiting for this for so long. I have actually been accused of making up "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by several people who have gone and grown up. I lost my recording of this a few years back and have missed watching this lovely story now that 1/2 hour toy commercials have taken up most of the time networks dedicate to Christmas specials. I had almost given up on anybody else remembering this story fondly enough to put it on DVD.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Greatness!
Purchased this for my daughter (7). Bought it for the "Twas the night before Christmas" story, and Frosty was just another added bonus. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Daynish
Frosty's Winter
Recieved DVD but the DVD was loose and probably scratched so I sent it back and e-mailed SiberianMum and was told they would send another one as soon as the got it. Read more
Published 16 months ago by A. Gil
Holiday classics that I can now share with my child
I used to watch these classic holiday cartoons when I was a child, and I've continued to watch them over the years, whenever they were shown on television. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Z Hayes
Frosty's Winter Wonderland /Twas the night before christmas
These family friendly movies are just the right tradition to carry on to our children and grandchildren! Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rose
Frosty's Winter Wonderland
Awesome movies that's been around since I was little! A favorite that will be around for years to come. An all time favorite and a must have for everyone.
Published 18 months ago by beezah
Great CHild's STory DVD
My kids grew up with this one EVERY Christmas even when they were teenagers. My grandson loves this Frosty DVD. I had it on VHS and found the DVD thru Amazon. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Linda Early Kearney
Loved this as a child now my kids can share in my memories...
i had loved this as a child. i was so excited to see this on dvd for sale. now my kids can join in and we watch this as a Christmas family tradition.
Published 22 months ago by Christine Manzella
Just bought if for Night Before X-Mas!!
I absolutely loved Twas the Night Before Christmas when I was a kid, and could not find it anymore, and couldn't find any TV channels that played it anymore either, so when I found... Read more
Published on March 9, 2010 by Andrea Maynard
Christmas Classic... for us anyway.
If you want the silly Christmas movie with the mice and strange songs this is it! We love it.
Published on February 14, 2010 by Elizabeth I. Zammarrelli
Christmas classic
A Christmas classic that my husband watched when he was a boy. Very cute.
Published on February 11, 2010 by Julie Yancey
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