| Director: | Greg Sullivan |
| Starring: | Kath Soucie Bill Fagerbakke Tom Kenny Jeannie Elias Evan Gore David Jeremiah Grey DeLisle Tress MacNeille Kenny Blank Larry Miller Candi Milo Tara Strong Vernee Watson-Johnson |
| Narrated: | Burt Reynolds |
| Country: | United States Canada Philippines |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Evan Baily Blair Peters Chris Bartleman |
| Runtime: | 67 minutes |
| Music: | Jared Faber |
| Company: | Studio B Productions Classic Media Top Draw Animation |
| Location: | Vancouver, British Columbia New York City, New York Los Angeles, California Manila, Philippines |
The Legend of Frosty the Snowman is a 2005 Christmas animated television special film that was simultaneously released direct-to-video, and produced by Classic Media, Studio B Productions and Top Draw Animation.[1]
The film is narrated by Burt Reynolds and features Bill Fagerbakke as the voice of Frosty the Snowman and voice actress Kath Soucie as Tommy Tinkerton, with background music composed by Jared Faber. It is the fifth and last television special to feature Frosty to date.
Frosty the Snowman arrives in the town of Evergreen, where children are unhappy due to strict rules set by Mayor Tinkerton. Frosty tries to engage Tinkerton's son, Tommy, but he is too afraid of his father's authority. Instead, Frosty plays with Tommy's friend, Walter Wader, who gains confidence. Walter engages in a food fight with Tinkerton's older son, Charlie, resulting in both boys landing in detention. Walter's mention of "a magical snowman" makes Tinkerton uneasy, but Principal Hank Pankley assures him that Walter's story is untrue. After school, Charlie and Walter both play outside with Frosty.
Tommy follows Frosty's hat to the library and finds a comic about a boy who created Frosty with the help of his magician father's hat, but the rest of the comic's pages are blank. Tinkerton gives Tommy a "#1" pin and asks Tommy to report anything unusual. Tommy later discovers a picture of his father as a child and realizes that his father is the boy in the comic.
Frosty enjoys playing with children, but their misbehavior frustrates parents and causes Tinkerton's collapse. Pankley becomes mayor and tricks Walter into helping him trap Frosty, leading to Frosty falling into a pond and melting. Meanwhile, the blank pages in the comic restore themselves, and Tommy discovers that Pankley stole the hat and locked it away the same winter that Tinkerton created Frosty.
Tommy and his friends retrieve the hat and revive Frosty, prompting their worried parents to search for them. Tommy returns the pin to Tinkerton, who forgives him and recognizes Frosty's magic. After exposing Pankley's deceit, Tinkerton reinstates himself as mayor and starts a snowball fight with the others. The adults and children reconcile, with Tinkerton's belief in magic restored. The film's narrator is revealed to be Tommy, who is now elderly and married to his childhood love, Sara Simple.
The film holds only a loose continuity with Rankin/Bass's 1969 television adaptation of Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins's 1950 Christmas song, "Frosty the Snowman", although Frosty's design by Paul Coker, Jr. is identical and Tommy's grandfather is clearly Professor Hinkle, the reformed antagonist of the original special. Apart from a brief mention of Santa Claus, there is no direct reference to Christmas itself. Even so, this special has more in common with the original than the previous sequel in 1992, the Lorne Michaels-Bill Melendez collaboration Frosty Returns. The film was produced in late 2004, but like Rudolph's Shiny New Year, it was not released until a full year later.
The film originally aired annually on Cartoon Network from 2005 until December 11, 2011, when the special moved to Kids & Teens TV, which ceased operations in 2019. Following this, the special was acquired by AMC as part of their Best Christmas Ever event. Distribution rights to the film are currently held by NBCUniversal Television Distribution following its parent Comcast's acquisition of DreamWorks Animation, which acquired the film's holder Classic Media in 2012. DreamWorks released the special for free on YouTube on November 30, 2017, along with the original Frosty the Snowman.[2]