Related by Pardon-Me-Pete (voiced by Buddy Hackett) the official groundhog of Groundhog Day, this animated charmer tells of a girl so beautiful she melted the heart of Jack Frost (voiced by Robert Morse) himself. While visiting the village of January Junction, Jack Frost falls head-over-snowflakes in love with Elisa (voiced by Debra Klinger), the town's prettiest maiden. Turning into a human boy, Jack begins his courtship -- only to lose Elisa to the evil clutches of Kubla Kraus (Paul Frees) the Cossack. Teaming up with his elfin friends, Jack must use all his icy powers to free Elisa from Kubla's army of mechanical men.
Title: Jack Frost
Release: December 13, 1979
Genre: Animation- Holiday TV Special
MPAA Rating: G
Writer: Romeo Muller
Director: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr.
Music By: Maury Laws
Produced By: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr.
Distributed By: Rankin/ Bass Productions
Run Time: 43 minutes
The tales of Jack Frost have been made into books, poems, and movies (although admittedly,
most aren’t very good) for many years and there will probably be more in many years to come. So far Rankin/ Bass (the people who bring everyone such happiness during the holidays) are the only ones who have been able to come up with a film that captures the essence of Jack Frost in their stop-motion animated film called accordingly, Jack Frost!
I’ve always found it odd that this is promoted as a Christmas
movie. Sure there are couple of scenes about Christmas but Jack Frost is really all about winter. It even begins and ends in February with Pardon-Me-Pete (who is the narrator) voiced by Buddy Hackett. Nevertheless, I’ve always had a soft spot for this little story even if it didn’t end the way I wished it had.
It wasn’t until a few days ago that I learned that the film that I’ve loved and watched for years was actually edited! I’d been missing at least a good 10 minutes of this beautiful film but now I’ve finally found a complete version in which all of Kubla Kraus’s songs were put back in. Kubla was voiced by the uninimitable Paul
Frees, who is probably best known for his role Burgermeister Meisterburger in another Rankin/Bass film called Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Jack Frost may not be the best of the Rankin/ Bass films by any means but it will always be something I watch every year.
Wikipedia, imdb.com, and the Christmas specials Wiki all have pages on this often forgotten gem.
Clip:
Produced By: Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr.
Distributed By: Rankin/ Bass Productions
Run Time: 43 minutes
The tales of Jack Frost have been made into books, poems, and movies (although admittedly,
most aren’t very good) for many years and there will probably be more in many years to come. So far Rankin/ Bass (the people who bring everyone such happiness during the holidays) are the only ones who have been able to come up with a film that captures the essence of Jack Frost in their stop-motion animated film called accordingly, Jack Frost!I’ve always found it odd that this is promoted as a Christmas
movie. Sure there are couple of scenes about Christmas but Jack Frost is really all about winter. It even begins and ends in February with Pardon-Me-Pete (who is the narrator) voiced by Buddy Hackett. Nevertheless, I’ve always had a soft spot for this little story even if it didn’t end the way I wished it had.It wasn’t until a few days ago that I learned that the film that I’ve loved and watched for years was actually edited! I’d been missing at least a good 10 minutes of this beautiful film but now I’ve finally found a complete version in which all of Kubla Kraus’s songs were put back in. Kubla was voiced by the uninimitable Paul
Frees, who is probably best known for his role Burgermeister Meisterburger in another Rankin/Bass film called Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Jack Frost may not be the best of the Rankin/ Bass films by any means but it will always be something I watch every year.Wikipedia, imdb.com, and the Christmas specials Wiki all have pages on this often forgotten gem.
Clip:
I love everyone of these films and watched them all multiple times last month!!
ReplyDeleteI missed most of the holiday specials last month.
ReplyDeleteI love these Christmas movies, especially the Rudolph one.
ReplyDeleteSo cute!