The Rankin-Bass animation style is almost immediately recognizable in whatever medium it happens to be in; the swollen cheeks, the angular heads, the arched eyeballs. It is most widely known from the stop-motion Santa Claus is Coming to Town, but has been carried over almost unbroken into Frosty’s Winter Wonderland, despite being hand-drawn. A sequel to Frosty the Snowman, Winter Wonderland carries the story into familiar territory while retaining the style’s central principle: its pleasantness.
Frosty’s been at the North Pole all summer, and he’s been getting lonely. All of his friends live down where the seasons change, and he never gets to see them. But with winter back, he makes the venture back down south and reconnects with the kids, who propose that they make him a Mrs. Frosty to keep him company during the summer months. As they set about this task, they encounter some resistance from Jack Frost, the being who actually brings about the snow that the children love so much, and resents that they love Frosty instead.
In a number of ways, the style of the Rankin-Bass films bears a number of similarities to anime, with the eyes and heads distorted beyond emotion to a permanent high emotion, as if there is never a moment when they are anything but very happy or very sad. This style tends to appeal to very young children, who are still learning to read visual cues, as opposed to older ones. In Frosty, they are fairly continuously happy, so Winter Wonderland would be most appropriate for children five and under, without worrying that anything will frighten or upset them. It's also remastered pretty well, for anyone
SPECIAL FEATURES
There is a short documentary entitled Frosty and the Story of the Snowman, as well as two trailers for other upcoming films.
"Frosty's Winter Wonderland" is on sale November 8, 2011 and is rated G. Animation, Children & Family. Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr, Jules Bass. Written by Romeo Muller. Starring Andy Griffith, Jackie Vernon, Paul Frees, Shelley Winters.
