An Exercise In Nonsense

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I truly believe that most of the negative reviews are just a result of people jumping on the bandwagon about "the Rankin and Bass special we're not supposed to like." One might ask then, why did it "flop" at the box office? It sounds like it was very poor marketing to have released it in July. Just because the story was set in July does not change the fact that it is a Christmas story in every sense of the word and should be shown at Christmas time. That was a tactical error which caused it to fail, obtain a bad reputation, and now everyone just agrees that it's bad without thinking for themselves. Judged on its content, it's a great story and the complaints against it make little sense. For one thing, it's a major mistake to compare this to the earlier Rankin and Bass specials, as if this movie was somehow made to be in competition with them. It was obviously created to complement them and it does an excellent job of it. Secondly, it is a delightful, heartwarming movie that anyone with a soul should enjoy. Thirdly, the movie does a very clever job of incorporating the many favorite Rankin and Bass specials together and reinforces the idea that it is all in one universe. It provides closure to many aspects of the specials, such as Frosty and Crystal's life and family together, their ongoing friendship with their former advisory Jack Frost, Rudolph's origin, and many other details. It even subtly explains Santa's more idiosyncratic behavior in past specials, such as his grumpiness in Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and self-pity in Year Without A Santa Clause. He says to Mrs. Santa Clause, "I'm not the easiest man to get along with" and she says, "Only when it gets close to Christmas Eve." It's really a very significant special and it's a shame that it's lost on some. So, folks, watch this delightful Christmas movie, don't be influenced by the hate that others have directed towards it, avoid holding it to crazy standards that no other fantasy movie would be held to, just lighten up, sit back, and enjoy Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July with an open mind and a happy heart.

I adore holiday specials, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, you name it. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman as far as I am concerned are both timeless yuletide classics.So it was a joy to see both title characters in the same special, which is exactly what we have here with Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.For me, the only drawbacks to Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July are the length and some of the plot twists. At just over an hour and a half, the special does feel a little too long, anywhere around an hour to seventy five minutes would have been more sufficient. Also, while the idea of the story is great, started off really well and remained interesting, there are a few too many plot twists that makes the storytelling a tad convoluted.However, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July is a very enjoyable and re-watchable special. The animation is unique and holds up very nicely. The characters are all very well modelled and the backgrounds are meticulously detailed.The special also contains some fun and well-written songs, my favourite being Ethel Merman's nifty little number. The writing is engaging, humorous and easy to remember, and all the characters are fun and add a lot to the movie, Winterbolt especially is a wonderful villain.Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July has a very talented vocal cast, every one of whom gives their all here. Billie Mae Richards and Jackie Vernan do great jobs as the title characters, and Ethel Merman, Shelley Winters, Mickey Rooney and Red Buttons bring a pleasing shine to their characters and material and also to the special in general. The standout is Paul Frees in my opinion, who is just wonderful as Winterbolt.In conclusion, overlong but never less than enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The evil wizard Winterbolt (deliciously voiced with plummy aplomb by the great Paul Frees) gets reawakened from his centuries of slumber and decides to take over Christmas from Santa Claus. He gives Frosty the Snowman and his family magic amulets so they can go see a circus in July without melting. Moreover, Winterbolt tries to get Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to do something bad so his nose will go out. This typically pleasant and good-natured feature length holiday television program from the always reliable Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. benefits greatly from a steady pace, nifty stop-motion animation, cool characters (Winterbolt's fearsome snow dragons are genuinely gnarly), a simple and engaging story, an amusingly easy'n'breezy sense of gentle humor, and plenty of catchy'n'merry songs. Moreover, the cast all voice their roles with tremendous flair and affection: Jackie Vernon as Frosty the Snowman, Shelley Winters as Frosty's sweet wife Crystal, Red Buttons as affable lovestruck ice cream salesman Milton, Ethal Merman as feisty cowgirl circus owner Lily Lorraine, Billie Mae Richards as the endearingly nasal Rudolph, Mickey Rooney as the warm and lovable Santa Claus, Shelby Flint as fetching high wire artist Laine Lorraine, and Alan Sues as nasty, jealous, spiteful outcast reindeer Scratcher. A really fun and entertaining show.

Okay, I'm a big fan of all that is Rankin/Bass, so I'm a little biased in enjoying this film. I got to watch this film on a cold winter day, huddled up in some blankets and reconnect with some old TV X-mas friends from winter's past. First of all it was nice to see Frosty and his clan finally made into clay-mation form. The Frosty cartoons are great, but clay-mation makes it more original and unique. Plus all the guest appearances by Big Ben, Jack Frost, Santa and Mrs. Claus from previous Rankin/Bass specials. Sure it is a long (over an hour and a half), but you do find the true origin of Rudolph's shiny nose!