Frosty's Winter Wonderland (NR, 1974)

Narrated by Andy Griffith, FROSTY'S WINTER WONDERLAND comes with a heavy dose of sing-along holiday music and the same animation style as the original. Frosty (voiced by Jackie Vernon) has returned from the North Pole and feels lonely as he watches the children retreat inside -- where he'd melt -- each night. So the kids build him a snow-wife named Crystal (Shelley Winters) and a snow parson to marry them. Meanwhile jealous ice-blue Jack Frost tries to quash Frosty's popularity with the children, but finds out it's not as easy as it looks.

Like that fourth cookie from the holiday dessert table, this sequel may serve only as seasonal excess, but that's not always such a bad thing. This sequel may lack a real plot, but it also forgoes the sadness that made the first movie a bit heavy for younger kids.

One of the nice but quiet messages in the movie is that Frosty's magic doesn't just come from his hat, and that it's really love that gives the characters their spirit. That's a good message any time of the year, but especially at the holidays.

Studio: Warner Home Video
Director: Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
Cast: Andy Griffith, Jackie Vernon, Shelley Winters
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 24 minutes
Theatrical release: January 1, 1974
DVD release: November 1, 2007
MPAA Rating: NR
MPAA explanation: Not Rated