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Parents' Guide to

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July

By Nancy Davis Kho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Dark, creepy story lacks Yuletide spirit.

Movie NR 1979 97 minutes
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 5+

Based on 5 parent reviews

age 5+

People's reviews are way to harsh!

This movie is great, Ruldoph and Frosty is twice the Fun!!! People who think this movie is bad, it's not! Its a great movie.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
age 6+

Worst movie of all time

Seriously, don't watch this. Convoluted, boring, weird. Painful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (3 ):

For the most part, this '70s special is a better fit for a Halloween scare than Christmas comfort. Bringing all of the best-loved characters from Rankin and Bass's beloved holiday specials is a creative idea, but a complicated plot and scary imagery make this animated tale an iffy choice for the young audience at which it was presumably aimed. Cheerful Christmas songs -- punched up by secular hits like "Don't Let the Parade Pass You By" -- save it from being a total washout, but few kids will want to see Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph threatened with bodily harm over and over again.

The stop-motion animation and recognizable voice cast make the movie's style familiar, and the addition of Merman belting out tunes only improves it. The alternate world of Winterbolt's holiday, where the sleigh is pulled by hissing, slithering rein-snakes and the reindeer looks like he came off Skid Row, gets points for creativity.

Movie Details

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