The special begins with a musical number showing that Beansboro Elementary School is canceled for the day due to a seven-inch snowfall. While the adults incessantly complain about the problems they have to deal with due to the snow and ice, the children enjoy the opportunity to play outside in the snow.
The scene then shifts to Holly DeCarlo, a depressed and lonely young girl and aspiring magician with only one friend, a tone-deaf nerd named Charles who has a knack for climatology. While practicing a magic act with Charles, the wind blows Holly's hat off her head, out the window, and onto a snowman who comes to life as Frosty, thus revealing that Holly's hat was "that old silk hat" featured in the original song and previous adaptations.
Meanwhile, a new product appears in Beansboro: an aerosol spray called "Summer Wheeze" that causes snow to instantly disappear, and thus poses a fatal threat to Frosty.[3] Summer Wheeze's inventor, Mr. Twitchell, hopes to use the product to win over the people of Beansboro so that he will be crowned King of the Beansboro Winter Carnival, apparently believing that the title will give him actual dominion over them. At a presentation before the town council, a trustee voices concern about the environmental impact of the untested product; Mr. Twitchell orders his pet cat Bones to open a trapdoor beneath her seat.
To Twitchell's delight, and Frosty's dismay, the town of Beansboro embraces Summer Wheeze, putting Frosty's existence in jeopardy. When many of their classmates rally for the end of snow when in class the next day, only a day after singing about its virtues, Holly and Charles become Frosty's protectors, hiding him in a freezer and securing refuge for him in an ice castle built for the Carnival. Later, Holly gets Frosty to appear at the Winter Carnival in an attempt to persuade the townspeople that Twitchell's product is dangerous to the environment, hoping the citizens will rethink their dislike of snow.
Singing about the joy of winter, the townspeople are convinced and Frosty is unanimously declared king. A vengeful Twitchell tries to run over Frosty with his delivery truck but misses and falls in a frozen lake; now humbled, Frosty and Holly rescue him and let him wear the crown and cape as they all ride in the sled. Later Frosty must leave Beansboro, but he assures Holly that he will return someday.
An original advertisement for the special coupled with the 1969 Frosty the Snowman, as is commonplace though the two shorts were produced by different studios.
Contrary to its title and consistent pairing with the 1969 Frosty the Snowman special, the two were produced by different companies (Rankin/Bass produced the original, while this special was made by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, with help from longtime Peanuts director Bill Melendez, for CBS), and Frosty Returns makes no effort to establish itself in the 1969 special's fictional universe, using different characters, setting and voice actors. Because of Michaels' involvement, most of the cast consisted of sketch comedians from Michaels's other shows; Andrea Martin had starred in The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, while Jan Hooks and Brian Doyle-Murray were cast members on Saturday Night Live (a show where John Goodman had made frequent guest appearances). Since Broadway Video produced this special and owned the 1969 original prior to Golden Books' acquisition of the Videocraft International catalog in 1996, Frosty Returns follows the CBS showings of the original and is coupled with the original on most DVD releases; it was not included in the package sold to Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas cable telecasts, nor the package sold to AMC's Best Christmas Ever.[4]
Music
Frosty Returns is a musical special, with two songs featured prominently on the soundtrack. "Frosty the Snowman" is featured at the beginning as an instrumental and sung by the entire cast at the end. "Let There Be Snow" is an original piece composed for the special, with three verses sung at various points in the special.
^Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. pp. 111–112. ISBN9781476672939.
^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Billie Mae Richards), Santa Claus (voiced by Stan Francis), and Mrs. Claus (voiced by Peg Dixon) in this special. Various actors portray the other reindeer.
^Recurring characters include Frosty the Snowman (voiced by Jackie Vernon), Santa (voiced by Paul Frees), and Professor Hinkle Tinkerton (voiced by Billy De Wolfe) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
^Recurring characters include Santa (voiced by Mickey Rooney), Mrs. Jessica Claus (voiced by Robie Lester), and S.D. Kluger (voiced by Fred Astaire) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
^Recurring characters include the Easter Bunny (voiced by Casey Kasem), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
^Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced by Allen Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
^Recurring characters include Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Shirley Booth), Snow Miser (voiced by Dick Shawn), Heat Miser (voiced by George S. Irving), and Mother Nature (voiced by Rhoda Mann) in this special. Rudolph and Santa's other reindeer also feature.
^Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced by Robert Morse and Burl Ives), and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
^Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Mrs. Crystal Frosty (voiced by Shelley Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special.
^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards) and Santa (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
^Recurring characters include Easter Bunny (voiced by Skip Hinnant), and S.D. Kluger (voiced by Astaire) in this special.
^Recurring characters in this special include Santa (voiced by Frees), alongside Rudolph and his other featured reindeer.
^Recurring characters in this special include Santa Claus during a scene which compares the Ghost of Christmas Present to him (both characters were voiced by Frees).
^The recurring character is Jack Frost (voiced by Robert Morse) in this special.
^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Richards), Frosty (voiced by Vernon), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Darlene Conley), Crystal (voiced by Winters), and Jack Frost (voiced by Frees) in this special. Santa's other reindeer also feature.
^The recurring characters in the special include Santa (voiced by Swift), alongside his featured reindeer.
^The recurring character is Frosty (voiced by John Goodman) in this special. Mother Nature is also referenced in the short.
^Recurring characters include Rudolph (voiced by Kathleen Barr), Santa (voiced by Garry Chalk), and Mrs. Claus (also voiced by Barr) in this film. Santa's other reindeer, and various other characters from the 1964 original also feature.
^Recurring characters include Frosty (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke), and Professor Tinkerton (voiced by Kath Soucie) in this special.
^Recurring characters include Snow Miser (voiced by Juan Chioran), Heat Miser (voiced by Irving), Santa (voiced by Rooney), Mrs. Claus (voiced by Catherine Disher), and Mother Earth (voiced by Patricia Hamilton) in this special. Santa's reindeer also feature.
