I realize this is subjective. The only other Rankin/Bass effort I disliked was Jack Frost, and that's also personal taste, but at least that show is imaginatve. This movie is contrived, convoluted, bizarre, disjointed, and about 65 minutes longer than it had to be. There are a few good one-liners by Frosty, but other than that, this is awful... and I'm easy to please! I had to watch Rudolph, Little Drummer Boy, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town, about three times each in order to get this ponderous, ill-conceived disaster out of my mind. Yes, it has a star-studded cast. So what? Shelly Winters couldn't sing, or in singing, she did it in character as the swimming lady who sacrificed herself to save the preacher in The Poseidon Adventure... after she was dead.

Sadly, the stop-motion is beautifully-done, but is utterly wasted on some of the worst writing ever made into film. A two out of ten is generous.

The King of the North Pole, Winterbolt, ruled ruthlessly with his Ice Scepter. Lady Borealis casts a spell putting him to sleep for many winters. Santa Claus arrives to built his toy factory. Borealis fades and Winterbolt wakes. He aims to get rid of Santa Claus by stopping him from delivering his toys. Borealis leaves her last magic onto the nose of baby Rudolph the reindeer. With Rudolph, Santa is able to defeat the fog laid down by Winterbolt's Snow Dragons. Winterbolt has an elaborate plan to lure Rudolph out of the north and extinguish his magic nose. Ice cream man Milton arrives on his balloon who convinces Rudolph and Frosty to go save the circus. Milton is in love with circus owner Lily Loraine's daughter Lainie. Winterbolt gives amulets to keep the Frosty family from melting until 4th of July ends. Winterbolt sends sneaky reindeer Scratcher south to lead Rudolph astray.

This is a mashup of the Christmas characters from a few different specials. I don't like the circus idea or a lot of the convoluted story. I wish the story is simpler and more natural. I do like Rudolph's dilemma. It is a touching moment. In the end, this is Rudolph and Frosty together. It's good family fun over the holidays.

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.