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Jack Frost

Play trailer Poster for Jack Frost 1979 48m Kids & Family Holiday Fantasy Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
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67% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
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Jack Frost

Critics Reviews

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Ryan Anielski IndieWire 12/01/2018
Nearing the absolute maximum threshold for strange, vaguely European mythical spirits and the dark magic they wield, "Jack Frost" is certainly more screwed up than it is festive. Go to Full Review
Emily St. James Vox 12/01/2018
Here's a special to show your kids if you want to teach them life is full of crushing disappointments. Go to Full Review
Charles Bramesco New York Times 12/01/2018
The animators kept the borscht belt humor coming... in a fable that fits right in with the bedtime stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Go to Full Review
Rachel Wagner rachelsreviews.net 04/17/2019
8/10
This is definitely one of the best from the Rankin/Bass team. Go to Full Review
Matthew Jackson Syfy Wire 12/01/2018
It gets a little bogged down by its own insistence on worldbuilding, but if you make it to the final moments, you get one of the most moving things Rankin/Bass ever produced. Go to Full Review
Ryan Voyles Paste Magazine 12/01/2018
There's nothing inherently bad about the special, and it does have a number of entertaining songs. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Kalissa H. @kali_416 Dec 12 Descent short story. See more Kevin P Jan 20 Underrated with its interesting premise. It's kind of awkward and the music isn't too memorable. But you genuinely want jack to get a chance to connect to people and be human, even if his return to magical isolation feels inevitable. The Czar villain with his goofy robots was also pretty entertaining. Not for everybody, but I personally find it to be a fun watch every now and then. See more 12/13/2022 Another solid entry from Rankin and Bass. The best Jack Frost story out there for sure. Very fun, charming special that pays homage to winter, groundhogs and of course christmas. Sure, there are better Rankin and Bass specials, but this is still a very solid one that deserves a watch. Yes it may be a bit of a depressing ending but the other 47 minutes are quite cheerful. This one definitely defied expectations. More for the older crowd than younger. See more Andrew S 01/01/2022 A pretty good story that honestly borrows too much for other films. See more 12/19/2021 Mostly because of the great songs by Jules Bass and Maury Laws, and the outstanding Rankin/Bass stop-motion animation, this is another classic holiday special, if not quite as good as their first (Rudolph). But it does have that wonderful combination of fantasy, humor, and great songs that give the viewer that euphoric, magical feeling that the best Rankin/Bass specials provide in spades. For me, the high points include the "Just What I Always Wanted" song, (***SPOILER ALERT***) where they give each other an empty box while the receiver pretends what is inside, and most of the songs Kublai Krauss sings (maybe there are only two, but they are hilarious). I've seen some reviewers fault it for having a Russian antagonist; but he's a Cossack, not necessarily Russian. And to be fair, wherever this is set (whether eastern Europe or Russia), the protagonists live there, too; they're the same nationality as Kublai Krauss regardless of ethnicity. My only fault here would be that the parents have the eastern European/Russian accent as Krauss, but the daughter Elise, Jack, and the knight in gold armor have American accents. Since Jack is from the magical winter clouds, I guess he doesn't necessarily have to have any regional accent, but I'm not sure why a girl born & raised in Russia (or wherever this is set) doesn't have a Russian accent (which, in an English-language production, I guess stands in for the Russian language). I also saw a reviewer knock its "borscht belt" humor. Borscht belt has to do with resorts that catered to Jewish guests in the 20th century, and most of the comedians who played those resorts were Jewish people who focused on Jewish humor. Aside from having Buddy Hackett play the narrator, I found there to be zero Jewish humor in this special. I suppose the attempt to link the narrator (a groundhog) to the story via Groundhog Day is a bit weak, as is the presumption that, by slicing icicles into "coins", the townsfolk suddenly have money, but considering that the audience for this ranges from young children to, at the oldest, pre-teens, an adult viewer should be able to recognize that it doesn't have to make sense compared to the real world. It's childrens' fantasy. As of December 2021, Justwatch.com lists at least 6 services where you can stream Jack Frost, and at least one of those is free with ads. So if you're in the mood for some Rankin/Bass stop-motion animation, check this one out! See more 12/25/2020 Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap. Suck it, Ricky. Crap. merry christmas See more Read all reviews
Jack Frost

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Movie Info

Director
Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.
Producer
Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
Screenwriter
Romeo Muller
Genre
Kids & Family, Holiday, Fantasy, Animation
Release Date (TV)
Dec 13, 1979
Runtime
48m
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