Some Holiday Cheer: Frosty the UPA Man
Some Holiday Cheer: Frosty the UPA Man
Before Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on television in the 1960s, the UPA cartoon studio animated “Frosty the Snowman.” This charming three-minute cartoon was created for Hill and Range Songs, the publisher of “Frosty.” Essentially, it’s a music video before videotape and before rock ’n’ roll: a short film designed to promote the sale of a song.
In the early 1950s, when UPA was busy producing theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, the studio also sought additional revenue streams. According to the book When Magoo Flew, “By 1951, as much as 30 percent of UPA’s total output was dedicated to television and advertising.”
“Frosty” is the work of director Bobe Cannon and designer Bill Hurtz--the same team that created Gerald McBoing Boing in that same busy year, 1950. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the six children who dance around the snowman look rather like little Geralds. The streamlined animation is the work of Warner Bros. regular Ben Washam.
In black and white, the film looks crisp and winning. A 16mm print from Castle Films was recently posted by Devon Baxter.
To view the film, click here.
December 23, 2019