The CBS version is so uncanny. The Blu-Ray looks pretty good despite being completely redone and slightly different-looking. I like the little extreme swoosh when the snowflake arrives and flies away. That’s a nice touch.
It looks like for the Blu-ray, they redid the snowflake sequences and re-added the narrator, the latter of whom is hand-drawn. As someone else pointed out, the snowflakes were done digitally, which explains why the original and Blu-ray masters have different snowflake sequences. The narrator appears in a slightly different way in each master.
I'm personally dumbfounded that the CBS HDTV version just visually cuts off the narrator, like they were just too lazy to remaster those portions. It's like listening to an invisible man as you stare at a static image of the night sky...
Believe it or not, I actually grew up with the original VHS/Video Cassette Tape (VCT for short) with the original snowflakes, and the advertisements/previews from Family Home Entertainment, it's weird to see the other releases including the 2015 Blu-Ray re-release and the CBS airing.
Now, that's a reboot/spinoff you can, nowadays, only see on Videocassette, DVD and Blu-ray since it's a "direct-to-video" wintertime special that has been taken off, and/or departed from the American TV airwaves after 2023, meaning it'll no longer air on TV. Tough Luck, "Frosty Returns" fans!
It's a shame this is the first year since it debuted that this special isn't airing. 😥 I think it's great and it's message about weather, climate, etc. only gets more important with age. 👏 If people don't think it's up to par with the original, that is fine, but this still should be aired with it. 👍 I found it funny just staring at a night sky as the narrator (RIP Johnathan Winters 🙏) talks in the CBS HDTV version, but I do like the scrolling credits in that same version as it gives older cartoon credit vibes. 😄
I do think the idea of basically wanting to get rid of snow forever, is what made me dislike a ton of people who don't like winter very much. Despite that in another 1970s special Rankin Bass film of "Frosty's Winter Wonderland" in 1976 where it takes about how you will see the person again when the season comes back, not to mention a pastor/church person mentioned that if we only had winter all year round, we wouldn't be able to grow crops, and be able to enjoy the other seasons as much as we do with winter season, this film pretty much has a similar theme, and I'm glad that the Rankin Bass company decided to re-release many of their classics (Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus, Frosty Returns, and bonus features) on a 3 disc DVD box set from back in 2005/2006, which we still have to this very day, although scratched or storage away in some place in our house to pull out if needed, even the 2006 Frosty The Snowman remake got a TV airing despite how bad that story was, it's unfortunate this special has yet to re-air in the near future.
It should be noted the 2015 Blu-ray/DVD release contains 2 fade-outs/fade-ins at 2 points of the special for no reason at all. I don't know if that also applies to the Universal release of the special.
Legit glad they brought the narrator back. Yeah, it's not a great look torrent him as on screen without including him (that said, I do understand there being no film master for those elements)
I understand that this story is bland and not really anything compared to the original, but I still enjoy it. I'm not too happy with the fact that CBS completely lost the rights to airing Frosty and Rudolph, but it is what it is. ABC even suffered that same fate. They had Shrek The Halls for 15 years until 2023.
Actually, that has happened, but CBS fully produced Frosty Returns, and since that film has suffered major controversy, it won't be able to ever see the light of day on TV again. Kinda like Over The Hedge and Flushed Away (the invisible movies)
That's because Bill Melendez (who worked on the Peanuts TV Specials) did this. And Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo did the music for this. He also did the music for Rugrats
The Garfield specials also had similar end credits until Garfield Gets a Life. Same production companies as the Peanuts specials: United Media Productions, Film Roman, and Mendelson/Melendez Productions. Sick as heck.
Two flaws as follows: CBS airing doesn't show narrator on snowflake in the beginning and end Blu-Ray doesn't show the CBS production logo in the credits
I really find the results of the recent Blu-Ray restoration quite better than how 9 Story handles it with Garfield and Friends, especially when how the intro itself was animated in Flash instead of getting some animators to recreate it or finding film prints of it. I really appreciate how Classic Media managed to rescue the film prints of the animated narrator (or getting someone to reanimate him accurately by remembering on what's being drawn on cels, quite hard to tell) as a response to the later CBS re-runs that doesn't have him at all, such a shame how the HD restoration of Garfield and Friends couldn't do the same by having modern editing technics like this.
"Frosty Returns" was a 1993 animated television special starring John Goodman. Produced in 1992, it was released on VHS and Laserdisc on September 15, 1993, and aired on CBS on December 1, 1995.
My guess is it was one of those deals where they did most of the special on film, copied it to tape, then added digital effects (snowflakes) to the tape. Then, whoever did the CBS remaster only scanned the film with no consideration for the tape. Even the Blu-ray had to re-do the snowflakes from scratch because the original is locked in 480i. Honestly, it's a miracle they found the narrator drawings.
Guessing that the narrator bits were originally done digitally in SD. Probably didn't have enough budget to recreate these when they originally created the HD master, but went back when they did the Blu-ray. It's definitely a recreation as nothing is exactly the same between the two versions other than the narrator animation (presumably coming from a film element pre-compositing).
@@KBJ-Comix Yep, complete with "buh buh" effects! It's so weird hearing that music underneath Bill Melendez's animation instead of something by Klasky-Csupo or even something like "Adventures in Wonderland".
That was sourced from my 2007 DVD copy of The Original Christmas Classics: Limited Keepsake Edition, though I sped up the credits from that master (and also inserted the two other production logos) to make it behave like how it was when it debuted on VHS and on CBS in the 90s.
Tell me how this is in any way similar to a girl being forced into servitude by a cruel headmistress after the passing of her father, or two kids on a journey through the wilderness trying to find their missing father.
The CBS version is so uncanny. The Blu-Ray looks pretty good despite being completely redone and slightly different-looking. I like the little extreme swoosh when the snowflake arrives and flies away. That’s a nice touch.
Wait they went back and remastered the Shots of the Snowflakes falling from the opening & ending scenes?
It looks like for the Blu-ray, they redid the snowflake sequences and re-added the narrator, the latter of whom is hand-drawn. As someone else pointed out, the snowflakes were done digitally, which explains why the original and Blu-ray masters have different snowflake sequences. The narrator appears in a slightly different way in each master.
I'm personally dumbfounded that the CBS HDTV version just visually cuts off the narrator, like they were just too lazy to remaster those portions. It's like listening to an invisible man as you stare at a static image of the night sky...
Maybe that was what they were going for?
As someone who mainly watched the CBS HDTV, I was genuinely surprised to see the original master with the snowflakes
Believe it or not, I actually grew up with the original VHS/Video Cassette Tape (VCT for short) with the original snowflakes, and the advertisements/previews from Family Home Entertainment, it's weird to see the other releases including the 2015 Blu-Ray re-release and the CBS airing.
It's really good that the snowflakes were restored for the Blu-Ray, but there are noticeably less than what was present in the original master...
Now, that's a reboot/spinoff you can, nowadays, only see on Videocassette, DVD and Blu-ray since it's a "direct-to-video" wintertime special that has been taken off, and/or departed from the American TV airwaves after 2023, meaning it'll no longer air on TV. Tough Luck, "Frosty Returns" fans!
It's a shame this is the first year since it debuted that this special isn't airing. 😥 I think it's great and it's message about weather, climate, etc. only gets more important with age. 👏 If people don't think it's up to par with the original, that is fine, but this still should be aired with it. 👍 I found it funny just staring at a night sky as the narrator (RIP Johnathan Winters 🙏) talks in the CBS HDTV version, but I do like the scrolling credits in that same version as it gives older cartoon credit vibes. 😄
I do think the idea of basically wanting to get rid of snow forever, is what made me dislike a ton of people who don't like winter very much. Despite that in another 1970s special Rankin Bass film of "Frosty's Winter Wonderland" in 1976 where it takes about how you will see the person again when the season comes back, not to mention a pastor/church person mentioned that if we only had winter all year round, we wouldn't be able to grow crops, and be able to enjoy the other seasons as much as we do with winter season, this film pretty much has a similar theme, and I'm glad that the Rankin Bass company decided to re-release many of their classics (Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus, Frosty Returns, and bonus features) on a 3 disc DVD box set from back in 2005/2006, which we still have to this very day, although scratched or storage away in some place in our house to pull out if needed, even the 2006 Frosty The Snowman remake got a TV airing despite how bad that story was, it's unfortunate this special has yet to re-air in the near future.
It doesn’t beat the original the change in animation style was awful
It should be noted the 2015 Blu-ray/DVD release contains 2 fade-outs/fade-ins at 2 points of the special for no reason at all.
I don't know if that also applies to the Universal release of the special.
Legit glad they brought the narrator back. Yeah, it's not a great look torrent him as on screen without including him (that said, I do understand there being no film master for those elements)
Oh, nice. I used to watch this show along with Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
On CBS, of course. Too bad that CBS won't air these two Rankin/Bas Christmas specials that you mentioned. It will air on NBC.
So did i
The original Frosty is so much better in every way
I understand that this story is bland and not really anything compared to the original, but I still enjoy it.
I'm not too happy with the fact that CBS completely lost the rights to airing Frosty and Rudolph, but it is what it is.
ABC even suffered that same fate. They had Shrek The Halls for 15 years until 2023.
NBC/Universal owns DreamWorks as well, so there's a chance that Shrek The Halls could find a spot on NBC eventually.
Actually, that has happened, but CBS fully produced Frosty Returns, and since that film has suffered major controversy, it won't be able to ever see the light of day on TV again.
Kinda like Over The Hedge and Flushed Away (the invisible movies)
@@MarioSonicPhillyFan700 Hold on, what controversy?
@@GideonMadu Lots of people on the internet do not like that movie.
This special always reminded me of Peanuts meets Rugrats.
That's because Bill Melendez (who worked on the Peanuts TV Specials) did this. And Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo did the music for this. He also did the music for Rugrats
The hdtv credits actually remind me more of the peanuts specials at the time
The Garfield specials also had similar end credits until Garfield Gets a Life. Same production companies as the Peanuts specials: United Media Productions, Film Roman, and Mendelson/Melendez Productions. Sick as heck.
@GabePickles3837 yup
Two flaws as follows:
CBS airing doesn't show narrator on snowflake in the beginning and end
Blu-Ray doesn't show the CBS production logo in the credits
Same goes with the DVD releases where the CBS logo is absent from the credits.
That is just so odd.
@@KBJ-Comix no doo doo mate
The cbs version cuts of the narrator for just strange reason
The airing didn’t have any budget for the human narrator sitting on the snowflake ay yi yi yi
The only thing I can think is that they lost the rights to Jonathan Winters's likeness.
I really find the results of the recent Blu-Ray restoration quite better than how 9 Story handles it with Garfield and Friends, especially when how the intro itself was animated in Flash instead of getting some animators to recreate it or finding film prints of it.
I really appreciate how Classic Media managed to rescue the film prints of the animated narrator (or getting someone to reanimate him accurately by remembering on what's being drawn on cels, quite hard to tell) as a response to the later CBS re-runs that doesn't have him at all, such a shame how the HD restoration of Garfield and Friends couldn't do the same by having modern editing technics like this.
"Frosty Returns" was a 1993 animated television special starring John Goodman. Produced in 1992, it was released on VHS and Laserdisc on September 15, 1993, and aired on CBS on December 1, 1995.
Why did they get rid of the snowflakes on CBS?
Must’ve been a restoration error.
My guess is it was one of those deals where they did most of the special on film, copied it to tape, then added digital effects (snowflakes) to the tape. Then, whoever did the CBS remaster only scanned the film with no consideration for the tape. Even the Blu-ray had to re-do the snowflakes from scratch because the original is locked in 480i. Honestly, it's a miracle they found the narrator drawings.
@@MarioSonic2010 stupid error bug they effed up
they don't make Christmas or Halloween cartoons like this anymore.
Nor thanksgiving cartoons netither? Oh well 😔
My favorite comparison was the production company logo comparison.
Why did CBS HDTV do that though?
Guessing that the narrator bits were originally done digitally in SD. Probably didn't have enough budget to recreate these when they originally created the HD master, but went back when they did the Blu-ray. It's definitely a recreation as nothing is exactly the same between the two versions other than the narrator animation (presumably coming from a film element pre-compositing).
I remember watching this back in school in 2018
Ok but why even change it?
I saw this on cbs in 1992
1:13 Credits
I guess I've never seen the CBS HD remaster of "Frosty Returns". That looks weird.
I grew up watching the CBS HD master on TV for years, so I'm used to it.
The charming writing carries the mediocre songs and animation. Also, it has John Goodman. Anything with him in it is a plus.
Is the music reminiscent of "Rugrats" (both the 1991 and 2021 versions), "Adventures in Wonderland", and "The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald"?
They're all composed by Mark Mothersbaugh.
@@KBJ-Comix Yep, complete with "buh buh" effects! It's so weird hearing that music underneath Bill Melendez's animation instead of something by Klasky-Csupo or even something like "Adventures in Wonderland".
Narrator was like: show's over, back to Winnipeg
Where did you get the original master?
That was sourced from my 2007 DVD copy of The Original Christmas Classics: Limited Keepsake Edition, though I sped up the credits from that master (and also inserted the two other production logos) to make it behave like how it was when it debuted on VHS and on CBS in the 90s.
Childhood......
Similar to "A Little Princess (1995)" & "Alaska (1996)"
No 👎⛔ A Princess is Playing Snow & Alaska is Hiking
Yes With The Christmas Winter Snow
Tell me how this is in any way similar to a girl being forced into servitude by a cruel headmistress after the passing of her father, or two kids on a journey through the wilderness trying to find their missing father.
Yep! That a Good Answer