Jack Frost is a 1979 Christmas, winter, and Groundhog Day stop-motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, narrated by Buddy Hackett, and starring the voices of Robert Morse, Debra Clinger, and Paul Frees. It tells the tale of Jack Frost and his adventures as a human.
Plot[]
The story is narrated by a groundhog named Pardon-Me-Pete, who has a deal with Jack Frost to extend winter by 6 weeks, letting him sleep that much longer. Pete starts to talk about the legend of how Jack Frost once wished to become human.
It all starts when Jack Frost, an immortal winter sprite, falls in love with a human girl named Elisa after rescuing her from going over a waterfall, thanks to the ice she was standing on being cracked by Kubla Kraus, the evil Cossack king who rules over the town of January Junction. Jack asks Father Winter if he can become human in order to be with her. Father Winter gives him a chance, but warns him that he must prove he can succeed as a human by earning a house, a horse, a bag of gold, and a wife by the first sign of spring; if not, he will become a sprite again. Jack agrees and turns human, assuming the identity of Jack Snip.
While on Earth, Jack learns that Kubla Kraus lives alone in his castle on Miserable Mountain with his iron horse Klangstumper, his clockwork butler Fetchkvetch, his army of K-nights, and ventriloquists’s fummy named Dummy as his sidekick, all made of iron since no human or animal could stand to live with him due to his arrogance and greed. He also possesses all the brick, gold and timber that January Junction used to have. After hearing this, Jack vows that Kraus shall be and will be overthrown. During his time in January Junction, Jack runs a tailor shop in Elisa’s house with his two friends who were also turned human, Snip, the snowflake maker, and Holly, the holiday snow gypsy (who were both sent by Father Winter to ensure Jack does not get into trouble while one Earth). Elisa is charmed by “Jack Snip,” but she harbors romantic dreams of Sir Raveneau, a “knight in golden armor.”
Elisa is soon kidnapped by Kraus and taken to his castle. After Elisa is rescued by Sir Raveneau, Kraus vows to destroy January Junction by sending one-thousands K-nights in an attempt to recapture his bride, and imprisons Jack, Snip and Holly in the dungeon. Jack gives up his humanity and decides to become a sprite again in order to whip up the biggest blizzard ever seen, freezing Kraus and his K-nights in the castle. Snip and Holly change back into sprites as well. This tactic works until Groundhog Dat arrives. As the sky is overcast with no sun to cast shadows, Jack Frost uses his magic shadow to scare Pete back into hibernation, and continues whipping up the storm.
Finally, with only one hour left before the arrival of spring, Jack returns to human form in an attempt to meet Father Winter’s conditions and win Elisa. He tricks the K-nights into walking off the icy mountain to their destruction by imitating Dummy. Afterwards, he battles Kubla Kraus, which ends with him falling out of the castle window and blown far away for good by Father Winter, leaving Jack to claim the gold for himself; tame Klangstumper, making him his horse; and claim the castle as his house.
He races off to ask Elisa for her hand in marriage, but during his absence, she has fallen in love with Sir Raveneau, and he with her. Jack becomes a sprite again for good, but despite his disappointment that he lost Elisa, gives the two his blessing by blowing ice into Elisa’s wedding bouquet, and heads back to his home in the winter clouds. The special concludes with Pete heading back to sleep for 6 more weeks of winter sleep.
Songs[]
- “Me and My Shadow”
- “The Christmas Song”
- “Jack Frost is Here”
- “It’s Lonely Being One of a Kind”
- “There’s the Rub”
- “She is Beautiful (I Will Woo Her)”
- “Just What I Always Wanted”
- “I’ve Got a Day Named After Me, February 2”
Voice cast[]
- Buddy Hackett as Pardon-Me-Pete
- Robert Morse as Jack Frost
- Paul Frees as Kubla Kraus, Father Winter
- Larry Storch as Papa, Dummy
- Dave Garroway as Groundhog Day Reporter
- Debra Clinger as Elisa
- Don Messick as Snip
- Dee Stratton as Mama
- Sonny Melendrez as Sir Raveneau Rightfellow
- Dina Lynn as Holly
External links[]
Jack Frost on YouTube