Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979)

Long ago the Lady Borealis placed the evil Winterbolt under a magic spell, and put the last of her magic into the nose of a newborn reindeer: Rudolph. But now Winterbolt's awake. He gives ... See full summary »

Directors:

Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.

Writer:

Romeo Muller

Stars:

Red Buttons, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Red Buttons	...	Milton (voice)
Ethel Merman	...	Lilly Loraine (voice)
Mickey Rooney	...	Santa Claus (voice)
Alan Sues	...	Scratcher the Jealous Reindeer (voice)
Jackie Vernon	...	Frosty (voice)
Shelley Winters	...	Crystal (voice)
Paul Frees	...	Winterbolt / Jack Frost / Policeman (voice)
Billie Mae Richards	...	Rudolph (voice)
Harold Peary	...	Big Ben (voice) (as Hal Peary)
Shelby Flint	...	Laine, Lilly's daughter (voice)
Don Messick	...	Sam Spangles (voice)
Darlene Conley	...	Mrs. Santa Claus (voice)
Nellie Bellflower	...	Lady Boreal (voice)
Steffi Calli	...	(voice)
Howard Shapiro	...	(voice)

Storyline

Long ago the Lady Borealis placed the evil Winterbolt under a magic spell, and put the last of her magic into the nose of a newborn reindeer: Rudolph. But now Winterbolt's awake. He gives Frosty's family magic amulets to keep them from melting until the Fourth of July so that Frosty and Rudolph can help Lilly's circus and Milton can marry his girlfriend on the high-wire, and Santa will use his sleigh to make sure everybody gets back to the North Pole in time...which leaves Winterbolt alone at the North Pole on the Fourth...

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Plot Keywords:

christmas special | 1970s | july | character names in title | rudolph the red nosed reindeer character | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rankin/Bass Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was released theatrically first, but it played on only a few dates and was a flop. One sheet from the theatrical release is out there, but rare.

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Quotes

Lilly Loraine: Elephants? I thought the midgets were going to play the elves.
Clown: Nah, they wanna play the polar bears.
Lilly Loraine: Actors.

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Connections

Follows Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976)

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Soundtracks

Frosty the Snowman
Wrtitten by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins
Performed by Chorus

User Reviews

There was absolutely nothing wrong with this holiday special. Period.

I truly believe that most of the negative reviews are just a result of people jumping on the bandwagon about "the Rankin and Bass special we're not supposed to like." One might ask then, why did it "flop" at the box office? It sounds like it was very poor marketing to have released it in July. Just because the story was set in July does not change the fact that it is a Christmas story in every sense of the word and should be shown at Christmas time. That was a tactical error which caused it to fail, obtain a bad reputation, and now everyone just agrees that it's bad without thinking for themselves. Judged on its content, it's a great story and the complaints against it make little sense. For one thing, it's a major mistake to compare this to the earlier Rankin and Bass specials, as if this movie was somehow made to be in competition with them. It was obviously created to complement them and it does an excellent job of it. Secondly, it is a delightful, heartwarming movie that anyone with a soul should enjoy. Thirdly, the movie does a very clever job of incorporating the many favorite Rankin and Bass specials together and reinforces the idea that it is all in one universe. It provides closure to many aspects of the specials, such as Frosty and Crystal's life and family together, their ongoing friendship with their former advisory Jack Frost, Rudolph's origin, and many other details. It even subtly explains Santa's more idiosyncratic behavior in past specials, such as his grumpiness in Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and self-pity in Year Without A Santa Clause. He says to Mrs. Santa Clause, "I'm not the easiest man to get along with" and she says, "Only when it gets close to Christmas Eve." It's really a very significant special and it's a shame that it's lost on some. So, folks, watch this delightful Christmas movie, don't be influenced by the hate that others have directed towards it, avoid holding it to crazy standards that no other fantasy movie would be held to, just lighten up, sit back, and enjoy Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July with an open mind and a happy heart.