''Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July'' (titled on-screen as ''Rudolph and Frosty: Christmas in July'', or simply ''Rudolph and Frosty'') is an American-Japanese

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

produced by

Rankin/Bass Productions Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

, featuring characters from the company's holiday specials ''

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

'' (1964) and ''

Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante. It was written after the success o ...

'' (1969), among others. It was filmed in Japan using the company's trademark "Animagic"

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animation style. The film premiered in the US on November 25, 1979, on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. This was the last Rankin/Bass special to star

Billie Mae Richards Billie Mae Richards (née Dinsmore, November 21, 1921 – September 10, 2010) was a Canadian voice actress, who also appeared onstage and on television. She was the voice of Rankin/Bass' version of the character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer fr ...

as Rudolph and Jackie Vernon as Frosty.

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

reprised his role as

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

from ''

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'' (1970) and ''

The Year Without a Santa Claus ''The Year Without a Santa Claus'' is a 1974 stop motion animated Christmas television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The story is based on Phyllis McGinley's 1956 book of the same name. It is narrated by Shirley Booth (her final ...

'' (1974). Additional voices were provided by

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, and

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

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and Frees reprised their roles as Frosty's wife Crystal and Jack Frost from ''

Frosty's Winter Wonderland ''Frosty's Winter Wonderland'' is a 1976 animated Christmas television special and a standalone sequel to the 1969 special '' Frosty the Snowman'', produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and animated by Topcraft. It is the second television special ...

'', and

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reprised his role as Big Ben the Clockwork Whale from ''

Rudolph's Shiny New Year ''Rudolph's Shiny New Year'' is a 1976 American-Japanese Christmas and New Year's stop motion animated television special and a standalone sequel to the 1964 special ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' produced by Rankin/Bass Productions. The ...

''. This was the final Rankin/Bass special to use Rudolph and Frosty. All other specials/films starring the characters were produced by other companies.

Plot

Long ago, a powerful, evil snow wizard named Winterbolt caused havoc until Lady Boreal, the Queen of the Northern Lights, put him in a deep sleep. Years later, Winterbolt awakens and Boreal transfers the last of her power into Rudolph's red nose when he is born, which will stop glowing if it is ever used for evil. Winterbolt learns of this and plans to dispose of Rudolph. Meanwhile, an ice cream man named Milton arrives and tells Rudolph and Frosty that he plans to marry Lilly Loraine's daughter Lainie if they star in the local circus. Winterbolt offers Frosty and his family magic amulets to keep them from melting, which will only last until the final firework fades on July 4. Santa agrees to pick them up before the magic wears off, but Winterbolt creates a blizzard to prevent him and Mrs. Claus from arriving on time. At the Caves of Lost Rejections, he recruits an unintelligent, nasty reindeer named Scratcher, who is jealous because he wanted to be one of Santa's reindeer, but was fired when Santa hired Rudolph. They alongside a man named Sam Spangles plan to get Rudolph to steal from the circus, which will make him appear to be evil and rid him of his magic. Meanwhile, Frosty discovers Scratcher's conspiracy and wants to help Rudolph. Winterbolt takes advantage of Frosty as well by agreeing to help Rudolph in exchange for his hat, intending to use it to create an army of evil snowmen. Rudolph manages to defeat Winterbolt, gets the hat back, and his nose regains its glow. Rudolph returns to the circus with a police officer named Officer Kelly who exonerates him and returns Frosty's hat and the circus money, bringing him back to life. Winterbolt arrives and tries to attack everyone, but Lilly breaks his scepter, causing him to turn into a tree. After this, Sam is arrested, Scratcher disappears, and all of Winterbolt's spells wear off, but Frosty and his family melt as their amulets are no longer active. However, Rudolph’s old friend Big Ben arrives in time with Jack Frost who brings Frosty and his family back to life. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive to help Jack Frost take the snowmen back home while Rudolph stays behind to help the circus until they’re out of debt and leads the flying circus parade with the circus animals who can now fly with some of Santa’s magic feed corn.

Voice cast

Songs

* "

– Chorus * "Everything I've Always Wanted" – Crystal * "Everything I've Always Wanted (reprise)" – Milton * "Everyday Is Just Like Christmas" – Lily * "Chicken Today And Feathers Tomorrow" – Lily * "I See Rainbows" – Santa, Chorus * "Don't Let The Parade Pass You By" – Lily * "

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during the American Civil War, but despairing ...

" – Chorus * "

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had s ...

" – Lanie, Chorus * "Everything I've Always Wanted (second reprise) – Frosty * "No Bed of Roses" – Rudolph * "

" – Chorus * "Now And Then" – Frosty * "We're a Couple of Misfits" – Frosty and Rudolph * "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (reprise)" – Lily, Chorus

References

External links