10 Random and Geeky Facts about Fictional Snowmen

It’s the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season, bringing with it all those magical winter holiday specials. Yet, somehow, this movie, Hot Frosty, debuted at Number One on the Netflix lists last week starring Lacey Chabert and Dusty Milligan:

Now, obviously this is a spoof of the Hallmark-y Christmas rom-com, but somehow, I am not sure I’m ready for sexy snow people. I am ready, however, to share a few fun, geeky, and random facts about fictional snowmen from movies, television, and even video games:

1. Everyone knows the real Frosty the Snowman of Christmas specials ain’t “hot,” but part of 1969 the Rankin/Bass animated film based on the 1950 song. Frosty was voiced in this by comedian and character actor Jackie Vernon, but the best known voice if probably that of Jimmy Durante as the narrator. Although Durante passed away more than ten years later in 1980, this special was Durante’s last performance as he suffered a stroke in 1972.

2. Frosty was the title character, but the main character in the special was the kind-hearted and brave little girl, Karen. Sadly, the original voice for Karen is not known, as the studio went in during the 1970s and re-did her voice with prolific voice actress June Foray. You can hear her long lost voice here:

3. In 1997 and 1998, consecutively, two snowman-based movies named Jack Frost came out. The first was a horror movie about serial killer mutating into a vengeful snowman. The second is a family film starring Michael Keaton where a dad is killed and returns as a snowman to make amends with his family. Both snowmen have been considered equally creepy.

4. One of the big criticisms of Keaton’s frosty film is the snowman effect was just unsettling. This is likely because the snowman, designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, was designed to look more like actor George Clooney. Clooney was originally cast as the role, before leaving to do another film, Batman & Robin. 

5. In the 1993 Nintendo fighting game Clayfighter, one of the original characters was Bad Mr. Frosty, a snowman with an attitude. According to the game’s lore, he was once a regular, mild mannered snowman before being hit by the “Clayterian meteor.” He now lives in an eternal winter, and can turn into a normal snowman, igloo, big snowball, or pile of snow. He was so popular, only he and the Blob have been playable characters in every version of the game.

6. The “coolest” character in the film Elf was the claymation Leon the Snowman, inspired by the Burl Ives’ Sam the Snowman of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer fame. Leon was, of course, played by bluesy jazz singer Leon Redbone, who sang a version of “Frosty the Snowman” with Dr. John on his 1988 Christmas Island album long before Elf was released.

7. Just like there are two leads in the Disney film Frozen, Anna and Elsa, there are two snowmen. Everyone knows Olaf, but Anna’s guardian snowman Marshmallow, actually came first. The big snow monster was part of the plot, back when Anna was originally a villain. Olaf is now one of the most popular of the newer Disney characters, but he didn’t start out as a snowman. He was first intended to be  a penguin. 

8. There’s  even a manga and anime featuring a snowman sidekick, The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl. The story’s hero Himuro is descended of a snow woman, Yuki-Onna and possesses icy powers (his anime means “icehouse” in Japanese). One of the things he can do when he is in a good mood is create  little snowmen, and they have been known to hover around him and those he likes.

9. One of the most celebrated snowmen tales in the United Kingdom is BAFTA Award winning and Academy Award nominated short The Snowman, based on the children’s book of the same name. This beautiful and melancholy tale of a young boy who befriends a snowman, had several openings over time featuring a variety of celebrities ranging from the book’s author Raymond Briggs to comedian Mel Smith. One notable, however, was from David Bowie.

10. Of course one snowman that needs mentioning is the Abominable Snowman! He has appeared in several ways in film and television including the Abominable Snow Monster (aka Bumble) from Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer to the Yeti In Monster’s Inc. He finally got his own adorable leading role in 2019 in the DreamWorks film Abominable.

Before winter hits this year, make sure you gather your snowmen together for a good winter tale, whether it’s family holiday favorites, spooky tales, fantasy or even, weirdly enough, rom-coms.