Tom and Jerry: Frosty Returns

Tom and Jerry: Frosty Returns is a upcoming animated musical comedy film, a crossover adaptation of the CBS television film Frosty Returns (1992), and the next release in Warner Home Video's Tom and Jerry Crossover Collection, conceived by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment with the direction of Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone, and the plan for 2022 holiday release.

Summary
Tom and Jerry come back with a famous snowman in Tom and Jerry: Frosty Returns, an all-new one-hour. made-for-DVD feature length movie, ever to be set in the middle of winter, following the Christmas and New Year holidays. Mandy Patinkin (Smurfs: The Lost Treasure), an imitating substitution of the late Jonathan Winters (The Thief and the Cobbler and The Flintstones) narrates this tuneful winter adventure about a heroic cat and mouse, who travels to the lovely town of Beansboro, where they meet a little girl named Holly and their very old, but still magically "all-living" friend – Frosty the Snowman himself, accompanied by Jerry's nephew Nibbles! Tom, Jerry, Nibbles, Holly and Frosty love the snow, but the other citizens of Beansboro think it's a nuisance. So Mr. Twitchell, a power-hungry tycoon, invents a new product that will eliminate snow with a small spritz from a can to turn all winter into summer. Now, to put a stop to Mr. Twitchell's "summer wheezing" scheme to take over the world, Frosty, Holly, Nibbles, Tom and Jerry will have to convince the people that snow is good for the environment and fun for the children. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Tom and Jerry: The Movie and the original CBS television special, Tom and Jerry: Frosty Returns brings back the all-star voice talents of John Goodman (We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story), Brian Doyle-Murray (Stuart Little), Elisabeth Moss (Once Upon A Forest), Andrea Martin (Rugrats and Anastasia) and re-introducing Richard Kind (A Bug's Life) and Stephanie Nadolny (Dragon Ball) as Tom and Jerry themselves, plus original songs by Mark Mothersbaugh and new musical numbers by Michael Tavera (The Land Before Time).

Plot
The special begins with a musical number showing that Beansboro Elementary School is canceled for the day due to a seven-inch snowfall. While the adults incessantly complain about the problems snow and ice cause, the children enjoy the opportunity to play outside.

The scene then shifts to Holly DeCarlo, a lonely young girl and aspiring magician with only one friend, a tone-deaf, somewhat geeky character named Charles who has a knack for climatology. While practicing a magic act with Charles, the wind blows Holly's hat off her head, out the window, and onto a snowman who comes to life as Frosty, thus revealing that Holly's hat was "that old silk hat" featured in the original song and previous adaptations.

Meanwhile, a new product appears in Beansboro that successfully causes snow to instantly disappear (and Frosty to scream in agonizing pain), an aerosol spray called "Summer Wheeze." Summer Wheeze's inventor, Mr. Twitchell, hopes to use the product to win over the people of Beansboro so that he will be crowned King of the Beansboro Winter Carnival, apparently believing that the title will give him actual dominion over the townspeople (at least once, Twitchell also indicates he is waging war against Mother Nature, implying he is actually seeking world domination and that Beansboro is simply his first step). At a presentation before the town council, one of the trustees voices concern about the environmental impact of the untested product, to which Mr. Twitchell responds by opening a trapdoor beneath her seat.

To Twitchell's delight, and Frosty's dismay, the town of Beansboro falls head over heels for "Summer Wheeze," causing Frosty to fear for his long-term safety. When many of their classmates rally for the elimination of snow when in class the next day, only a day after singing about its virtues, Holly and Charles take on the duties of protecting Frosty, including hiding him in a freezer and securing refuge for him in an ice castle built for the Carnival. Later, Holly gets Frosty to appear at the Winter Carnival in an attempt to persuade the townspeople to rethink their hatred of snow. Singing about the joy of winter, Frosty is unanimously declared king of the carnival. Out of revenge for ruining his business, Mr. Twitchell tries to run over Frosty with his delivery truck but misses and falls in a frozen lake. In the end, Frosty and Holly make amends with Mr. Twitchell (where he now realizes that he's no match for Mother Nature) let him wear the crown and cape and let him ride in the sled of the carnival king. Later Frosty must leave Beansboro, but he assures Holly that he will be back again someday (as alluded to in the song).

Characters

 * Tom - A blue-grey cat
 * Jerry - A brown mouse
 * Toodles Galore - A little yellow cat who is Tom's girlfriend
 * Toots - A light brown mouse who is Jerry's girlfriend
 * Nibbles - A diaper-wearing grey mouse who is Jerry's nephew
 * Robyn Starling (mentioned)
 * Mr. Starling (mentioned)
 * Aunt Pristine Figg (mentioned)
 * Lickboot (mentioned)
 * Ferdinand (mentioned)
 * Spike - A bulldog
 * Tyke - Spike's son
 * Muscles
 * Joey
 * Butch Cat
 * Meathead Cat
 * Lightning Cat
 * Topsy Cat
 * Droopy
 * Screwball Squirrel
 * Butch Dog
 * Red
 * Slick McWolf
 * Frosty - A magic snowman
 * Holly DeCarlo - A little girl who wants to be a Magician
 * Lilly DeCarlo - Holly's mother
 * Charles - A boy who is Holly's best friend
 * Mr. Twitchell
 * Jonathan Winters - The toy or doll-size narrator who rides his snowflake and possesses magic
 * Santa Claus (mentioned)
 * Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (mentioned)
 * Karen (mentioned)
 * Professor Hinkle (mentioned)
 * Hocus Pocus (mentioned)

Cast

 * Mandy Patinkin - Jonathan Winters
 * Richard Kind - Tom Cat
 * Stephanie Nadolny - Jerry Mouse
 * Kath Soucie - Nibbles Mouse
 * John Goodman - Frosty the Snowman
 * Elisabeth Moss - Holly DeCarlo
 * Mona Marshall - Lilly DeCarlo
 * Elizabeth Daily - Charles
 * Andrea Martin - Ms. Carbuncle
 * Brian Doyle-Murray - Mr. Twitchell

Company Credits
Production - Warner Bros. Animation, Turner Entertainment Co.

Animation Services - Madhouse, Inc., Digital eMation, Inc.

Sound Effects - Fizz Sound Creation Co., Ltd., Jet Sound Engine Co., Ltd., Swara Pro C., Ltd.

Development
Frosty Returns is not a direct sequel to the original Rankin/Bass Christmas classic, Frosty the Snowman (1969), as the two were produced by different companies (Rankin/Bass produced the original, while this special was made by Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video, with help from longtime Peanuts director Bill Melendez, for CBS), and feature different characters, setting and voice actors. Because of Michaels' involvement, most of the cast consisted of sketch comedians from Michaels's other shows; Andrea Martin had starred in The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, while Jan Hooks and Brian Doyle-Murray were cast members on Saturday Night Live (a show where John Goodman had made frequent guest appearances). Since Broadway Video produced this special and owned the 1969 original prior to Golden Books' acquisition of the Videocraft International catalog in 1996, Frosty Returns follows the CBS showings of the original and is coupled with the original on all DVD releases.

Although Rankin/Bass had produced a sequel to Frosty with most of the original cast and in the original style, the rights to the original and the sequel were broken up when the company dissolved in 1987. The original, having been produced prior to the 1974 dividing line, had been owned by CBS in terms of the broadcast license, but Frosty's Winter Wonderland was produced after 1974 and thus is part of the package now owned by Warner Bros. and licensed to Freeform.

Overseas Animation (Outsourcing Animation)
The animation services will be handled by Japan's Madhouse, and shared with South Korea's Digital eMation.

Music
Frosty Returns is a musical special, with two songs featured prominently on the soundtrack. Frosty the Snowman is featured at the beginning as an instrumental and sung by the entire cast at the closing credits. Let There Be Snow is an original piece composed for the special, with three verses (each sung by a different character) sung at various points in the special. The opening theme for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's classic Tom and Jerry cartoon series by Scott Bradley is featured in the film.

Songs

 * We Love the Snow - sung by the children and adults of Beansboro
 * Let There Be Snow/There's No More Snow - sung by Frosty, Holly, Mr. Twitchell, Tom, Jerry and Nibbles
 * My Heart Will Go On (later renamed Our Hearts Will Go On) - sung by Toodles Galore and Toots
 * Let There Be Snow (reprise) - Frosty, Holly, Charles, Tom, Jerry, Nibbles and the adults of Beansboro
 * Friends to the End - sung by Tom and Jerry
 * Frosty the Snowman (ending credits) - sung by the children choir
 * My Heart Will Go On (ending credits) - sung by Celine Dion and the choir

Trivia

 * Rated PG for Very mild fantasy violence, threat, mild peril, very mild bad language.
 * Running Time: 91 Minutes-87 Minutes.

Continuity

 * This is the fourth Tom and Jerry feature film to be animated in Japan.
 * Despite its association with Rankin/Bass' Frosty the Snowman (1969), Frosty Returns has a notable lack of continuity with it. For example, Frosty has a different physical appearance, more knowledge of the world, and a more streetwise sense of humor compared to the naïve original Frosty. He has the ability to live without his magic hat, which would immediately cause him to revert to being an inanimate snowman in the original version and its other sequels. Even so, Frosty still has his corncob pipe and his broomstick. As with Frosty's Winter Wonderland there is no mention of Christmas or Santa Claus, and Charles suggests making a "fertility goddess" in the snow.
 * As an unofficial sequel to Tom and Jerry Meet Frosty the Snowman, the film is set between three years after the events of the previous film, and two years before the events of Tom and Jerry: Frosty's Winter Wonderland. At this time, Tom and Jerry are not yet married to Toodles Galore and Toots, for they were still dating.

Jonathan Winters

 * Some folks say, "You really want to see the country? Take a bus, hop a train, or ride a bike or even a horse. Me? I'm an old-fashioned kind of guy. Stick to what I know: snowflakes. And since I look familiar to you, please call me Jonathan Winters. Now, I know that snow is not for everyone, but as long as you pack light, I mean, and wear at least three layers of undies, it's a lovely way to spend the winter. Oh, and a cautious way to crunch some rock or hard candy.
 * If my calculations are correct, we should be landing in Beansboro. It's a nice little town with plenty of parking space and lots of cocoa.
 * Ahh, there's nothing like the first snow of the season. And believe me or yourself, nobody likes it more than the folks of Beansboro. They got this annual winter carnival just two weeks after New Year's Day, which follows Christmas Day, you see? And this old man has been coming to it since he was knee-high to a snow cone. Whoa! Ooh-ohh-ohhh! I'll have to catch up with you later! Alright?
 * Hello, it's me again. You probably recognize these two familiar faces too. This is Frosty the Snowman, from Christmas Town in the North Pole.
 * You remember the story of how Frosty respectively came to life, but you're probably wondering what he's doing here in Beansboro. Well, Nibbles and I let him explain that in a bit, because right now this where Frosty and Nibbles meet Tom, Jerry and Holly, these main characters of this story. Now, Nibbles, to draw your uncle and friends' attention...
 * Here they come, Nibbles. Get ready, and stay behind Frosty.

Frosty the Snowman

 * Oh, no you don't. If you wanna take something, take a tie, unless you think I need it. I thought it'd look nice on me here. How do you all dress for this Winter Carnival anyway? I mean, I don't wanna under-dress, but if I could get away with a tank top or something more "cas."
 * The name is Frosty. Frosty the Snowman.
 * No... Not the Holly DeCarlo, one of the world-famous magicians! Ha, imagine that! A little girl we meet in this town, like yourself, could be the second famous magician after my old friend, Professor Hinkle, along with his rabbit Hocus Pocus. I bet it might surprise Karen when she and her mother come here to Beansboro for a winter vacation.
 * Oh, like say a talking snowman doing a cartwheel? Or tooting his corncob pipe like some one-eyed, muscular sailor man like Popeye? Or performing martial arts like Tom and Jerry, but with magic this time? Or even singing like Giacomo Puccini? Or maybe dancing a mean mambo?

Toots Mouse

 * Hi, Jer.
 * Now, what would your mama think about that kind of behavior?