Frosty

Frosty is the title character in the beloved Christmas song "Frosty the Snowman," and the star of multiple Rankin/Bass specials. Frosty was built by a group of kids, including Karen, during a break from school. The wind blows the hat of Professor Hinkle onto Frosty's head, and suddenly the snowman comes to life, with a cheerful "Happy Birthday!" Frosty is good-natured and playful, but also somewhat naive due to his relative youth (having just been "born"). He is unable to count above four.

Frosty has two physical weaknesses: the tendency to melt in warm weather, and the tophat, without which he becomes another inanimate snowman. In the first Frosty the Snowman special, these worries are easily remedied: Professor Hinkle's attempts to retrieve the hat are foiled, and Santa Claus revives the melted Frosty, and takes him to the North Pole.

Frosty promised to be back again one day, however, and in Frosty's Winter Wonderland, he fulfills his promise; the character design is only slightly altered from his original appearance, primarily the addition of a scarf. As much as he enjoys playing with the kids, Frosty becomes lonely when they return to their homes. To remedy this, the kids construct a snow-woman, who Frosty names Crystal. She comes to life when Frosty presents her with a bouquet of flowers, a gift of love. Despite the interference of Jack Frost, who attempts to steal the hat out of jealousy, the couple are wed by a snow parson (and Jack is mollified when asked to serve as best man).

A stop-motion version of Frosty appears in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July. By now, he and Crystal have two snow children, Chilly and Milly (the means by which snow people procreate is ignored; possibly, they simply built their own children out of snow). In this production, Frosty is the best friend of Rudolph, who serves as adoptive uncle to the children. Frosty accompanies Rudolph to an unnamed American town in the summer, protected by the evil Winterbolt's amulet. The pair generally enjoy their time performing with Lily Lorraine's circus. When Rudolph is framed for a crime he didn't commit, Frosty comes to his friend's aide, offering to sacrifice his life in exchange for helping Rudolph and protecting his family. Winterbolt betrays him, but Rudolph is able to retrieve the hat. To celebrate, Frosty and Rudolph sing a variation of "We're a Couple of Misfits" (from the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special. The Frosty family eventually does melt, but is brought back to life by Jack Frost, and they return to the North Pole with Santa.

Other versions
Frosty Returns, a semi unofficial sequel to the original Rankin/Bass special, features John Goodman as the voice of Frosty, who this time concerns himself with the effects of environmental pollution.