Frosty the Snowman (found original June Foray voice recording of animated Christmas special; 1969)

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Frostythesnowman.jpg

The cast of "Frosty the Smowman", with deuteragonist Karen.

Status: Found

Date found: Dec. 21st, 2016

Found by: FamulatorAlt

Frosty the Snowman is an animated Christmas special that first aired on CBS on December 7, 1969.

This special, written by Romeo Muller and produced and directed by Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass, is based on the holiday song of the same name, originally written by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson and first performed by Gene Autry in the 1940s.

Plot

The plot involves a discarded silk top hat becoming the focus of a struggle between a washed-up stage magician named Professor Hinkle, and a group of schoolchildren after it magically brings a snowman to life. Realizing that newly-living Frosty will melt in Spring unless he takes refuge in a colder climate, Frosty and a young girl named Karen, who he befriends stow away on a freight train headed for the North Pole. Little do they know that the magician is following them, and he wants his hat back.

June Foray

June Foray originally recorded the part of Karen but was replaced by an unknown actress, a year after Frosty first aired; Foray recalled her experiences in the book The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass: "I was called in to voice the little girl Karen. I was disappointed to learn later that my work for the Karen character was replaced by another actress. To this day I am unsure of the reason, but I still enjoy the special." Foray's voice can be heard on the Rhino Records soundtrack.

The original airing of the special with Karen's original voice is currently impossible to find, even on the internet.

Discoveries

On June 22, 2016, YouTuber forever90s posted a comparison between a Frosty the Snowman VHS and a Blu-ray of the special. This revealed that the BD restored some of June Foray's audio - but for one of the supporting characters, rather than Karen. Unfortunately, the description of the video doesn't say if this applies to all Frosty BDs or just some of them. (Frosty the Snowman had received at least two Blu-ray releases by the time this video appeared.)

Voice Restoration

On December 21, 2016, YouTuber FamulatorAlt shared a "Voice Restoration" of Frosty the Snowman. Using the Rhino CD, and an HD copy of the special (possibly the same one used in the earlier comparison), it re-creates how the special would have aired with June Foray's voice intact.

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