One verse of Frosty, the Snowman:
“There must have been some magic in
That old silk hat they found
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around”
I’m certainly aware of the song, but my wife, more tuned in to popular culture, had to enlighten me.
I knew the phrases were from the song, but had forgotten just what the magic was said to accomplish there. (Thanks Bob for filling that in.) But what is the magic, here in this cartoon? That the snowman has partially survived into the warmer next day? But with the sour irony that it’s a sloppy, ugly survival?
Pretty grim that the snowman’s melting head looks like a human skull
The magic turned him into a real person, and removing the hat/magic undid the alive part but left the skeleton behind, to be revealed when he melted?
I think you half have it, Walter Morris. The hat magically made him alive, and left him alive, but now he is dead/dying because a snowman can’t survive warmth and sunshine. They brought him to life only to be condemned to death.
There’s more magic in antiperspirant than in a hat, obviously . . .
‘Tis the season . . . for snow[wo]man jokes . . .
Walter has it. Their lack of understanding of the magic caused them to create a living being and then inadvertently killed him. It’s funny because it’s tragic!
Rhymes with Orange?????
>Pretty grim that the snowman’s melting head looks like a human skull
Doesn’t *look* like a human skull. *Is* a human skull.
It doesn’t make much sense if you think about but it was how Walter questioningly put it.
I mean it doesn’t make sense. Did the kids not *see* Frosty walking about being alive? Guess not, they came in late but… why *wasn’t* Frosty walking around being alive if he had the hat on? And why would being alive give him a skeleton; he didn’t turn into a human– he stayed a snowman but just came alive. And if he died why would his skeleton stay?
But still that’s what the joke is supposed to be. They threw the magic hat away. Frosty’s dead. And when he melts his decaying human skeleton remains.
SMBC’s take on the magic hat:
You’d think if it cost her her soul, it would at least be a woman’s hat.
Winter Wallaby: There must have been some tragic in that old silk hat they found.
I think part of the reason that I thought the first comic was funny is that I have never liked “Frosty”, so perhaps it was a little entertaining to see his demise. Even as a kid, I thought the “Frosty” (and “Rudolph”) animated specials were “artificial” and “commercial” (whereas “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” were “authentic” and “pure”). I still feel that way now.
P.S. I don’t remember ever seeing Snoopy skate into the Coca Cola logo in the original opener, but I doubt that it would have changed my opinion.
I agree 100% with Kilby.
@Kilby The Rudolf-themed “Noelco” sponsor spot for the show (they were resurrected recently) has been one of my all-time favorites due to the company name adjustment.
Comics I Don't Understand 
One verse of Frosty, the Snowman:
“There must have been some magic in
That old silk hat they found
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around”
I’m certainly aware of the song, but my wife, more tuned in to popular culture, had to enlighten me.
I knew the phrases were from the song, but had forgotten just what the magic was said to accomplish there. (Thanks Bob for filling that in.) But what is the magic, here in this cartoon? That the snowman has partially survived into the warmer next day? But with the sour irony that it’s a sloppy, ugly survival?
Pretty grim that the snowman’s melting head looks like a human skull
The magic turned him into a real person, and removing the hat/magic undid the alive part but left the skeleton behind, to be revealed when he melted?
I think you half have it, Walter Morris. The hat magically made him alive, and left him alive, but now he is dead/dying because a snowman can’t survive warmth and sunshine. They brought him to life only to be condemned to death.
There’s more magic in antiperspirant than in a hat, obviously . . .
‘Tis the season . . . for snow[wo]man jokes . . .
Walter has it. Their lack of understanding of the magic caused them to create a living being and then inadvertently killed him. It’s funny because it’s tragic!
Rhymes with Orange?????
>Pretty grim that the snowman’s melting head looks like a human skull
Doesn’t *look* like a human skull. *Is* a human skull.
It doesn’t make much sense if you think about but it was how Walter questioningly put it.
I mean it doesn’t make sense. Did the kids not *see* Frosty walking about being alive? Guess not, they came in late but… why *wasn’t* Frosty walking around being alive if he had the hat on? And why would being alive give him a skeleton; he didn’t turn into a human– he stayed a snowman but just came alive. And if he died why would his skeleton stay?
But still that’s what the joke is supposed to be. They threw the magic hat away. Frosty’s dead. And when he melts his decaying human skeleton remains.
SMBC’s take on the magic hat:
You’d think if it cost her her soul, it would at least be a woman’s hat.
Winter Wallaby: There must have been some tragic in that old silk hat they found.
I think part of the reason that I thought the first comic was funny is that I have never liked “Frosty”, so perhaps it was a little entertaining to see his demise. Even as a kid, I thought the “Frosty” (and “Rudolph”) animated specials were “artificial” and “commercial” (whereas “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” were “authentic” and “pure”). I still feel that way now.
P.S. I don’t remember ever seeing Snoopy skate into the Coca Cola logo in the original opener, but I doubt that it would have changed my opinion.
I agree 100% with Kilby.
@Kilby The Rudolf-themed “Noelco” sponsor spot for the show (they were resurrected recently) has been one of my all-time favorites due to the company name adjustment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO7s0VeC_Bk
Calvin’s learning to be more subtle.