NOTICE! This article contains SPOILERS for the ending of Hot Frosty!The holiday season has kicked off on Netflix with its first round of new Christmas movies, which includes the streaming hit Hot colda romantic comedy with similarities to a 1998 Michael Keaton film. In recent years, Netflix has transformed itself into the new Hallmark, as the streaming service annually produces a variety of Christmas romantic comedies covering a wide range of themes, romantic comedy settings and holiday tropes. In case of Hot coldcharacters from, Netflix uses the story of Frosty the Snowman to give Kathy (Lacey Chabert) another chance at love with a snowman magically transformed into a human.
In Hot coldThe magical powers of the Christmas spirit, romantic hope and a curious red scarf work to transform a snow sculpture into a human, who goes by the name Jack (Dustin Milligan). Until Jack officially becomes human in Hot coldIn his final moments, he still retains many qualities of a snowman, including cold body temperature, preference for eating ice, and inability to withstand hot environments. Hot coldthe premise can’t help but be reminiscent of another version of the classic Frosty the Snowman story, however Michael Keaton’s 1998 Christmas film featured a very different snowman come to life.
Hot Frosty flips the premise of Michael Keaton’s 1998 Christmas film Jack Frost
A man becomes a snowman in Jack Frost, while a snowman becomes a man in hot and cold weather
As both offer insight into the story of Frosty the Snowman, Hot cold and 1998 Jack Frost share some additional plot similarities as they bring anthropomorphic snowmen named Jack to life at Christmas time. However, Hot cold generally inverts the concept of Jack FrostThe Snowman of 2024, as the romantic comedy Christmas of 2024 turns a snowman into a human (with inner snowman qualities), while the 1998 dark fantasy turns the spirit of a dead father into a snowman talking and moving snow. While Hot cold explores the misadventures of a snowman becoming a man, Jack Frost documents the difficulties of a man becoming a snowman.
Yet, the two films share a similar setting to their Frosty stories. In Jack FrostMichael Keaton’s titular character gives his 11-year-old son a “magic” harmonica before he tragically dies in a car accident, which the grieving Charlie plays a year later and magically revives Jack in the form of his snowman outside. . Meanwhile, Kathy, who is mourning the recent death of her husband, receives a “magic” scarf in Hot coldwho her friends hope will help her find the second love of her life. After Kathy wraps the scarf around a humanoid snowman, he actually becomes human.
Jack Frost was technically Michael Keaton’s second Christmas film after 1992 Batman Returns.
While Hot cold is a romantic comedy and Jack Frost is a dark fantasy family film, both films poignantly use the short story Frosty the Snowman to address themes of grief and loss during the holidays. Jack’s sense of life and altruism in Hot cold helps Kathy learn to move on after her husband’s death, while Jack’s attentiveness and ability to truly be there for Charlie in Jack Frost help him get over his father’s death. However, while the themes still link to hope and recovery, the two Christmas films end on very different tones.
Hot Frosty has a much happier ending than Jack Frost
Jack Frost has a more bittersweet conclusion
Although they have similar premises, Jack Frost and Hot cold don’t end on the same happy note. Jack Frostthe ending is much more bittersweet than happyas Michael Keaton’s character must finally “to leave” after Christmas and return to the afterlife. Although Charlie finally spends Christmas at the cabin with his father and gets the prioritized time he always wanted, he still has to watch his late father’s spirit leave after losing his snowman appearance.
To be more similar to the themes and tone of Jack Frost, the ending of Hot Frosty would have to see Jack return to his snowman state.
About that, Hot cold ends on a high, optimistic note when Jack becomes human permanently and goes to Hawaii with Kathy. Of course, the 2024 Netflix film follows the holiday romantic comedy tropes of seeing the couple get together under seemingly impossible circumstances, so such an ending is expected. To be more like Jack Frost‘stone, Hot coldThe heartwarming ending would see Jack return to his snowman self, while Kathy moves on with a different romantic interest, still having learned from Jack that she can love again.
Why Jack Frost Bombed in Theaters in 1998
Jack Frost’s negative reviews didn’t help the box office
However Hot cold became a streaming hit when it reached the top spot on Netflix’s top 10 films upon its release, Jack Frost didn’t do very well in accumulating audiences in theaters in 1998. When Michael Keaton’s film was released, grossed just US$34.6 million at the box office against an estimated budget of more than US$40 million (through Variety). Considering it was released just in time for the holiday season on December 11th, Jack Frost Flopping in theaters was disappointing given its lack of competition with other family-friendly Christmas films.
|
Film |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score |
Rotten Tomatoes audience score |
|---|---|---|
|
Jack Frost (1998) |
19% |
40% |
|
Hot cold (2024) |
93% |
N/A |
Different Hot coldreception mainly positive, Jack FrostThe dismal box office performance can be partially explained by its negative reviews. The film currently holds a 19% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a slightly better audience response with a 40% score. Jack Frost also debuted in theaters with competition from Pixar’s family hit Bug’s Life and franchise installments Star Trek: Insurrectionthe latter also failed despite having better performance in theaters. More, Jack FrostThe snowman design was criticized as unpleasant and scary, which may have put some children off their desire to see a light-hearted Christmas film.
Source: Variety