Frosty the Snowman
The same production company who gave us Rudolph (Rankin/Bass) returned five years later with Frosty the Snowman, casting comedian Jimmy Durante as the short's narrator, and Jackie Vernon as the voice of Frosty himself. Abandoning the stop-motion work of Rudolph for more conventional animation — reportedly in the hopes of mimicking the look and feel of a Christmas card — Frosty's story starts with a greedy magician in search of his magical top hat. Animated by the headwear, Frosty runs amok all over town, accompanied by a group of youthful admirers. Concerned that the weather will harm his new friends, Frosty convinces them to all take shelter in a greenhouse. Then (spoiler alert), Frosty dies! Santa shows up to reassure the kids that the jolly happy soul will be back next Christmas.