This story contains spoilers for Hot Frosty! If you haven't seen the new Christmas film, you can check it out with a Netflix subscription.
When it comes to the 2024 Netflix schedule, there are plenty of great new Christmas movies you can check out. However, to me, one of the best is the funny yet heartfelt Hot Frosty. This film takes a deeper look into grief and loneliness at Christmas despite its fun name, and its two stars, Lacey Chabert and Dustin Milligan, sat down with me to talk about how much it truly means to them.
For a refresher, Hot Frosty is a cute rom-com that follows the story of a recent widow who discovers she has brought a snowman to life after placing a scarf around his neck. As they spend more time together, Jack the snowman (Milligan) begins to warm Kathy's (Chabert) heart and remind her what love truly feels like.
Christmas films aren't alien to the idea of including heavier topics, but many Netflix original Christmas films have strayed away from the idea. However, Hot Frosty openly talks about how grief affects us, especially during the holidays. Lacey Chabert, who's known for many Hallmark movies involving Christmas, told me it was a delight working on a film that did "dig deeper" while still keeping in tune with the holiday spirit:
It was a pleasant surprise for me because when I heard the premise of the movie and the title, I wasn't expecting my character to be on such a journey. And from the moment I read the first couple of pages, I realized that, 'Well, okay, this one is going to dig a little deeper.' And I think it'll take people by surprise. It's a beautiful journey where these characters really do need each other and help each other. And the arc of that I think is so charming. It's also super funny and it's romantic and it has lots of Christmas traditions that I think people will look to, and find comfort in. So, for me, it had a little bit of everything.
The movie definitely has its fair share of silly moments – like Jack watching TV to learn how to be a human and a cute dance that takes place at a middle school, of all places. But despite its more humorous scenes, both Jack and Kathy have some genuinely heartfelt moments that show what the healing process is like.
Milligan agreed with Chabert's sentiments, saying that having these two go on this adventure together was one of the "special things" about making this film and telling this story in general:
That's one of the special things about, I think, this movie in particular is that…there was so much joy that we had literally every single day. And we're very fortunate that that actually made it all the way through all the editing and everything into the final product. And yeah, getting to have these characters go on this journey where there are definitely heavier topics being explored, and I think very realistic, grounded experiences, life experiences that these characters are confronted with and having to work through together. It's nice. It takes you by surprise a little bit and then comes around to that place of joy at the end of it, where despite all of the hardships, despite everything that we have to overcome when we lean on each other and we rely on each other and learn to see each other, there's joy to be found.
Hot Frosty dominated the charts when it was first released on Netflix and is still in the Top 10 now, with critics calling it "cheeky, wonton lust," which is honestly exactly what you need during the holidays.
However, through it all, there's a lot of warmth and joy to be found, and having the chance to dig a little deeper into the idea of grief and healing during the holidays is something I am always down to watch.
