Jack Frost (Russian: Морозко, Morozko) is a traditional Russian Fairy tale which served as the basis for a Soviet production (Gorky Film Studio) that was originally released in 1964. A version with a new soundtrack was released in 1966 in the U.S. It was directed by Aleksandr Rou, and starred Eduard Izotov as Ivan, Natalya Sedykh as Nastenka, and Oleksandr Khvylia as Father Frost. The script was written by Nikolai Erdman. The soundtrack was composed by Nikolai Budashkin, who was inspired by the works of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

The original folk tale[link]

The lovely, humble Nastenka is despised by her stepmother who favors her own daughter. After forcing Nastenka to knit socks before the rooster crows (with Nastenka ultimately imploring the sun to go down again so she can have more time), Nastenka's stepmother gives Nastenka the tasks of feeding the chickens, watering the cattle, splitting wood, and sweeping the yard. We are then introduced to Ivan, who, finishing his chores, heads out into the woods after receiving some final words of guidance from his mother, such as not forgetting his mother, not harming the weak, and honoring those who are old. To all these pieces of advice Ivan off-handedly replies "Don't worry" repeatedly.

The story then cuts to a group of bandits in the middle of a version of "she loves me, she loves me not" replaced with the phrases "we will rob them, we will not rob them/we will eat them, we won't eat them/we will beat them, we will be beaten." While traveling in the woods, Ivan is accosted by these bandits, with the bandits proclaiming "you're captured, and now, young man, we're going to rob you." Ivan quickly distracts them and tosses their wooden clubs so high in the air that he claims they won't fall down again before winter. Later, Ivan meets the elderly Father Mushroom, who playfully challenges Ivan to try and catch him, offering a prize if he does. Being able to turn invisible, Father Mushroom soon wins, and offers a contrite Ivan the prize anyway - a fine bow and quiver of arrows. However, when asked to bow before him in gratitude, Ivan boastfully declares "the bear may bow before you, but not Ivan" and leaves. Father Mushroom remarks that the bear indeed would bow before him, but it would be Ivan's back that would bend.

Later, Ivan comes across Nastenka in the woods, ordered to pour water on a stump to make flowers grow in it. Taken by her beauty, he immediately asks her to marry him, citing his fine health and many accomplishments. She demurs, noting that he is too much of a braggart. Eager to prove his worth, he attempts to shoot a mother bear with her cubs. Father Mushroom is watching nearby, and as the panicked Nastenka puts her water bucket on his head, he changes Ivan's head into a bear. Horrified at the change, Ivan accuses Nastenka of being a witch and runs off, leaving her to sorrowfully weep alone by the stump, her tears causing flowers to grow from it.

Wandering the land, Ivan comes across Father Mushroom again, who scolds Ivan over his selfish nature, and how he never acted selflessly for anyone else. Thinking that all he had to do was a good deed, Ivan immediately seeks out people, demanding to know how he can help them; having a bear's head only terrifies them, however, and they all flee from him. He finally comes across an old woman carrying sticks to her home and offers to carry her, despite the distance being over many mountains. Arriving at her home, the woman thanks Ivan, noting how handsome he must be; though Ivan notes he is still a bear and thinks she is mocking him, she explains that she is blind - which is why she didn't run from him. Returning to the woods where he and Nastenka first met, Ivan comes across the old woman's walking stick and takes pity on her, vowing to return it. Nearby, Father Mushroom is pleased at his selflessness and restores Ivan to human form. The stick then vanishes.

Illustration by Ivan Bilibin.

Meanwhile, the evil stepmother is trying to marry off the other daughter. A wealthy suitor comes and after a while says he wants Nastenka instead. The mother can't have this, so she orders her husband to go drop Nastenka off in the woods. There, she comes across Father Frost (aka Jack Frost). At the same time, winter appears in minutes. Ivan is searching for Nastenka, now that he's fully human again. He comes across the witch Baba Yaga, whom he pleads for aid to find Nastenka. She flatly refuses to help, and after a short battle of wills (which the old woman loses), animates a group of trees to kill Ivan. After nearly being cooked alive, Ivan tricks her and threatens to bake the witch in her own oven until she tells him how to find Nastenka. Meanwhile, Nastenka and Father Frost travel over the snow to his dwelling. While Father Frost is running some errands, Nastenka accidentally touches his staff, which freezes her forever. Ivan arrives to find her frozen and apologizes for his rude behavior, pleading for her to return to life as he kisses her (a plot element obviously shared with Sleeping Beauty). The power of love trumps the staff's power, and she is restored. To celebrate, Father Frost gives Nastenka and Ivan a large dowry for their impending nuptials.

They return to the village, where Nastenka's greedy stepsister eyes their fortune and demands the same. Unfortunately for her, when she tries to duplicate Nastenka's adventure in the snowbound forest, Father Frost is so horrified by her rudeness that he sends her back on a pig-driven sleigh, with a box full of crows as a dowry. On their way to Ivan's home, he and Nastenka are accosted by the bandits he'd encountered before, with help from the witch. After being overpowered, they are saved when the clubs fall conveniently on the bandits' heads, and they trap the witch in her own giant mortar. At the end, Nastenka and Ivan have a sumptuous wedding.

DVD release and other influences[link]

The original Russian version was released on DVD in 2000 by Ruscico under the cover title Father Frost. It has nine different subtitle options including English, as well as Russian, English and French audio tracks and special features.

It was previously released on VHS by United Home Video under the title Magical Wonderland.

In 1997, Jack Frost was the featured film on the movie-mocking television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 as experiment (episode) #813; it was released on DVD July 13, 2010 as part of the series' Volume XVIII DVD set.^[1]

Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych, a 2006 Russian animated film, parodies Jack Frost (especially the scenes with Baba Yaga and the trees). The Tartars take the part of the bandits in the original film. Jack Frost has also been shown on Czech and Slovak TV channels at Christmas time (usually around New Year's Day) annually for at least the past 25 years (as of 2010).

References[link]

External links[link]

• Morozko at the Internet Movie Database
• MST3K Episode Guide: Jack Frost
• Review of Ruscico DVD (in Russian, with helpful images)