MOVIE NEWS – The little-known Michael Keaton film was released as a family Christmas movie in 1998, but it horrified its target audience (and everyone else…)

Before Michael Keaton’s career was interrupted and his renaissance came thanks to Birdman, he was a very fashionable actor thanks to his roles in Beetlejuice and Batman. However, not all of his roles were good. Jack Frost proved to be one of the worst. Just two years earlier, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred alongside Jack Lloyd in the family adventure Jingle All the Way. So, in 1998, they were looking for a new Christmas movie. Even little Anakin Skywalker was discussed to appear in this film, which ultimately did not materialize.

However, the problem with Jack Frost is not that it wanted to jump on the bandwagon of Christmas movies. Rather, it is an approach problem that is still difficult to understand today. Jack Frost is a drama. It’s a Christmas drama, if you will, but a drama. The story is about a father who is involved in a fatal car accident. He then returns in the form of a snowman to reunite with his son. There’s a problem early on: if they’re looking for a family audience, no kid wants to see their parent die.

It is true that similar things happened in plays like The Lion King or Bambi. But that is not the central element of the story. Here, the snowman figure is used to delve into the father-son relationship (the father is a bit sloppy, all things considered), presenting some funny moments, and just when you’re about to enjoy it, the drama comes again!

The film is emotionally intense for the little ones, all the more so because the ending is tragic and, at times, absurd.

No child does not burst into tears after such a sad film. At least for the next few days, she’ll be worried about her parents not having an accident. Only adults could enjoy the movie. In addition, it didn’t help that the snowman – probably unintentionally – managed to be a bit terrifying, especially when moving. A snowman zombie horror can be fun, but not for the little ones…

Although the cassette release later achieved some success, it failed miserably at the box office in cinemas. It grossed only $34 million of the $85 million production cost. It’s not all bad, though, as Michael Keaton gave a touching performance, and Joseph Cross, the child actor, also acted well. But no matter how you look at it, it was an abortive idea that shouldn’t have made it to the screenplay, let alone to the cinemas.

Source: KQED