This family fantasy can best be described as a cross between _Frosty_the_Snowman_ and _Ghost_, with a bit of _Wide_Awake_ thrown in. The young star of _Wide_Awake_, Joseph Cross, appears to have the "family film about death" market cornered with this film, in which he plays Charlie, a young boy learning to cope with the year-ago death of his loving but neglectful blues musician father (Michael Keaton, who does his own singing) named Jack Frost. That name is a bit too apropos, for when Charlie wishes for his father to come back, he does--in the form of a snowman.

Thus sets the stage for kid-snowman bonding antics that will certainly delight the kids. Adults will be delighted by the snowman effects, which seamlessly mixes computer animation and puppetry. (Some clumsy compositing on certain matte shots are easy to forgive.) However, the novelty of the snowman effects wears thin after a while, and the older ones in the audience may find their attention wavering; mine was. Nonetheless, the able cast (which also includes Mark Addy and Kelly Preston) keeps the affair interesting, and the requisite emotional conclusion plucks the heartstrings with an admirable--and most welcome--dose of restraint.