If you listened to our latest podcast episode celebrating Leon Day 2020, you know we discussed the 1979 Rankin Bass feature Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July, which explores some of the Rankin Bass mythology and ties together several stories. We do meet some new characters as well, including Milton the Ice Cream Man, who stores his goods at the North Pole and retrieves them each summer to take back home and sell.
Whether he’s dodging tax payments or is just kind of weird, Milton is mostly the cause of all the drama that goes down in the film. We thought it might be interesting to catch up with the Ice Cream Man now and get his current take on the events of that fateful summer.
Snow in Southtown: Hi Milton. Thanks for taking a few minutes to catch up with us. First, what have you been up to since the movie? Do you still keep your ice cream stash at the North Pole, or have you gotten your whole freezer situation figured out?
Milton: I kept my ice cream there for a few years, but as Chilly and Milly — Frosty and Crystal’s children — grew up and learned the story of that summer, they approached me and said perhaps I should just pay for my own freezer instead. I think they considered me something of a troublemaker, even though I’m just a guy trying to keep his ice cream cold. At one point, Milly even says to me, “Look, just stay away from my dad.”
Snow in Southtown: How are things going for you and Laine? Are the two of you still involved with the circus?
Milton: It’s funny. The circus did become a big success, after all that trouble we went through, but then Laine’s mom, Ms. Loraine, decided she would be happier doing a rodeo instead. Go figure. We even roped Rudolph into it for a year or two, cowboys riding on his back while he did his jumps and all that. There wasn’t really a place in the rodeo for Laine though, so she helps me with the ice cream business now. I think she’s happy in our marriage. She talks a lot about the old days.
Snow in Southtown: Looking back, why do you think Spangles was so obsessed with stealing your circus? I’ve heard of diamond heists, casino capers, and bank robberies, but I’ve never heard of anyone trying to get rich via circus theft. And it didn’t even seem like a great circus, which needed the presence of THE MOST FAMOUS REINDEER OF ALL just to survive.
Milton gets a great idea…
Milton: I never figured that whole thing out. I was mostly in love, you know. I would have done anything for Laine, and I guess I did. In retrospect, I put a lot of blame on myself for everything that happened. I dunno. It almost feels like the idea for getting Rudolph to join the circus didn’t even come from me, almost like I was some other person. I guess that’s weird, isn’t it? I will say that Spangles has had even stranger ideas. He once tried to train a gorilla to make counterfeit chocolate.
Snow in Southtown: On the night of July 4, 1979, you kind of disappeared. We had some major events taking place, as Scratcher was tricking Rudolph into using his nose for evil, Frosty was seconds away from melting, Santa and Mrs. Claus were missing, and there was a whole fireworks display going off. Where were YOU?
Milton: Like I said, I was in love! You saw how cute Laine used to be. Would you be thinking about anything else? Besides, whatever trouble these weirdos got up to once I got them there had nothing to do with me. Could I have been a better friend? Sure. Between you and me, I was one of the people booing Rudolph when his nose didn’t light up anymore. And it wasn’t even because I thought he stole from the circus. You just get swept up by the crowd, you know? As for the fireworks, they were boring. Very generic.
Snow in Southtown: Rudolph has claimed that you are, in fact, “a million laughs.” Do you agree with his assessment? I might give you credit for one or two, maybe even a handful. But a million? What’s your take on this?
Milton: Rudolph is not a funny person. No offense to him or anything, but have you ever heard him tell a joke? No. I’m not the most hilarious guy in the universe, but I know how to have a good time. You don’t get to a place in life where you fly a hot air balloon from Florida to the North Pole for an ice cream pick-up while dating a tight-rope walker without learning a joke or two. So to this un-funny reindeer, I’m sure I was a regular Shecky Greene. Personally, I thought Frosty was funny, always making dark jokes about he and his family melting, but I don’t think Rudolph got half of those.
Snow in Southtown: Have you heard from Rudolph and Frosty lately? Do you guys regularly hang out (or zoom currently) to reminisce about the good old days?
Milton: Frosty not so much. His kids see to that, not that I was going to go out of my way to visit him or anything. I barely knew him beyond that summer. Rudolph and I have kept in touch. Laine likes him or whatever, and the Center for Disease Control says that animals do not play a significant role in the spread of the coronavirus, so we hang out a lot now. We play a lot of Scrabble.
Snow in Southtown Christmas Podcast 