Rotten the Snowman is a character in Smiling Friends. His first appearance was in "Pim Finally Turns Green." He was a hideous snowman created out of junk by Charlie and Glep as a joke before Pim placed an irradiated daffodil on his head, giving him sentience. Eventually he melted and became the ocean.
Appearance[]
He is a Claymation-like snowman created out of junk found outside the Smiling Friends office. Large patches of his snow are bright yellow, suggesting someone had recently peed on him. His right eye is an an 8-ball and his left eye is a pebble. His nose is a paper towel roll, his right arm is a stick, his left arm is a broken beer bottle, and he wears a blue denim bowtie. His lower half is covered in dirt, grass, and other crap. On his head is a yellow daffodil that had grown from radioactive waste, which caused him to gain sentience.
Personality[]
Rotten the Snowman is initially very scared and confused after coming to life, questioning his existence. However, once he is taught what it means to be alive, he is incredibly grateful, treasures it to his core, and wants to learn more about existence. He loves the time he spends with Pim being alive as he teaches him the ropes, enjoying snowball fights, ice skating and sledding with him.
However, upon learning that all life eventually comes to an end, he becomes trapped in an eternal state of grieving; upset that his life is only temporary. Initially, he eagerly wants to do any plan that extends his life to an infinite amount of time, but he soon comes to realise that what he truly valued wasn't just life itself but rather the experiences gained in his lifespan. For the rest of his life as a snowman, he decides to live life to the fullest, even though it lead to him melting in the sun.
After he melted, he was reincarnated as "the ocean," though with his new body a malevolent streak formed. He began to enjoy the suffering of human and critter lives, as shown when he destroys an entire yacht although it is possible he didn’t realize the consequences of destroying the yacht.
Trivia[]
- Despite not being a client in the traditional sense, the Smiling Friends succeed in making him smile by helping him realize that death isn't necessarily the end, but rather the start of something new.
- He is the third stop-motion character to appear in the series, following the Forest Demon and the Alien Dudebros.
- He's also the first stop-motion character that isn't an episode's antagonist, not counting the stinger where he attempts to wash away the Smiling Friends with a tidal wave.
- His voice actor, Dana Snyder, also provided the voices for Master Shake from the hit anime “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”, As well as the Alchemist (The Venture Bros.), Baby-Ball (Ballmastrz: 9009), Buzby (12 oz. Mouse), and Granny Cuyler (Squidbillies).
- He is a parody of the popular Christmas tale of Frosty the Snowman, a snowman who gained sentience after being given a magic silk hat.
- He is also most likely an homage to Life Giving Magus, an Adventure Time character (also voiced by Dana Snyder) who accidentally creates life through touch. The character has an identical flower growing from the top of his head.
- The ocean that Rotten became is most likely the Atlantic Ocean. As Pennsylvania isn't a state that is connected to an ocean, the Smiling Friends would have had to take a trip to the coast, perhaps to New Jersey or New York.