George Clooney was originally set to star as Jack Frost, and Jim Henson's Creature Shop had even designed the snowman costume to resemble Clooney before he left the project.

Sam Raimi was originally attached to direct the film, but he dropped out when Clooney left, at a point when the project was envisioned as a more direct adaptation of Frosty the Snowman and was developed under that title.

John Travolta was also considered for the lead role of Jack Frost, and Billy Bob Thornton was in talks to play the role of Mac MacArthur.

Three of Frank Zappa's four children, Dweezil Zappa, Ahmet Zappa, and Moon Unit Zappa, appear in the film.

The snowman costume for Jack Frost's transformed form was created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, with additional special effects work from Industrial Light and Magic.

Despite negative reviews, Jack Frost became a box-office bomb, grossing only $34.6 million against a budget reported between $40 and $85 million, and opened in third place behind Star Trek: Insurrection and A Bug's Life.

Critic Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars, calling the snowman character 'the most repulsive single creature in the history of special effects,' comparing it unfavorably even to Chucky.