Professor Hinkle is by far the main antagonist in the Christmas classic Frosty the Snowman by Rankin/Bass. I actually think he’s a fairly great villain, but you really can’t like this guy. He’s definitely one of those bad guys you just love to hate.

He’s also one of the first characters we see, as he’s hired to perform magic for the kids at school right before Christmas. Without a doubt, he’s one of the worst magicians to ever exist. My brother got a magic kit when he was in second grade, and he was a better illusionist than this guy.

But for some miraculous reason, he actually had a magic hat (which he didn’t even know was magical) until it brought Frosty the Snowman to life from three balls of snow. Maybe Frosty the Snowman secretly takes place in the Harry Potter universe, and Professor Hinkle is just a squib.

When he tries to get his magical hat back, he somehow manages to outrun a train (which is impressive) and even tricks Frosty. Locking him inside a random greenhouse in the middle of the frozen wilderness.

Eventually, Santa arrives and brings Frosty back to life. Then Santa tells Hinkle that he’ll never receive another Christmas present unless he writes “I’m sorry” more than one thousand trillion times. I think that’s kind of funny, because Professor Hinkle is an adult. Surely he doesn’t need gifts from Santa at this point. But he pathetically agrees with Santa’s demand and, presumably, changes his ways for the rest of his life. In a sequel set many decades later, he’s apparently the grandfather of the main protagonist boy that Frosty befriends, which is pretty ironic if you think about it.