The Bear

THE BEAR, an enchanting 30-minute animation about a young girl's relationship with a polar bear that escapes from the local zoo, is very much a spiritual follow-up to that timeless Raymond Briggs classic, THE SNOWMAN. The two productions look and feel very similar to each other and, while THE SNOWMAN has the edge, THE BEAR comes close to reaching the same level of quality.

As usual, there's far more going on than meets the eye, something that makes these Briggs stories suitable for adult viewers as well as the kids. On the face of it, it's simply a humorous tale about an unlikely relationship, but underneath it's all about friendship, being comfortable in your own skin, the tribulations of finding one's place in society, mysticism and nature versus technology and progress.

Needless to say it's also touching, thought-provoking and magical, with expert, hand-drawn animation and beautifully realised characters.

THE BEAR, huge and gentle - which makes its way from the London Zoo into the bedroom of a lonely little girl - takes her on a magical journey across the Wintertime landscape.

Haunting & evocative, this lovely little animated film - told entirely without narration or dialogue, is a most fitting successor to author Raymond Briggs' earlier triumph The Snowman, to which, at one point, it pays subtle homage. After enjoying the broad comedy of the Polar Visitor trying to hide in the proper English home, the viewer is swept into the Northern sojourn which fulfills the Bear's quest.

Howard Blake's score propels the fanciful images onward; the final song is sung by Charlotte Church.

Ever since the evergreen hit of Raymond Brigg's The Snowman Channel 4 have tried the formula again and again in attempt to replicate the strange melancholy and success of the original. Here it's another Briggs book, The Bear, which replaces the snowman with a colossal polar bear. The plot is almost identical, including a misjudged sequence with the child trying to hide the monstrosity crashing around the house. They even watch "The Snowman" on TV as the Bear looms improbably over them. Some of the "arctic bear spirit dancing over London" sequences are really beautiful but it feels a hollow sort of affair. A cash-in. A far better successor is the goofy and vulgar "Father Christmas" which I always watch as a double bill. It's the polar opposite, rather than a polar clone.

While at the zoo a young girl loses her favourite teddy bear into the polar bear enclosure. Later that night she is still upset and goes to sleep with no toys. However in the night the polar bear comes to her house to return the teddy and she lets him stay as a result. The morning comes and sees the girl keeping the bear a secret from her parents – not an easy feat in a three bedroom house. Later that night the pair go out into the snow to see the sights and play games.

With The Snowman being on television every single Christmas from the moment it was made until the very end of time itself, I took the opportunity to see his animation from another Briggs book for the first time. The thing that struck me immediately (and stayed with me throughout) was how very similar it was to the Snowman in terms of theme, look, sound and overall delivery. In fact it is pretty much The Snowman but with a polar bear and no Aled Jones. On one hand this did make me wonder if Briggs only had one trick to play and he had already done it but I did try to be fair and watch it as a film just on its own merits.

Doing so finds an enjoyable film that has all the strengths of the Snowman as it is cheerful with simple animation and good characters. The music is good and the final song is from a younger and less "laddy" Charlotte Church. So it may well be The Snowman with more polar bear but it is still a good short film for the family at Christmas time. It is not as famous as Snowman and I suspect a lot fewer people have seen it, which is probably a reason in itself for seeking it out as an alternative next time the festivities come around.

I love "the Snowman" and "Father Christmas", they are timeless Christmas classics. "The Bear" is a simple, haunting and sublime seasonal film, not quite as good as the other two but an essential nonetheless. The story is simple, and so are the characters particularly the warm and loving bear but very effective. The animation is beautiful, very similar to the animation from "The Snowman" and "Father Christmas" and to the illustrations from the book. The music has a haunting and dreamlike quality, with the end song sung beautifully by a young Charlotte Church.

Overall, I highly recommend "The Bear". 10/10 Bethany Cox