The Snowman and the Snowdog

After watching this short film immediately after the original, I realized it's essentially the same story as the first, but with a dog and a less memorable song. Don't get me wrong-it's a cute film, clearly aimed at young children who will enjoy the addition of a puppy with socks on its ears. However, it doesn't introduce a fresh narrative, which makes it less engaging if you've already seen the original.

That said, I really appreciated how the animation style pays homage to the original film. There are plenty of nods to the first movie that could have been more impactful if this didn't feel like a simple cut-and-paste effort.

I don't care if it causes traffic misery, we need a white Xmas every year or it just ain't right. Can you imagine how dreary this would look if it were pissing with rain instead? The Snowman, and this sequel, are representations of the Xmases we wish we could have, regardless of age.

A young boy moves into the house seen in the previous cartoon where he soon finds a box beneath the floorboards containing The Snowman's hat and scarf. Since his little dog just died he decides to rebuild the Snowman as well as a Snowdog. Xmas magic happens, the tubby dude comes to life, and he whisks the boy away to the North Pole to take part in some winter games with a gathering of other snowmen and meet Santa.

The music is nice enough, but it's not as memorable as Walking in the Air. The animation and landscape are gorgeous, as expected, though. It treads pretty much the same ground as the first, and comes across as a modern remake rather than a sequel (did we really need the exact same sad ending again?), and I can't see it becoming a classic, but it's a very nice way to spend 25 minutes.

THE SNOWMAN AND THE SNOWDOG is an attempt to sequelise the much-loved Raymond Briggs classic of the 1980s, a half-hour piece of animation that I challenge anybody to sit through without crying. A perennial favourite that's always in the schedules come Christmastime, THE SNOWMAN is my favourite Christmas film ever, so this sequel/remake has its work cut out.

The plus points: well, there's only one really, and that's the quality of the animation. It's done to match the original, and it looks great, refreshingly old-fashioned and hand-drawn instead of modernised.

The bad stuff: the storyline is a weak revamp of the original's, with added elements and ingredients that contribute little (the dog, the plane, etc.). It was much better when it was more simple. There's none of the power, danger, devastation or magical stuff from the original. In many places it seems bland, and a bit overly sentimental.

With no 'Walking in the Air', the music is also a letdown, just some generic pop-sounding slush added in its place. You can tell that Briggs wasn't involved in the production because whatever magic there was before has long disappeared - or should that be, melted away...

I was all ready to dismiss this film before I'd even watching it; the critics were lukewarm and it didn't feel like there was much excitement for the film compared to some of the more modern family fare – but it was Christmas and nostalgia and tradition has a place and it is this place that this short film made sure it settled. The film does work but it must be said that it almost works despite itself and it shows how good the construct of the original film was by virtue of the fact that this is what still stands up even with a different façade plastered over it.

The film starts with a rather obvious device of a dog's pet dying – it is sudden and sentimental and it jarred me by its simplicity. When the dog finds the snowman's gear you already know where it is going and it follows this path all the way to end which doesn't quite have the impact of joy and sadness that the film wanted to have. Along the way though the film works by virtue of doing the same as it did before but with some details changed. We get the soaring flight and North Pole meeting all playing out under some reasonably effective music – it is cheering and warming and it helps that it is animated in the same way as the original film. That said, it also hinders it a little because it is so close to the original in tone and style that it really brings nothing of note to the table of its own – apart from the dog of the title (I wish I had a dollar for every household that made the joke "snow dog is better than no dog" when this was on).

The ending plays out the same way as the original and, just like the original film, the credits pile in on top of the moment like it is trying to beat the traffic; it would have had more impact if left to breathe for a minute first. Despite the negatives though, I still really liked it and had a bit of a lump in the throat at one point and found the music and animation and delivery to work on a level that was high enough to be met halfway by my nostalgia. It does need to be met there though, because it doesn't bring much new to the film and it does feel like it is afraid to take even a step away from the original film – and for good reason.

It isn't brilliant and it won't replace the original film, but it is warming and mostly works – expect it to become a fixture every year just like the original Snowman.

I have to disagree with the negative reviews: This short film captured perfectly well the magic and wonder from the original short. I found it to be quite wonderful from beginning to end.

Granted, the pop song used here is nowhere comparable with "Walking in the Air", but The Snowman and the Snowdog is still an admirable work of love.