The Snowman and the Snowdog

Well I really did like this animation, but I just cannot bring myself to watch it again. The main reason for this is that my memories of my dog who recently died, come flooding back when I watched it. Which in turn made me an emotional wreck for the following hour. I am going to take this as a good thing for the creators to make such an impact from their animation. But again I am sure I don't want to go through this again. So great animation but if you lost a dog recently, it will bring the memories flooding back and make you somewhat sad and depressed for a while. I guess if you don't have a dog or have not lost a dog then the impact of the animation might be a lot less. But for me one view is enough.

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.

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.

After Raymond Briggs' silent Christmas classic, The Snowman (1982) came to channel 4 in London, fans of the short film never expected to see a sequel to it. As were I just as surprised. I knew it was the 30th anniversary this year but I was not expecting a sequel. Not to mention that I only heard a few days before that it was supposed to air on television! What a surprise that was!

The title of this sequel is fairly self-explanatory of what characters will be involved with the plot. However, the back-story may be a little different than what it was expected to be. The character of the snowdog was added because this particular boy once had a dog and it passed away. So along with the time capsule that he found in his house with a picture of the boy (James) from 1982 and the snowman he built, this new boy decides to build that same snowman along with a snowdog that resembled his friend from years past. Cute right? Well it gets cuter.

However, I can't give away much else because I'll ruin the surprise. I also can not give this film a full ten stars just because it's a sequel and any fan of any franchise should know that it takes a lot for a sequel to surpass or even match its predecessor. I do give credit to the animators. They kept the animation and art all the same as the 1982 version and for 99% of the time it was silent (just like the first). Plus the animation looked more crisp and vivid.

But like any film, if the score changes, then the feeling changes. Howard Blake (although he is now old) did not return to score this film which disappoints me. Ilan Eshkeri scored the film this time and although it had emotions flowing through it, it just didn't hit the high mark like Blake's score. Plus, just like the flying sequence, the vocals in this song weren't as resounding either. The film will still pluck at your heartstrings but unfortunately it won't match the original classic of 1982.

The sequel to Raymond Briggs' 1982 classic gives a sweet twist and a nod to the original. It may not have the same musical score but it's still a great holiday film.

Having a very tough act to follow, I want to view this with sympathy.

To some extent, same again so it lacks the freshness and originality of the first one but that's the point of a sequel: to get some of the same again.

I sorely feel they missed a trick by not having James in it. It would have been beautiful. So go in knowing they didn't think it through THAT well, but it's still very visually beautiful, lyrical, delightfully fun but yet kind of classy-in-its-own way festive entertainment I feel all the family (except maybe your cute goth sister) can get into.