User reviews

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.

There are some - presumably pet lovers - who think this is better than the 1982 original. Well, good as this is - I heartily disagree. A young boy and his mum move into a new house and underneath a floorboard, he discovers some memorabilia that indicates the original snowman came from this house too. Down comes the snow, out goes the boy - and soon we have not only an identical replica of our chilly friend, but also of his lately lamented schnauzer too. Early on Christmas morning, they magically come to life and take our young man on a magical adventure to meet Santa. I found this story a little more sad than the last; there is no dialogue at all and for me, the score seemed just a bit more dolente. Though enjoyable it hasn't the joy or optimism of the first one, either - indeed there is even the hint of melancholia about it. The animations are lovey, though, and it really is a fine piece of television.

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.

The 1982 animation 'The Snowman' has always been a Christmas must in my house for as long as I can remember so I was delighted to hear that, after thirty years, a sequel was being produced.

'The Snowman and the Snowdog' starts with a mother and son moving into a new house with their old dog in the summer. But as summer turns to autumn, we see the heartbroken family burying their beloved dog. Then winter arrives bringing snow and it is then that the boy discovers a box under the floorboards of his bedroom containing the hat, scarf and coal as well as a photo of James and the Snowman. And so the boy decides he will rebuild the Snowman and, with the leftover snow, he also builds a little snowdog too. I will not ruin how the story ends but it is complete with a journey to the North Pole to visit Santa Claus.

There is no way any sequel could ever match the originality and enchantment of 'The Snowman'. It is a classic that will remain unequalled in the hearts of millions. However, this is a delightful little sequel that does charm, particularly anyone who has ever owned a dog. Only a pet-lover with a heart of stone would not feel tearful at the first scenes. And there is no denying that the Snowdog is absolutely adorable! The music is not as memorable as 'Walking in the Air', and it's actually a bit jarring at first to not hear the expected soundtrack of 'The Snowman', the musical score is not terrible either. And the artwork is, of course, perfect and clearly drawn lovingly with the traditional scenes of a snowy white British landscape (far removed from the damp, rainy rubbish that we are being forced to endure in reality!).

I certainly hope to see this animated film shown every year after 'The Snowman' as it nicely compliments the classic and is a great Christmas film.

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.

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.

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.

At the same time a sequel and an homage to the original Christmas classic, The Snowman, this film takes place years after the events of the original film and once again the events of that magical night will repeat themselves.

What I like about this film is how they tried to capture the magic and uniqueness of the original film. The animation, though bit crisper around the edges, still looks very authentic and is easily the best part about this film.

Unfortunately the rest of the film feels like a cheap mimic of the original classic. The biggest problem is that I don't really want the story of The Snowman to continue. When that movie ended, it was painful, it was sad, but it was also something that felt right. I learned something from it, yet the story of this sequel completely undermines and cheapens that ending. It has no meaning, no impact, if you can just fashion yourself a new one the next day or year.

Furthermore, there's very little originality or creativity on display here. Sure, there's a snowdog, but it feels like a cheap gimmick, meant to awe the little children in the audience. I guess the sequel needed something extra, but come on guys, you could have done better than this. The rest of the story sticks pretty close to the original formula, with a few deviations, but if you really want to see a story about a boy and his snow companion(s), well, we already had the original film.

Even the music is just bland. A trendy pop tune with not a single thread of the magic of the original Walking in the Air.

In the end, I cannot find it within myself to completely damn this film because, as stated, it is an homage and tries to pay respect to the original film. But it's just so bad at it. I honestly would have been happier if I never saw this in my life. Hopefully I can still watch the original with same enthusiasm as I've done before, come next Christmas.

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.

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.

This beautiful film is so special to me and my son. Since he was 2 years old, he has watched this with me every Christmas - the innocence, magic and beauty it possesses will stay with me forever. The score is utterly magical, evoking all the emotions with not a single word spoken. Cynics will have their say, but this feels like a breath of fresh air amongst the loud and flashy animations and certainly is the one that we still talk about weeks after watching. We also listen to the score in the car in the build up to Christmas. Thank you to all involved for creating this and giving me and my son these memories together.

The Snowman And The Snowdog (2012) -

What a fitting and lovely sequel that truly honoured the original.

The storyline varied very little from its predecessor, but I personally don't think that it really needed to do anything else. I'm not sure that I could find a story that would have been more appropriate and still managed to keep the joy and fun that was gifted to us 30 years earlier.

It was an enchanting tale of fantasy that incorporated the magic of the season via a reincarnated snowman and the addition of a lil' puppy dog too. They take a little boy on a wonderful journey that had all the charm and appeal of the first Snowman film and also still evoked the same nostalgia to bring a Christmas classic to a new generation.

Combined with Raymond Briggs 'The Snowman' (1982) and 'Father Christmas' (1991) it has become part of a must see trio for every Christmas and is usually watched on Christmas Eve in my house, although sometimes these three favourites actually get many outings over the festive season or the occasional viewing in the middle of the summer too, just because I can.

The world needs more innocent and inoffensive cartoon shorts like these, as an escape from all of the horrible things that are going on in it. There are too many guns and explosions in TV and film for me nowadays. Let the kids keep their innocence for longer with a beauty like this.

933.22/1000.

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 wasn't sure when I first heard about the sequel, since the original film was so perfect in every way. However this second instalment is equally good. Hopefully one day they can make a third film, and perhaps take the plot in a radically different direction.

Similar to The Snowman. Lots of new things like new location, animals, vehicles, sports...and main idea, the return of dead dog. Simple, magical, inspirational. Reminds me of all the childhood magical moments and general magical moments like falling in love, hobby, holidays, superstitions, and older video games. Perfect drawing which reminds me of childhood books and encyclopedias. This also shows us what we may have forgotten, that even adults can have such dreams, just in children it is more apparent. Makes us question this world, sanity, dreams, faith... But bit lack of explanation and reaction of mom to dead dog being alive again, and bit less cool music than in previous sequel.

Amazing just like the first. The animation goes for the same rough yet beautiful aesthetic of the first, where you can see all the effort that went into the animation and how worth it it is. I do massively prefer the story to this movie, it builds upon the first by making the young boy a much more interesting and deep character and it's charming to see all the new things and references to the original. I do also like the music for this although the original is obviously much more famous and classic. The animation while sticking to the original also feels much more colourful and smoother in a very good way. With all that being said I do have 2 massive problems with this. First off while I do like it's additions the actual story beats outside of the beginning is pretty much the exact same, to the point the movie actually feels less like a sequel and more like a remake. And I also think the ending has an annoying bad message. But I'd still argue it's better than the originals ending and I'd still say this is a great movie to kill 20 minutes an all time Christmas classic just like the first.