Le Bonhomme de neige et le Petit Chien

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.

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 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 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.