The Snowman
The Snowman
G | 26 December 1982 (USA)
The Snowman Trailers

A young boy makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, which comes to life at midnight and takes him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.

Reviews
Interesteg What makes it different from others?
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Irishchatter I absolutely love when this little film airs always every Christmas. Its just such a gem from my childhood when the boy and the snowman flies up in the air to go to the North Pole. Of course, its even sweet to see the other snowmen dancing around them, gosh wouldn't it be great to have joined the party with a group of snowmen?! xDAt the end, I have to say it was sad when the snowman melted but there ya go, it does show grief even if the boy was dreaming. It reminds me as a child when I created a snowman and of course, they blooming melted. I definitely would suggest to show this to kids but I would have to tell them of the ending first before I let them watch it. It was a shock I have to say!I always loved the music, the wee boy Peter Auty that sung it, was brilliant. I always listen to the song on my music player because its just so brilliant! Good man Raymound Briggs for inventing this wonderful little film!
Stompgal_87 I've seen this Christmas special several times over the festive period most years as well as 'Father Christmas' since I was a child and it is one of my favourites.The animation style is unique to other animated Christmas specials with its pencil/pastel drawing look. It does flicker but it is smooth nonetheless and the backgrounds, especially the exterior snowy ones, are pleasing to the eye. While the colours are not entirely vibrant, they're at their most beautiful on the Christmas tree lights inside James's family home, the Northern Lights in the sky towards the end of the 'Walking in the Air' sequence (my favourite part of the special with the lovely song and amazing flythroughs) and during the snowman party. The incidental music is lovely and memorable, particularly the instrumental versions of 'Walking in the Air' and that played during the snowman party while it does a sound job with driving the narrative throughout the special. While the ending is heartbreaking when the snowman melts, there are some amusing moments such as the snowman trying out different pieces of fruit for his nose, exploring James's parents' bedroom and the powerful musical notes playing as he sneezes. The only gripe is the live- action introduction with David Bowie playing the adult James that I probably saw for the first time upon re-visiting the special today because it is forgettable and I don't remember seeing it as a child.Overall, this is a must-see animated Christmas special every festive season, despite the David Bowie intro, with its music and animation as its redeeming qualities. 9/10.
gavin6942 Wordless (save for the song "Walking in the Air") animated adventure about a young English boy who makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, only for it to come to life that night and take him on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.I recall watching this film on Beta when I was a child, almost thirty years ago. And now, watching it again, I find that while individual scenes did not stick with me, the overall film did. That really says something about its power.Why the child refuses to wear proper winter clothing is unclear, but maybe that is normal in England.
studioAT Unlike lots of people I didn't grow up watching The Snowman as a kid every Christmas and have merely discovered it amid all the hype about the very belated sequel 'The Snowman and the snow dog'.It was very interesting to see what all the hype is it. Make no bones about it, The Snowman is one of the few things that deserves its place as a classic piece of Christmas TV. It has heart, it has a great story and it even has a song in it that you may just have heard once or twice before.The sequel has a lot of the same elements but this original as is so often the case is far superior and will probably be continued to be shown on television every Christmas for a long time to come.