THE SNOWMAN [1982 / 2012] [30th Anniversary Edition] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
Enchanting, delightful, timeless! Leaves Memories with You That Will Never Melt Away!
‘THE SNOWMAN’ which was adapted from Raymond Briggs’s classic picture book, is a family favourite. A beautiful story of a boy whose snowman comes to life at midnight, it has captured the imagination of generations and continues to enchant. Nominated for an Oscar in 1982 and awarded the British Academy Award for best children’s entertainment in the same year, no family film collection is complete without James and his wondrous friend.
FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 1983 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Animated Short Film for John Coates. 1983 BAFTA Awards: Win: BAFTA TV Award for Best Children's Programme (Entertainment/Drama) for John Coates. Nominated: BAFTA TV Award for Best Graphics for Dianne Jackson and Raymond Briggs. 1984 Tampere International Short Film Festival: Win: Grand Prix for Dianne Jackson.
Cast: David Bowie (Re-Released Version) and Raymond Briggs (voice)
Directors: Dianne Jackson and Jimmy T Murakami (supervising director)
Producers: Iain Harvey and John Coates
Screenplay: Raymond Briggs (book)
Composer: Howard Blake
Music: Peter Auty (treble) and Sinfonia of London
Art Department: Dianne Jackson, Hilary Audus, Jill Brooks and Joanna Harrison
Special Effects: Mario Cassar
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPMC Stereo Audio
Running Time: 26 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Universal Pictures
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Christmas wouldn’t be the same without another showing for the heart-melting fantasy about a boy whose snowman creation magically comes to life. The original OSCAR® nominated ‘THE SNOWMAN’ [1982] that is famed for the scene of the boy and his snowman taking flight to the swelling choral ballad "Walking in the Air" has been screened every Christmas by Channel 4 Television in the UK since 1982.
The tale of ‘THE SNOWMAN’ follows the story of a young boy on one winter's day, as he decides that he wants to build a snowman. After much effort put into building his frosty creation, at the stroke of midnight whilst the young boy is fast asleep, the snowman suddenly springs to life. We then follow the snowman whilst accompanied by the young boy, as they impart on a magical wondering which leads them on a journey all the way to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus.
Dianne Jackson's and Jimmy T. Murakami's masterful direction of ‘THE SNOWMAN’ would struggle if it had tried to be more of a thriving example of an adaptation done right. Within being obviously robbed of its 1983 Oscar for best animated short, ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is still an incredibly underrated Christmas special that could not be more faithfully adapted from its original source that is Raymond Brigg's original 1978 classic story book. ‘THE SNOWMAN’ also features the unquestionable talent of David Bowie and Raymond Briggs, depending on the UK or US release, as the older version of the young boy and as the narrator before the story begins.
The most obvious highlight of ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is easily it's hauntingly beautiful use of sound and animation. From the jaw dropping voice of angelic St Pauls Cathedral choir boy Peter Auty, and featuring an incredible orchestral score by the Sinfonia of London; “Walking in the Air” is a dazzling piece that is almost guaranteed to stay with you throughout the film, and long after the final credits roll. I will not lie to you and say that ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is an entirely happy concoction, however despite it's somewhat melancholy ending, this story still stands out to be a must see Christmas classic, for even those who are usually only loyal to their happy go lucky cinematic fiction.
Although, ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is undoubtedly heart-warming, the film doesn’t sugar-coat the sad ending as the life of ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is shown to be all too short and fleeting. It is testament to this respectful and sensitive adaptation that the embellishments made from the source material work so well. The first half, sticking closely to Raymond Briggs’ story, is full of charming little details as the Snowman is invited into the young boy’s home and experiences the wonders and dangers of everyday objects we all take for granted. The film then takes flight, quite literally, and abandons the confines of the original story to embark on an epic and joyous journey. Both halves perfectly compliment the other and it never feels haphazardly stitched together.
THE SNOWMAN MUSIC TRACK LIST
WALKING IN THE AIR (1982) (uncredited) (Written by Howard Blake) [Performed by Peter Auty and Sinfonia of London]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and far exceeded my expectations. Considering the age of this film, the image is superb. This transfer has been re-mastered and the results are evident for all to see. The animation for this film is pretty simple, but even so the colours and detail are evidently of the highest quality. The colour palette is bold and lifelike, blacks are solid and the image is in pristine condition. There is no sign of damage or dirt on the print and it is safe to say that the movie has never looked so good. There is a small amount of grain but this is not distracting. Edge enhancements are nowhere to be seen and compression artefacts are also non-existent. Overall, this is an amazing transfer which Universal should give up on trying to improve, as it simply cannot be done! Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Universal Pictures have supplied just one soundtrack with this release of 2.0 LPMC Stereo Audio, but that shouldn't really come as any surprise. The soundtrack in question is a simple Stereo track which does everything it is asked for. The dialogue levels are audible throughout and the enchanting soundtrack is also clearly reproduced. For some reason, Universal Pictures UK has decided not to include subtitles with this release. The menus are animated and feature in the main soundtrack.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with John Coates [Producer], Joanna Harrison [Storyboard], Hilary Audus [Storyboard] and Jill Brooks [Designg Supervisor]: We get to hear about the history of how ‘THE SNOWMAN’ came to be, especially with the help of an American Animator named Jim Buckley, who had worked with John Coates, who bought the book “The Snowman” and put it on his desk and said to John Coates that this would make a wonderful animated film, and that is how it all started. Then at the time the Government implemented Channel 4 and this was their first independent project, because their mantra was to promote independent projects, and with £500, John Coated bought the rights to “The Snowman” book. Then John Coated contacted Joanna Harrison and Hilary Audus to go out and buy five copies of “The Snowman” book and to cut up all the images, so to photograph them and turn them into a rough animated film storyboard. Because Hilary Audus road a motorbike, was the inspiration to include a scene in the animated film with the snowman and the young boy riding around the snow covered countryside. Eventually someone went to Channel 4 to see Sir Jeremy Isaacs and to promote the idea for the animated film and loved the idea and gave it the green light to go ahead with the project. Eventually they invited Raymond Briggs to view the “animatic” storyboard that the two women had produced and was shown at a small viewing theatre and of course they were quite nervous about his reaction to what he viewed, and they needed not worried, as he loved the concept and was very keen for them to pursue the animated film project, the only thing Raymond Briggs was not keen on, was the scenes with Father Christmas, but when eventually he viewed the film, he reluctantly gave in and was glad they disregarded his negative comments and now wished he had included Father Christmas in his illustrated book. The other thing they wanted to do, was to have the exact same style illustrations in the book, transferred to the animated film, as they felt it would be totally perfect for such a lovely story to be transferred to an animated film and to actually do the animation with hand drawings, and the style of animation is called “rendering,” which was also done with the animated film ‘The Wall,’ and they had to get animators trained up to do the “rendering” style of animation drawings. One very surprising aspect for this animated project is that they did not have a budget, which of course would not happen today. When it came to composing the music, someone suggested Howard Blake and when he viewed the “animatic” animation and there and then said he would compose the music for £200, and the agreement was done instantly, as well as composing the song “WALKING IN THE AIR.” Next up we have comments from Joanna Harrison and Hilary Audus who talk about how they wanted the scenario outline, and especially making the “animatic” with a few extra scenes included, to make the film seem much more magical. Originally the snowman and the young boy would fall down a badger’s hole and have a tea party, but decided a trip to the North Pole was a much better idea and that way they would meet Father Christmas and expand the scenario situation and have a lot more fun. With the flying sequence with the snowman and the young boy, they contacted the animator Steve Western in Canada to invite him over to England to help out, as he was very well known for perfecting animation for flying sequences and was very keen to come over to help out, because he had just graduated for his student animated film project he had just produced, because in that animated film he had done a flying sequence. They tell us that when ‘THE SNOWMAN’ was finished, they were all invited to a small cinema venue to see the results of their efforts and when the film finished and the lights went up, there was complete deathly silence, but gradually they heard people with sniffles and were wiping their eyes with a hanky, and also some were actually crying, because they were complete emotionally incapacitated and were desperate trying to hide their emotions towards the animated film. But of course both of them had no idea at the time how successful the animated film would become, especially while working on the animated film, but they were definitely very honoured and proud to have worked on the animated film and what they had achieved and a great satisfaction in all the hard work that was in making the animated film. Finally, Jill Brooks talks near the end of the animated film, about the problems they had sometimes with the technical aspect of the “rendering,” that were eventually got resolved, and believed in the project and felt the animated film would be a great success, because it is such an iconic charming timeless story, that children of all ages love ‘THE SNOWMAN.’ So all in all, this was a very enjoyable audio commentary and was also a lot of fun to listen to.
Special Feature: Introductions [2012] [1080p] [1.37:1] [4:17] The special feature is the Alternative Introductions, which was produced to help promote the animated film overseas and in particular in North America, and especially with David Bowie and with his crazy haircut and all! David Bowie and Raymond Briggs were brought in to do the introduction to give an international feel to the animated film ‘THE SNAOWMAN.’
Special Feature: Storyboard Animatic [1982] [480i] [1.37:1] [7:21] This special feature was produced by John Coats in his first attempt to create the animated film from Raymond Briggs’s best-selling illustrated book. What John Coats did was to get two members of his staff to cut the hand drawn images out of the book and develop the story from that. The illustrations from the book, together with the new drawings were then shot under the camera to produce this just over seven minute “animatic” alternate version of the animated film. Fans of the animated film will be totally mesmerised by this special feature, and it is a welcome extra addition to this Blu-ray disc.
Special Feature: SNOW BUSINESS: The Story of ‘THE SNOWMAN’ [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [23:41] This special feature is the ultimate companion to the animated film and featuring a new audio narration by producer John Coates. It starts off by showing some footage of Raymond Briggs at home where he talks about how the idea of the film came about, it is also where Raymond Briggs works on new novels and also does the illustrations. Raymond Biggs is heavily featured throughout and often gives his insight into various topics surrounding the animated film. As expected, the animation is featured heavily, and there is also the obligatory interview clip with Aled Jones, as well as the general public down in Brighton saying that the animated film ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is watched every Christmas as a tradition and would rather view the animated film than the Queen’s Speech. We also get to view a rare demo animation of ‘THE SNOWMAN’ animatic. We get to view some rare home movie footage of behind-the-scenes in the animation department. My favourite part of this documentary is the section where several continuity mistakes in the animated film are pointed out, but nevertheless they are funny to watch. They also comment that they were all pleased it was hand drawn, as they felt if it had been done by a computer it would have looked too perfect and we also get a brief glimpse of the David Bowie introduction, but in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. We also get to glimpse at the many merchandise products relating to the animated film ‘THE SNOWMAN’ since 1982, especially for the Japanese market, as well as viewing a rare Japanese TV Advert for ‘THE SNOWMAN.’ We also get a short glimpse of the very successful ballet stage production of ‘THE SNOWMAN,’ as well as a very rare Toys “R” Us TV Advert that was sung by Aled Jones, as well sing on the BBCTV show “Top Of The Pops.” We also get to see Howard Blake in his home, performing on his piano, where he composed the music for the animated film ‘THE SNOWMAN’ and explaining how the music came to him while working on the beach. This is a quality documentary which leaves no stone unturned. Contributors include: Ian Harvey [Executive Producer of “The Snowman”], John Coates [Producer of ‘THE SNOWMAN’ Animation], Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison [Animators of ‘THE SNOWMAN’], Sir Jeremy Isaacs [Chief Executive of Channel 4 TV 1981 – 1987], Roger Mainwood [Animator of ‘THE SNOWMAN’], Janette Taylor [Animator of THE SNOWMAN’], Alex Tham [General Manager of Snowman Enterprise], Howard Blake [Composer of ‘THE SNOWMAN’], Aled Jones [Singer] and Peter Auty [Original Singer for ‘THE SNOWMAN’].
Finally, if you are looking for a Christmas animated film which you will return to each year, then look no further than ‘THE SNOWMAN.’ It is easy to see why it was nominated for an OSCAR® and even thirty years on the animation is still a delight. Recreating Raymond Briggs’s scratchy illustrations and pastel colours is no easy feat in animation but the tactile aesthetic is still just as wonderful. There is an ageless quality to the art direction and animation that will make; ‘THE SNOWMAN’ just as fresh and original in another thirty years’ time. The beautiful images are perfectly accompanied by Howard Blake’s sweeping orchestral score whilst the signature song, “Walking in the Air” has become a classic in its own right. ‘THE SNOWMAN’ is a perfect Christmas treat for young and old alike. The highlights of this disc are without doubt the transfer which is stunning, and the elaborate documentary. ‘THE SNOWMAN’ deserves to be part of everyone’s collection so don’t hesitate, buy this today! That is why as soon as I saw this for sale I had to have it in the ultimate Blu-ray format, as it shows off this magical animation film in its full glory and will ever be associated with Christmas and should be an annual event over the festive period, than watch it when it is broadcast on your television. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
