The Snowman and The Snowdog

Holy CGI-Timberwolf on a Tarp! I've been here for over a year. Wow...It says over there that I joined up October 2011. Wow...More than a full standard year since I talked to the guy in the pink t-shirt with a Gangster Pinkie Pie on it about some brightly coloured site.

Anyhoo, here two things I thought were interesting but not necessarily good...Our first is for the British. Or at least, anyone who has ever seen Channel 4 around Christmas Time. Yeah, we get pretty creative with our channel names over here. With the likes of getting 'CBBC' from 'BBC' for one of our kid's stations to an entire channel called 'Dave'. I'm pretty sure it's the first channel named after the guy in charge.

[size=+1]The Snowman and The Snowdog[/size]
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All right, because I'm pretty sure some people outside of Channel 4's reach are likely to continue reading this because, gosh darn it, the time between now and the next episode isn't going to waste itself...even though it will...Anyway, I'm sure they are rather interested in why the Marshmellow Man in a fishing cap and ironic scarf has kidnapped a small child and a cousin of Blue from Blue's Clues. So, I think a little bit of education is in order.

The Snowman was first a picture book, released in 1978. It was basically a comic with no dialogue about a boy making a snowman that comes to life and they hang out. In 1982, it was made into a roughly half-hour animation that copied the style of the comic, complete with a hand drawn look and no dialogue. Just a pretty decent orchestral score. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 and then repeated every year. There were plenty of things that made it awesome: it was like a fairy tale, it was kid friendly, it had a sting in it's tail, there's a version that's introduced by David Bowie. The main reason we still remember it, despite Channel 4 putting it on every year, is because of the song 'Walking in the Air'. It's become a timeless classic and a fantastic example of how music can make something so much greater than the sum of it's parts.

So, The Snowman is a entrenched part of British Culture. I commend the fact that someone thought they could write a decent sequel out of this. Even though The Snowman doesn't have anything like a sequally essence about it.

The Snowman and The Snowdog follows most of the same notes and key elements of the original: smallish boy is moving into a new House in London. It's just his Mum and his beloved pet dog. Everything's fine till the dog passes away for whatever reason and his buried in the back garden. This is a very sad thing. Winter rolls over and there's a blanket of snow. Somehow, the boy finds a small box underneath some floorboards and discovers it to contain a hat, a scarf, a mouldy tangerine, some coal and a picture of James - the name of the boy from the first film - with the magic, living snowman he made in the previous film. Eventually, this kid decides to build another snowman with the same stuff in the snow outside. Once complete, he then makes a little snowdog with socks for ears as it's heavily implied that the kid missed his passed away pooch dearly. Happy with what he's done, he goes back to bed.

Oh yeah! Did I mention it's Christmas Eve? You know, the time when the entirety of magic and supernatural scares mean old men to change their ways and lighten the buck up? That being the case over here in merry ol' England, the snowmen and dog come to life. Our mute child notices this and, again, proceeds to hang out with his new Snowbuddies until they randomly decide it's time to fly to the North Pole for a party with all the other Snowmen and Women that have come to life. And yes, Father Christmas hosts.

The kid gets a present from the Jolly man himself after enjoying the festivities. It turns out to be a dog collar, as though St. Nick is trying to tease the poor kid. The snowpeople see that dawn is breaking so it's back to London for them both. The kid puts the collar on the snowdog, because why the hell not? Lo and behold, the collar turns the snowdog into a real dog! Amased, they rush back to bed to rest for a few hours.

And then the snowman melts, leaving the kid alone with his dog.

Why did I summarise the whole story? Mainly so that you'll understand my next few criticisms but also because I'd rather you missed this one. For my money, this is a flop. Go see The Snowman and Father Christmas, this isn't as entertaining, or memorable.

Now, let me explain my first gripe. In fact, let's do this in nice and clear to get the point across.

It's a Sequel, Not the Same Story All Over Again

The Snowdog, as it shall know be referred to as, has exactly the same basic story as the original. The whole 'boy builds magic snowman' thing has been done already, therefore undermining the story. If you've ever seen The Snowman, then you'll be able to sit there and point out almost every set piece here. Off by heart for the older amongst us. The motorcycle, the snowcreatures getting to close to the fire, dawn coming and the flight over landmarks of the location. The thing is that this doesn't hold up as a stand alone film ether because it relies on the audience's knowledge of the previous film to fill in blanks. You can't help but compare it to the first one. And on that note...

There's Not a Whole Lot that's Been Added.

The advantage of The Snowman was that it was new. You were a voyeur to a little fairy story set in Brighton, England of that time. It was a little thing that children wished was real. Think of Toy Story over a decade later and that world where something a child loved dearly could show the same amount of affection back. That the soul we impart on these things is really there, we just don't get to see it.

That's the magic of the film and the interest was partly because it was a new experience. This was a slice of that world and we were introduced to it slowly through the snowman and James messing around at home. They dressed up, played with fruit and went for a joyride on a motocycle before the part at the Pole happened. We got to know the snowman himself for a bit.

The Snowdog appears inconsequential. We learn very little that's new in this world. Maybe that snowmen can be rebuilt with the right parts and that James moved to London at some point. Also, that anything made from snow comes under the Christmas Eve magic. Probably even snowponies...Anyway, that's roughly it. Most of the other stuff is just lifted from the first film.

The Drama Doesn't Interest.

The idea of loosing a pet is the central idea of this one. It doesn't feel right in a film like this. It feels like it's being forced on the world of the snowman, rather than something that could naturally happen within it. Partly because they insist on having the original snowman too. He doesn't seem to have any real purpose for being there. The kid has little interest in him, what with the dog there and so has little to do.

This ruins the final sting to the story. It's not really a spoiler when this is about snowmen and the film is going on about 30 years old at this point but it shouldn't shock you to know that the Snowman melts in the end of the first film.

In that film, we've grown to like the snowman. He's naive but pleasant. Curious about the world and keen to play with his new friend James. The audience likes him and James has grown attached to his snowman. There's no brothers or sisters around for James to play with so might be craving that sort of thing. But when the film ends, it's a moment of tragedy. That this magical friend was taken from James as an inevitable part of the Snowman life is that sad moment when you realise that the fun and magic has to end.

The Snowdog ends with the same thing. The snowman melts but the difference is, why should you care? This kid isn't all that bothered what happens to the Snowman, he has his dog. They clearly want to have the same ending but repeating exactly the same thing isn't wrenching on heartstrings, it's a formality at this point. James was loosing something he lamented giving up dearly and showed it. He ran back for a cuddle and shed manly tears. This kid has his weird magic snowdog. He was more interested in that than the Snowman, so who cares?

As a result, it doesn't feel right. It feels tacked on, as though they had to show the Snowman dying or people would be being laid out or something.

The Music isn't even Close to the Mark

I want you to click this link, those-who've-never-seen-The Snowman.

Now this from The Snowdog

This was the biggest let down for me. The newer music seems to fail to reach the same emotional peak in the film. 'Walking in the Air' is a powerful piece of music. It crashes and rolls, lending it's own magic to the images on-screen.

Andy Burrows with 'Light the Night' doesn't compare. What sounds like 90's pop to me, does compare with an entire orchestra. It probably fits the film better but, you will have thoughts of The Snowman because the film invites you to think of that film while watching.

I'm really trying not to sound like a fan boy winging and I'm probably failing. It just failed to miss the mark and I figured it interesting to see why it falls on it's arse. It's an autopsy!

Still, here's to reviewing stuff in 2012 and to a long line of stuff from me in 2013. May my Let's Playing skills get better and my articles never end.

Next time: more stuff I admire for trying but ultimately think is pretty bad: TRAUMA.