Both my parents and I LOVE "The Snowman". It's such a simple, charming, magical story, that's beautifully animated, and we've watched it every year since the time it was released. So when we learned the cherished movie was getting a sequel to celebrate the 20th anniversary, we were both excited, as well as cautious, because with any sequel, there's the lingering fear that it won't be as good as the first, or worse, ruin the original.
But after watching it, I can easily say this sequel is just as good as the original, with the same quality animation, and the same level of magic and heart.
Just like the original, the story is told with no dialogue, and centers on a young boy who moves into a new neighborhood, and into the house that the boy from the original lived in. Clearly, many years have passed, and the barren countryside has since been renovated and filled up with many more houses. Come wintertime, the boy discovers an old shoebox under the floorboards in his bedroom. Inside is a time capsule of sorts, filled with some of the boy from the original's old toys, as well as a picture of him with the titular Snowman (and the hat and scarf that was used). The boy (from now) uses the photo as a reference to rebuild the Snowman, and uses any extra snow to build a snow dog as well (in memory of his real dog that passed away early on in the movie). At the stroke of midnight, both the Snowman and the Snowdog come to life, and take the boy on a memorable flight to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. And come the next morning, although the boy must bid the Snowman a sad goodbye, a little Christmas magic gifts him one last surprise.
Clearly, the team that worked on this movie were big fans of the first "Snowman", and put ALOT of heart, soul, and effort into this production. Just like the original, it's traditionally animated with colored pencil (a process that must've been painstaking to put together), but the work shows, for the animation is utterly beautiful, and I really can't see The Snowman being drawn any other way. And much like the first movie's "Walking in the Air" flying sequence, we get a similar montage set to an equally magical song, "Light the Night". I've come to love both songs equally, as each one is evoking a different sort of mood. "Walking in the Air" was meant to be calm and haunting, while "Light the Night" is much more cheery and upbeat, but comes off just as powerful.
While the DVD special features are pretty sparse, there IS a very long, but very interesting documentary about the making of the movie, that doubles as a biography of "Snowman" creator, Raymond Briggs. I highly recommend watching it, as his story is both sad at times, as well as uplifting, and to hear that the animators went to him first to gain his approval of making the sequel just goes to show how much respect they have for him and the original movie.
So, if you're a fan of the first "Snowman", this sequel is definitely a MUST watch. It remains faithful to the original movie and pays homage to it at times, while also keeping its own originality. Along with a beautiful new song, this is destined to become a new holiday classic.
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Top reviews from other countries
Salamander Siren
Beautiful story, visually and musically
Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2016EDDIE MARTYN
A BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2013