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The Snowman and the Snowdog

April 10, 2024

The Snowman and the Snowdog is a 2012 British animated short film. It is the sequel to The Snowman, and was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the original short film.[1] The Snowman and the Snowdog is dedicated to John Coates (the film's producer, who died in September 2012) and features a new song called "Light the Night" by Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows. The Snowman and the Snowdog won the Televisual Bulldog Award 2013 in the Best Children's category.[2] It was also nominated for the British Academy Children's Award for Animation in 2013.[3]

The Snowman and the Snowdog
GenreChristmas
Based onCharacters
by Raymond Briggs
Written by
  • Hilary Audus
  • Joanna Harrison
Directed byHilary Audus
Theme music composer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Production
Producers
EditorRichard Overall
Running time24 minutes
Production companyLupus Films
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release24 December 2012 (2012-12-24)

Plot edit

Some years after the events of The Snowman, a young boy named Billy and his mother move into a new house (which previously housed the first film's protagonist James and his parents). Near Christmas, Billy writes to Father Christmas in the form of a hand-drawn picture; the only thing he asks for is another dog to replace his recently deceased one. He then stumbles over a loose floorboard in his bedroom, where he discovers some toys and a small box tied with tinsel beneath it. In the box, he finds a photograph of James and the Snowman, as well as the original scarf, hat, coal lumps and an old dried-up tangerine (once the Snowman's nose). This inspires him to build the same snowman and also a snowdog.

That night, both the snowman and the snowdog come to life. They play in and around Billy's house for a while before heading off on a flight over London to visit the annual snowman party in the frozen north. At the party, they enter and win a downhill race against numerous snowmen competitors and a skiing penguin. Father Christmas gives Billy a small present: a magical dog collar, which turns the snowdog into a real live dog that matches the one that Billy asked for.

The next morning, Billy and his new dog "Socks" wake to find that the Snowman has melted. They both kneel down by the snowman's remains, mourning the loss of their friend.

Production edit

The 24-minute film, which took nearly two years to complete, cost £2 million to produce and, like the original movie, was created from over 200,000 hand drawn images.[4] While the film was primarily hand drawn, CGI was used to add digital falling snow and lighting effects.[5] The film was tentatively called The Snowman 2 before the final name was revealed.[6]

The composer Howard Blake, who composed the soundtrack to the original 1982 film, was one of the few crew members not asked to return and after expressing an interest in returning was, it was claimed,[by whom?] asked to "send a demo", which he refused, citing the success of the original orchestral production score.[citation needed] The film instead features the songs "Light the Night" (flying to the North Pole scenes) and "Home Town" (returning home scenes) by Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows, plus incidental music by Ilan Eshkeri.[7]

Reluctant to have the original The Snowman produced into a short film, Raymond Briggs was quoted to have said that "it took a lot of persuasion to allow the sequel to be made." Although Briggs was not himself responsible for the story of the new animation, the sequel could not have taken place without his permission as he owns the rights to the original characters and premise.

On 29 March 2012, Aardman Animations' distribution arm acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the short film, alongside North American and Japanese home media rights.[8]

Promotion edit

The Snowman and the Snowdog was heavily promoted in the weeks leading to its original broadcast, mostly by Channel 4, but also by other companies such as Nationwide.[9][10]

Reception edit

When the film was broadcast on Channel 4, on 24 December 2012, writing in The Guardian, Sam Wollaston praised the animation, but criticised the numerous similarities to the original plot.[11]

Video game edit

A smartphone game was released by Channel 4 on 9 December 2012 for iOS and Android.[12] The game was developed by Crash Lab. It reached number 1 in the iPhone and iPad game charts and was downloaded over 1 million times in the UK and Ireland.[13]

Popular culture edit

In November 2016, a Christmas advert for British clothing company Barbour featured an older Billy and his dog reuniting with the Snowman and reminiscing about meeting Father Christmas.[14]

In November 2017, Barbour released another Christmas advert, following on from the previous one in 2016.[15]

A series of public art trails have been created, featuring outsize versions of the Snowdog, along with smaller Snowpups. To date, they've appeared in Newcastle and Tyne and Wear, Brighton and Hove, Cardiff and Ashford. After each exhibition the Snowdogs are sold at auction, with the proceeds going to local hospices.[16]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 289. ISBN 9781476672939.
  2. ^ "Televisual". Televisual. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Children's in 2013". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Behind the scenes – The Snowman Films – The Official Snowman Website". Thesnowman.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Snowman Creator Moans About CGI And Says 'I Don't Like Christmas'". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Aardman warms up Snowman 2".
  7. ^ "Andy Burrows Announces Music Soundtrack To Channel 4'S The Snowman And The Snowdog". Contactmusic.com. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Aardman warms up Snowman 2".
  9. ^ "The Snowman Competition – Your Nationwide". Your.nationwide.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  10. ^ "Nationwide to support film sequel to The Snowman". Thedrum.com. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  11. ^ Wollaston, Sam (25 December 2012). "TV review: The Snowman and The Snowdog; Doctor Who: The Snowmen; Call The Midwife". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  12. ^ "The Snowman and The Snowdog game – Channel 4 – Info – Press". Channel 4. from the original on 24 December 2020.
  13. ^ "The Snowman and The Snowdog hits over 1m downloads". Channel 4. from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  14. ^ ""The Snowman and The Snowdog" by Barbour". Campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Barbour reawakens the The [sic] Snowman & Snowdog for Christmas with grown-up Billy and family". Thedrum.com. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  16. ^ "The Snowdog Art Trails - Find a Snowdog Art Trail near you : Snowdog Art Trails". Retrieved 25 November 2018.

External links edit

  • Official Snowman website
  • The Snowman and the Snowdog at IMDb  
  • Video at Channel 4OD
  • Website

April 10, 2024
snowman, snowdog, 2012, british, animated, short, film, sequel, snowman, created, mark, 30th, anniversary, original, short, film, dedicated, john, coates, film, producer, died, september, 2012, features, song, called, light, night, razorlight, drummer, andy, b. The Snowman and the Snowdog is a 2012 British animated short film It is the sequel to The Snowman and was created to mark the 30th anniversary of the original short film 1 The Snowman and the Snowdog is dedicated to John Coates the film s producer who died in September 2012 and features a new song called Light the Night by Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows The Snowman and the Snowdog won the Televisual Bulldog Award 2013 in the Best Children s category 2 It was also nominated for the British Academy Children s Award for Animation in 2013 3 The Snowman and the SnowdogGenreChristmasBased onCharactersby Raymond BriggsWritten byHilary AudusJoanna HarrisonDirected byHilary AudusTheme music composerIlan EshkeriAndy BurrowsCountry of originUnited KingdomProductionProducersJohn CoatesCamilla DeakinRuth FieldingEditorRichard OverallRunning time24 minutesProduction companyLupus FilmsOriginal releaseNetworkChannel 4Release24 December 2012 2012 12 24 Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Promotion 4 Reception 5 Video game 6 Popular culture 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksPlot editSome years after the events of The Snowman a young boy named Billy and his mother move into a new house which previously housed the first film s protagonist James and his parents Near Christmas Billy writes to Father Christmas in the form of a hand drawn picture the only thing he asks for is another dog to replace his recently deceased one He then stumbles over a loose floorboard in his bedroom where he discovers some toys and a small box tied with tinsel beneath it In the box he finds a photograph of James and the Snowman as well as the original scarf hat coal lumps and an old dried up tangerine once the Snowman s nose This inspires him to build the same snowman and also a snowdog That night both the snowman and the snowdog come to life They play in and around Billy s house for a while before heading off on a flight over London to visit the annual snowman party in the frozen north At the party they enter and win a downhill race against numerous snowmen competitors and a skiing penguin Father Christmas gives Billy a small present a magical dog collar which turns the snowdog into a real live dog that matches the one that Billy asked for The next morning Billy and his new dog Socks wake to find that the Snowman has melted They both kneel down by the snowman s remains mourning the loss of their friend Production editThe 24 minute film which took nearly two years to complete cost 2 million to produce and like the original movie was created from over 200 000 hand drawn images 4 While the film was primarily hand drawn CGI was used to add digital falling snow and lighting effects 5 The film was tentatively called The Snowman 2 before the final name was revealed 6 The composer Howard Blake who composed the soundtrack to the original 1982 film was one of the few crew members not asked to return and after expressing an interest in returning was it was claimed by whom asked to send a demo which he refused citing the success of the original orchestral production score citation needed The film instead features the songs Light the Night flying to the North Pole scenes and Home Town returning home scenes by Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows plus incidental music by Ilan Eshkeri 7 Reluctant to have the original The Snowman produced into a short film Raymond Briggs was quoted to have said that it took a lot of persuasion to allow the sequel to be made Although Briggs was not himself responsible for the story of the new animation the sequel could not have taken place without his permission as he owns the rights to the original characters and premise On 29 March 2012 Aardman Animations distribution arm acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the short film alongside North American and Japanese home media rights 8 Promotion editThe Snowman and the Snowdog was heavily promoted in the weeks leading to its original broadcast mostly by Channel 4 but also by other companies such as Nationwide 9 10 Reception editWhen the film was broadcast on Channel 4 on 24 December 2012 writing in The Guardian Sam Wollaston praised the animation but criticised the numerous similarities to the original plot 11 Video game editA smartphone game was released by Channel 4 on 9 December 2012 for iOS and Android 12 The game was developed by Crash Lab It reached number 1 in the iPhone and iPad game charts and was downloaded over 1 million times in the UK and Ireland 13 Popular culture editIn November 2016 a Christmas advert for British clothing company Barbour featured an older Billy and his dog reuniting with the Snowman and reminiscing about meeting Father Christmas 14 In November 2017 Barbour released another Christmas advert following on from the previous one in 2016 15 A series of public art trails have been created featuring outsize versions of the Snowdog along with smaller Snowpups To date they ve appeared in Newcastle and Tyne and Wear Brighton and Hove Cardiff and Ashford After each exhibition the Snowdogs are sold at auction with the proceeds going to local hospices 16 See also editThe Snowman the original story Father ChristmasReferences edit Crump William D 2019 Happy Holidays Animated A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa and New Year s Cartoons on Television and Film McFarland amp Co p 289 ISBN 9781476672939 Televisual Televisual Retrieved 29 May 2013 Children s in 2013 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Retrieved 19 February 2023 Behind the scenes The Snowman Films The Official Snowman Website Thesnowman co uk Retrieved 27 December 2017 Snowman Creator Moans About CGI And Says I Don t Like Christmas Huffingtonpost co uk 10 December 2012 Retrieved 27 December 2017 Aardman warms up Snowman 2 Andy Burrows Announces Music Soundtrack To Channel 4 S The Snowman And The Snowdog Contactmusic com 29 November 2012 Retrieved 27 December 2017 Aardman warms up Snowman 2 The Snowman Competition Your Nationwide Your nationwide co uk Retrieved 27 December 2017 Nationwide to support film sequel to The Snowman Thedrum com Retrieved 27 December 2017 Wollaston Sam 25 December 2012 TV review The Snowman and The Snowdog Doctor Who The Snowmen Call The Midwife Theguardian com Retrieved 27 December 2017 The Snowman and The Snowdog game Channel 4 Info Press Channel 4 Archived from the original on 24 December 2020 The Snowman and The Snowdog hits over 1m downloads Channel 4 Archived from the original on 24 December 2020 Retrieved 14 October 2013 The Snowman and The Snowdog by Barbour Campaignlive co uk Retrieved 27 December 2017 Barbour reawakens the The sic Snowman amp Snowdog for Christmas with grown up Billy and family Thedrum com Retrieved 27 December 2017 The Snowdog Art Trails Find a Snowdog Art Trail near you Snowdog Art Trails Retrieved 25 November 2018 External links editOfficial Snowman website The Snowman and the Snowdog at IMDb nbsp Video at Channel 4OD Website Portal nbsp Children s literature Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Snowman and the Snowdog amp oldid 1212019037, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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