The Snowman 1982 Review

 

A featurette I watched as a child, it was based on a children’s book from 1978 (which also was part of my younger days even though I was born in the late 80s). While there is very little dialogue, only a spoken intro and some lyrics in the film’s famous song, it’s considered very nostalgic, so let’s dive in

 

After being told about the narrator’s memories of a winter with much snow and how he made the titular snowman (one version featuring David Bowie!), we shift into animation

 

The young boy awakens, excited at the snow falling and quickly changes to go outside. His mother puts a hat on him after he rushes to get on his boots, quickly falling off. And when the boy throws a big snowball at the house, it splats on the window, his mother scolding him

 

But after making a snowman (with rather unorthodox techniques), complete with a scarf, hat, a fruit nose and coal buttons and eyes, the boy is called inside. He continues to look back at his creation, jumping into bed (looking forward to Christmas, clearly) and goes to sleep.

 

His anticipation keeps him up and at midnight, he goes downstairs, seeing a prismatic light come over the snowman and give it life.

 

The two have fun, scaring the cat near the fireplace (a normal reaction to an animated snow construct) and seeing the weird reflections in the tree ornaments.  However when the snowman sits on the chair and starts watching TV, it becomes clear that the fireplace is affecting him and they go to the kitchen

 

The snowman tries on some other noses from a fruit basket and enjoys the icebox (I think?). Then the pair goes upstairs and into the kid’s parents’ room (why?). Some false teeth create a simultaneously funny and terrifying gag, the snowman then putting on some makeup and even more clothes (so no gender concept?). They narrowly avoid waking up the parents after the snowman sneezes from some perfume (because he has lungs and nostrils?)

 

In the boy’s room, the snowman dances around, inspired by a dancing music box figure, but then stumbles around on a roller skate and avoids a toy train, crashing into a wall (releasing balloons?).

 

Outside, the snowman notices something covered up with a tarp, a motorcycle (with the keys inside!). The pair drives (the snowman a quick study) and they have a romp through the forest, annoying various wild animals and then returning home (the snowman’s inner thighs shiny now?). After a brief sit in a freezer in the shed, the snowman leaves (seemingly remembering something), the boy taken with him as they fly through the air (and the song begins).

 

They surprise many people (even penguins), one guy having the reaction that he’s drunk too much champagne, while a young girl wonders if it’s connected to Santa. Other snowmen even join them early on, but the pair is mostly alone in their travels across the frozen landscape

 

After a while, things calm down, the pair entering a forest where there’s a secret gathering of snow people (snow women clearly there as well) and, surprisingly (or not), Santa Claus as well. Lots of raucous fun is had (snowmen getting drunk?), Santa even giving the boy a present after showing him the reindeer in a stable

 

But the pair has to get back home, the snowman giving the boy a final hug as he stands alone outside.

 

The next morning, the snowman has tragically dissipated, just a lump on the ground, the boy saddened as he looks at the scarf, his only remaining memory of that night as the featurette concludes.

 

 

The music is the major centerpiece, even moreso than the unique art style that resembles watercolors, which is a breath of fresh air. It addresses the mood of any given scene, setting it up well without any need for spoken word to enrich things, in no small part because of the animation being fairly expressive for the time.

 

As for characters, the major focus is on the snowman and the boy, each playing well off the other. The youthful innocence of the boy, excited at his creation come to life, the snowman more naive yet somehow still possessing of knowledge that doesn’t entirely make sense if you think about it (and also magically functions like a human for some jokes).

 

If there’s some message to be learned, it’s the transience of our childhood and wonder at such things like making a snowman and how we should cherish it as a dear memory. Author Raymond Briggs was bleaker in his justification, just a fact of life that things happen like a snowman melting.

 

All in all, this is something you shouldn’t skip on, the traditional animation fantastic and the premise simple, yet effective at conveying the impactful message that can stick with you long after childhood (unlike me?).