Of course, I am talking about "Walking in the Air" here. This is a 1982 short movie which runs for roughly 26 minutes and was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to the Polish entry. At least they took home a BAFTA television award and this movie aged so well in people's minds that they finally made a sequel a couple years ago, roughly 30 years after the original and they got some of the people from the original to join the crew. I personally enjoyed watching this short film. It wasn't great or anything and had a couple weak moments (like the snowman trying on all these clothes), but as a whole it's worth the watch, especially for animation lovers. I liked the film's style (looks much older than 1982) more than the story. I read that the ending had an emotional impact on many, but not for me. In general, I believe they may have done a better job on the story about the snowman. The boy was fine. I watched the version that had David Bowie in the intro. For pretty much everybody involved with this (writer, directors, producer), this was the biggest success of their career in retrospective. They still succeeded with other projects and managed Emmy nominations or another Oscar nomination in the short film category, but none of their works has come close to "The Snowman" in terms of popularity. Decent short film all in all. Recommended.

I first came across this video in 1989 - 1990, bought it, then watched it every year around Christmastime with my two children before they went off to college (university). It became, in essence, a "family tradition" for our newly formed family of three: one estranged father; one son; one daughter.Although I can't really lay claim to being other than an aficionado of animated film, I would have to say that "The Snowman" ranks at the tippy top of my list of works of a similar art. The story...the music...the animation...are all immaculately conceived and executed.I can't recommend this video strongly enough to parents of young children. In our present-day age of video games and special effects, this simply drawn, animated film is a treasure -- and for the three of us, at least, an heirloom.RRB Brooklyn, NY, USA

I've seen this Christmas special several times over the festive period most years as well as 'Father Christmas' since I was a child and it is one of my favourites.The animation style is unique to other animated Christmas specials with its pencil/pastel drawing look. It does flicker but it is smooth nonetheless and the backgrounds, especially the exterior snowy ones, are pleasing to the eye. While the colours are not entirely vibrant, they're at their most beautiful on the Christmas tree lights inside James's family home, the Northern Lights in the sky towards the end of the 'Walking in the Air' sequence (my favourite part of the special with the lovely song and amazing flythroughs) and during the snowman party. The incidental music is lovely and memorable, particularly the instrumental versions of 'Walking in the Air' and that played during the snowman party while it does a sound job with driving the narrative throughout the special. While the ending is heartbreaking when the snowman melts, there are some amusing moments such as the snowman trying out different pieces of fruit for his nose, exploring James's parents' bedroom and the powerful musical notes playing as he sneezes. The only gripe is the live- action introduction with David Bowie playing the adult James that I probably saw for the first time upon re-visiting the special today because it is forgettable and I don't remember seeing it as a child.Overall, this is a must-see animated Christmas special every festive season, despite the David Bowie intro, with its music and animation as its redeeming qualities. 9/10.

Re-released by Sony DVD in 2006, buy this if you can find it. Essentially a hand-drawn children's picture-book come-to-life. The animation style seems a bit crude at first, but as you watch, you began to realize that it is highly sophisticated and computer-assisted. Based on the book by Raymond Briggs, the drawings remind me of "The Polar Express" book. This animation style works for the most part, but the flying sequences seem a bit too grainy. (So turn down the "sharpness") The story is also magical: A young boy builds a snowman on the snowiest day ever and he comes to life. The Snowman wanders throughout the house, tries on clothing and false teeth, and watches television. They ride a motorcycle together. Suddenly, the boy and Snowman take flight and fly over the ocean to the North Pole. They spot a whale along the way. They both dance in the snowy forest with the other snowmen and snow-ladies. Santa gives him a Christmas Gift: a blue scarf to wear. The Snowman and the boy fly home together. The next day, the Snowman has melted away. Was it all a Christmas Dream? No. the scarf is in the pocket of his bathrobe.Technical: Animated in 1982, there is some dirt and negative wear on the transfer, but bright colors. Excellent sound. Scriptless except for the haunting song "Walking in the Air". Musical score throughout.Audience: Adults who love animation and most children. It's short--only 27 minutes in length. Originally shown (in 1982) on HBO with a new intro by David Bowie, the original intro is used here. Inspired a complete line of products in its day: bubble bath, soap, the original picture-book. I predict that if you have never seen this before, you will watch it twice the first time. It's that good. Mild PG: Very brief shot of a child's "rear" as he changes clothes to go outdoors. No worse than a similar scene in Disney's "Night Before Christmas" 1940's cartoon.