The Twelve Days of Christmas Movies – Number 1

I am surviving on six hours of sleep in the last 48. I have had so many jobs to do and so little time and I am at work on Christmas eve and wow, it’s going to be a busy one. I have already taken so many calls from drunken, sad people that my heart is hurting.

Sigh.

Anyway, onward and upward. I have left the best till last.

The Snowman

THE best ever.

This is a cartoon based on the bestselling book by Raymond Briggs about a boy who builds a snowman who comes to life and takes him to the North Pole to meet Santa.

This is the closest animation comes to being a work of art. The production is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful works of television you will ever see.  Brigg’s illustrations have been perfectly captured for the television. The flying scenes in particular will take your breath away. The story, seemingly simple, is one of the most moving  pieces of television. There is no dialogue in the entire show, the film is carried by the expressiveness of the animation and the soundtrack. It is a poem without words.

Simply put, the film is about the loneliness of being a child and the power of friendship. There is no reason for the snowman to come to life, simply the magic of Christmas and the power of the child’s imagination.  It is a bittersweet film, beautifully capturing the joy and heartbreak of Christmas. How animated films about snowmen should be done!

Unbelievably stunning. A masterpiece.

Brandy score: none. Not a single drop. This film will enchant you.