Changes: The Snowman (1982 TV special)

Revision as of 22:58, 9 December 2019

“	I remember that winter, because it had brought the heaviest snows I had ever seen. Snow had fallen steadily all night long. And in the morning I woke in a room filled with light & silence. The world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness. It was a magical day. And it was on that day, I made the snowman.	”
— Older James (Opening Narration)

This article is about the 1982 TV special. For other uses of The Snowman, see the disambig page.

The Snowman is a 27-minute non-verbal animated special produced by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4, based on a 1978 illustrated children's book by English author Raymond Briggs. It was first shown on Channel 4 on Boxing Day 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was won a BAFTA and nominated for the U.S. Oscar® for Animated Short Film in 1983. It has been shown every year since and has become a part of British & international Christmas popular culture.

Like the book, the film is non-verbal, as the film also does except for the introduction and the song "Walking in the Air". The story is told through picture, action & music. It was scored by Howard Blake who wrote both music and lyrics of the song and also composed and conducted the complete orchestral score for the film with his own orchestra, the Sinfonia of London. "Walking in the Air", however, was written specially for it and, uncreditly, performed by a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy, Peter Auty.

In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, the film was placed 71st. It was voted 4th in UKTV Gold's Greatest TV Christmas Moments.

Song

Uncredited.

"Walking in the Air (Theme from The Snowman)"

Cast

All uncredited; Introductions Only.

Actor	Version	Character
Reymond Briggs	Original Brocadcast/U.S. home media versions	Older James (Narration)
David Bowie	Palace Video release	Older James (Live-action)
Mel Smith	20th Anniversary (2002)	Father Christmas

On the UK DVD releases, there's the opinional track where Father Christmas narrates throughout the special.

Gallery

External Links

The Snowman (1982 TV special) at the Internet Movie Database

This page about a Christmas special or an episode from a television series with a Christmas theme is a stub. Please help the Christmas Special Wiki by expanding this article.

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 '''''The Snowman''''' is a 27-minute non-verbal animated special produced by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4, based on a 1978 illustrated children's book by English author Raymond Briggs. It was first shown on Channel 4 on Boxing Day 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was won a BAFTA and nominated for the U.S. Oscar® for Animated Short Film in 1983. It has been shown every year since and has become a part of British & international Christmas popular culture.
-Like the book, the film is non-verbal, as the film also does except for the introduction and the song "[[Walking In The Air|Walking in the Air]]". The story is told through picture, action & music. It was scored by Howard Blake who wrote both music and lyrics of the song and also composed and conducted the complete orchestral score for the film with his own orchestra, the Sinfonia of London. "Walking in the Air", however, was written specially for it and, uncreditly, performed by a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy, Peter Auty.
+Like the book, the film is non-verbal, as the film also does except for the introduction and the song "[[Walking in the Air]]". The story is told through picture, action & music. It was scored by Howard Blake who wrote both music and lyrics of the song and also composed and conducted the complete orchestral score for the film with his own orchestra, the Sinfonia of London. "Walking in the Air", however, was written specially for it and, uncreditly, performed by a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy, Peter Auty.
 In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, the film was placed 71st. It was voted 4th in UKTV Gold's Greatest TV Christmas Moments.
+==Song==
+Uncredited.
+*"[[Walking in the Air]] (Theme from ''The Snowman'')"
 ==Cast==
-''{{S|Introductions Only}}''
+All uncredited; Introductions Only.
 {| class="wikitable"
 !Actor!!Version!!Character
 |-
-|Reymond Briggs||Original Brocasdcast/U.S. home media versions||Older James {{s|(Narration)}}
+|Reymond Briggs||Original Brocadcast/U.S. home media versions||Older James {{s|(Narration)}}
 |-
-|David Bowie||reissues||Older James {{s|(Live-action)}}
+|David Bowie||Palace Video release||Older James {{s|(Live-action)}}
 |-
-|Mel Smith||20th Anniversary {{s|(2002)}}||[[Santa Claus|Father Christmas]]
+|Mel Smith||20th Anniversary (2002)||[[Father Christmas]]
 |}
@@ Line 30: / Line 34: @@
 ==Gallery==
-<gallery widths="200" captionalign="center">
+<gallery widths=200 spacing=small>
 snowman3.jpg
 snowmanintro.jpg
@@ Line 54: / Line 58: @@
 {{Stub}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Snowman, The}}
-[[Category:Specials]]
 [[Category:Santa Claus filmography]]
 [[Category:Award winners]]
@@ Line 63: / Line 66: @@
 [[Category:NCircle Entertainment]]
 [[Category:Santa's Reindeer filmography]]
+[[Category:Shorts]]