At the same time a sequel and an homage to the original Christmas classic, The Snowman, this film takes place years after the events of the original film and once again the events of that magical night will repeat themselves.
What I like about this film is how they tried to capture the magic and uniqueness of the original film. The animation, though bit crisper around the edges, still looks very authentic and is easily the best part about this film.
Unfortunately the rest of the film feels like a cheap mimic of the original classic. The biggest problem is that I don't really want the story of The Snowman to continue. When that movie ended, it was painful, it was sad, but it was also something that felt right. I learned something from it, yet the story of this sequel completely undermines and cheapens that ending. It has no meaning, no impact, if you can just fashion yourself a new one the next day or year.
Furthermore, there's very little originality or creativity on display here. Sure, there's a snowdog, but it feels like a cheap gimmick, meant to awe the little children in the audience. I guess the sequel needed something extra, but come on guys, you could have done better than this. The rest of the story sticks pretty close to the original formula, with a few deviations, but if you really want to see a story about a boy and his snow companion(s), well, we already had the original film.
Even the music is just bland. A trendy pop tune with not a single thread of the magic of the original Walking in the Air.
In the end, I cannot find it within myself to completely damn this film because, as stated, it is an homage and tries to pay respect to the original film. But it's just so bad at it. I honestly would have been happier if I never saw this in my life. Hopefully I can still watch the original with same enthusiasm as I've done before, come next Christmas.
What I like about this film is how they tried to capture the magic and uniqueness of the original film. The animation, though bit crisper around the edges, still looks very authentic and is easily the best part about this film.
Unfortunately the rest of the film feels like a cheap mimic of the original classic. The biggest problem is that I don't really want the story of The Snowman to continue. When that movie ended, it was painful, it was sad, but it was also something that felt right. I learned something from it, yet the story of this sequel completely undermines and cheapens that ending. It has no meaning, no impact, if you can just fashion yourself a new one the next day or year.
Furthermore, there's very little originality or creativity on display here. Sure, there's a snowdog, but it feels like a cheap gimmick, meant to awe the little children in the audience. I guess the sequel needed something extra, but come on guys, you could have done better than this. The rest of the story sticks pretty close to the original formula, with a few deviations, but if you really want to see a story about a boy and his snow companion(s), well, we already had the original film.
Even the music is just bland. A trendy pop tune with not a single thread of the magic of the original Walking in the Air.
In the end, I cannot find it within myself to completely damn this film because, as stated, it is an homage and tries to pay respect to the original film. But it's just so bad at it. I honestly would have been happier if I never saw this in my life. Hopefully I can still watch the original with same enthusiasm as I've done before, come next Christmas.