Winter Tales

Leo Lionni : Frederick




Raymond Briggs : The Snowman

Raymond Briggs :
  "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 and silence, the whole 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."

Written by Raymond Briggs ( book )
Directed by Dianne Jackson
Produced by John Coates
Music by Howard Blake ( composer );
      Sinfonia of London ; Peter Auty ( treble )

The Snowman : Wikipedia

The film was produced using traditional animation techniques, consisting of pastels, crayons and other coloring tools drawn on pieces of celluloid, which were traced over hand drawn frames. For continuity purposes, the background artwork was painted using the same tools.

The song "Walking in the Air" is sung in the film by chorister Peter Auty, who was not credited in the original version.

Though the boy in the book is unnamed, in the film he is named "James". This is clear on the tag for the present he receives from Father Christmas. The name was added by Joanna Harrison, one of the animators, as it was her boyfriend's (later her husband) name.

In the film, the boy's home seems to be in the South Downs of England, near to Brighton; he and Snowman fly over what appears to be Brighton; the Royal Pavilion and Palace Pier are clearly depicted. Later in the film, the tag on his present confirms this.




The Little Matchgirl 2006, directed by Roger Allers
The Little Matchgirl, 1845 by Hans Christian Andersen

Music, Alexander Borodin

  String Quartet No.2 in D Major
  3rd Movement, Notturno ( Andante )