Since I did The Snowman on Christmas Day last year, I thought it best to review it's sequel, The Snowman & the Snowdog exactly one year later! Released 30 years after the first film to commorate the 30th anniversary of the first movie, this one was planned for a while, but only until they got permission from the author of the original book Raymond Briggs, were they allowed to make it (he had no involvement in the story this time round). They all also made a vow that no CGI would be used in the special & that every single cell would be hand drawn. So can this bring back the nostalgia of the original Snowman after over 30 years, or does it feel like an unecessary sequel? Let's find out!
Story: I'm not going to lie when I say that the story has many 'similarities' to the original. What I mean by that is that they literally took the same plot from the first movie & it isn't even a follow up! This one shows a different boy after his dog has died & finds the original objects used to make the original snowman, builds it & also makes a snow dog for a friend. Like the original, they both come to life & a few hijinks ensue before they go to the North Pole & then have fun at party before having to go back home, only for a magical twist as the boy is given a magical collar which turns the snow dog into a puppy. Honestly, this kinda takes away the themes of the original, although I'll give them credit that they handle the theme of the loss of a pet pretty realistically since it is an unfortunate part of life (believe me, I know) The similarities between this & the original are honestly what avoids it being it's own thing & the relationship between the boy & the snowman isn't really as heartwarming due to it focusing a bit more on him & the snowdog. Don't get me wrong, it is still charming to watch, but not quite on par with the original.
Animation: If there is one good thing about this short, it's that the animation is very well done! I love the decision they made to fully hand draw it & not use any computer animation to respect the original, & it is a sight to behold after seeing so many CGI movies & specials in recent years! And considering the amount of effort put in (seriously, it's 12 frames per second in the short & one frame took 30 hours to do) it's all worth it! The character designs & backgrounds both highly respect the original short (if not a little bit too polished. I don't know, the rough look in the original made it look better) as it has a storybook feeling to it & it is very colourful which makes it feel more Christmas-y! The character animation is also done well in a realisitic way, but I do like how it can get creative on the snowmen, penguins & the way the dog moves immediately gives him a personality. The backgrounds as mentioned, do look very detailed & I love that they go to more places like around London where we see many landmarks nowadays like the London Eye, the Shard, The Gherkin & of all things the Crystal Palace transmitting station in the flying sequence! Honestly, I don't see anything bad with the animation at all! It feels very refreshing to see a 2D animated special & I have to say, this is an example of how it can tell a story with no dialogue, just like the original!
Characters: Even if there aren't many characters in this, the only thing I can really say is that they're exactly the same as the original! The boy (a different one from the original) in this is pretty much the same as the one in the original except grieving for his beloved dog, which does make him pretty sympathetic, but besides that he's a fun loving kid. The Snowman is also pretty much the same like I mentioned before, although he does keep his same likeable personality. The Snowdog is freaking adorable! May be cos I'm a huge dog lover myself, but his design is so cute & he does acurately act like a puppy throughout! The others like the snowmen at the North Pole, Santa & a certain competetive penguin are all also enjoyable, so overall, while the main characters are essentially the same as its predecessor, they're still pretty good to watch!
The Snowman & The Snowdog may not be as good as it's predecessor, but it still very charming & it did bring the nostalgia factor back of the original when I watched it! As for the song that plays during the flying scene Light The Night by Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows, it's pretty good! May not be as memorable as Walking in the Air, but I liked hearing a more modern song & has a warm Christmas-y feeling to it which is kinda sad since we haven't had any popular modern Christmas songs like that since the 90s! Oh yeah, and I wish all of you a Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah/Happy Kwanzaa & a very Happy New Year as we approach 2015 & I'm so glad I brought the Animation Advent Calendar back & there's no doubt I'll be doing it for a third time next year (heck, I already have ideas of what to review for it)!
Story: 7/10
Animation: 10/10
Characters: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
Since I did The Snowman on Christmas Day last year, I thought it best to review it's sequel, The Snowman & the Snowdog exactly one year later! Released 30 years after the first film to commorate the 30th anniversary of the first movie, this one was planned for a while, but only until they got permission from the author of the original book Raymond Briggs, were they allowed to make it (he had no involvement in the story this time round). They all also made a vow that no CGI would be used in the special & that every single cell would be hand drawn. So can this bring back the nostalgia of the original Snowman after over 30 years, or does it feel like an unecessary sequel? Let's find out!
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar