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A moonlit paper coast with a glowing pier and domed pavilion beyond a snowy garden. Footprints pass loose snowballs beside a warmly lit house.

Essential Christmas · 1982

The Snowman

66/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 66 ↓
UK certificate Universal26 min · TV special
Family · Animation

Twenty-six wordless minutes that do more than most features manage in two hours.

On Channel 4 · UK subscription →
Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓
Explore this film 13 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

Christmas all the way through.

Two paper elves study a snowy garden model with a warm cottage and footprints. Layered moonlit hills lead to distant domes and an illuminated seaside pier.

A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas drives it, but another occasion could stand in.20/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for about half.10/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details7 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.11/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: partly.10/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionOn telly every Christmas, unbroken, and you can cite it.15/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

78/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Deeply warm in tone. Mild threat. An unsettled ending.

How we score →
What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →
Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked

Channel 4

Included with a subscription
Open The Snowman on Channel 4 (opens in a new tab)

Christmas on telly? Channel 4, every Christmas. No broadcast date is confirmed here; a past tradition isn’t tonight’s TV listing.

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab).

The story

About The Snowman

A boy builds a snowman one winter afternoon and finds it alive when he creeps downstairs at midnight. The two explore his house, then fly north together to a gathering of snowmen, before morning arrives and the thaw sets in. Told entirely without dialogue, with Howard Blake's score carrying the story.

The CineClaus verdict

Twenty-six wordless minutes that do more than most features manage in two hours.

The animation has a hand-drawn softness nothing since has matched, the flight sequence deserves its fame, and then it does the thing at the end that no children's film would dare now.

It has been a fixture of British Christmas schedules for four decades and has earned every one of them. Worth knowing about before you put it on at bedtime. Still perfect.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

U

Our take: fine for the very young, with one caveat: the ending upsets a lot of small children and it arrives without warning. Worth being in the room.

BBFC advice: No material likely to offend or harm.

Content advice & accessibility
Where the advice comes from
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
Our age guidance
Editorial, separate from the official U certificate, and never looser than it.

The series

The films in this series

2 films, in release order

  • 1982

    You’re here

    The Snowman

    1982

    You’re on this film’s page
  • 2012

    The film after

    The Snowman and the Snowdog

    2012

    A sequel made for Channel 4 thirty years later.

    Not in our catalogue yet
A first look

Watch the promo

Official promo from Channel 4.

A warm paper cottage overlooks snowy gardens and a moonlit coast, with footprints, three loose snowballs and an illuminated domed pavilion and pier.

Promo

The Snowman

Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play.
The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order
Black and white close portrait of Raymond Briggs in profile, tousled hair, striped shirt and dark jacket with a peace badge, looking down.Raymond Briggs
Black and white photograph of a musician with a feathered haircut and an eyepatch playing an electric guitar on a television stage.David Bowie
Peter Auty

Behind the camera

Directed by
Dianne Jackson
Original score
Howard Blake
Writing & production credits
Writer
Raymond Briggs
Producer
John Coates
Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

Raymond Briggs · Rob Croes for Anefo · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC0 (opens in a new tab).

David Bowie · AVRO · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl (opens in a new tab).

A little more The Snowman

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

Bloopers & near misses

The television in the film had one button too few

At the final screening, Channel 4's founding chief executive spotted that the animated television set had only three buttons, so it could not have tuned in his own channel. The animators added a fourth before broadcast.

Read the story
On your next watchThe buttons on the television set in the living room.

Source: Channel 4 press ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Music & sound

The tune existed twelve years before the film

Howard Blake wrote the main melody on a Cornish beach in 1970, long before the film was planned. The rest of the score was then composed specially for the animation.

Read the story

Source: Channel 4 press ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Music & sound

The voice on the song is not the one most people remember

Many viewers assume Aled Jones sang it, but the 1982 recording is by Peter Auty, who went uncredited because the film was rushed to air. Jones recorded his own version three years later for a re-release, after Auty's voice had broken, and it reached number 5 in the UK.

Read the story

Source: Channel 4 press ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

An animation team led largely by women

The film was animated by a team that was largely female-led, including Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison. Raymond Briggs visited while they worked and praised what he saw.

Read the story

Source: Channel 4 press ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it
Snow on screen. Wordless, with Howard Blake's score and one song, Walking in the Air. The 2002 anniversary version adds an animated opening with Father Christmas.
Releases and certificates
: First on TV. First shown on Channel 4 on Boxing Day, in the channel's first year on air.
: Back in cinemas, rated U. Back in UK cinemas in a double bill with The Snowman and the Snowdog.
On television
: Channel 4. The first broadcast. Channel 4 says it has shown the film every Christmas since.
Past showings, not tonight’s listings.
Awards
Won: BAFTA TV Awards 1983, Best Children's Programme.
Nominated: Academy Awards 1983, Short Film (Animated) (John Coates).
Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.

From page to screen

The book behind the film

The book

The Snowman

At Amazon.co.uk
Check the current price and availability

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Gifts for film lovers · The Snowman

Something for the The Snowman fan

Little gifts for someone whose Christmas always includes The Snowman.

As an Amazon Associate, Cine Claus earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through a link helps pay for the site - it never changes a score.

For the fan who watches it every Christmas.Sold by the linked retailer
Good to know

Questions about The Snowman

Is The Snowman a Christmas film?

Yes, an essential one. It has been part of the British Christmas for decades, and we rate it a core Christmas watch.

When was The Snowman first shown on TV?

Channel 4 first showed it on Boxing Day, 26 December 1982, in the channel's first year, and has shown it every Christmas since.

What age rating is The Snowman?

It is rated U. The BBFC says it contains no material likely to offend or harm.

Who sang Walking in the Air in The Snowman?

Peter Auty, then a boy chorister, sang it in the 1982 film, to music by Howard Blake. He went uncredited at the time.

Is there a sequel to The Snowman?

Yes. The Snowman and the Snowdog followed in 2012.

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