During the time that I lived in the UK, I was introduced to varying little cultural aspects of life there: curry, the pubs, full English breakfasts, jacket potatoes with baked beans, football (soccer), scones, tea breaks every couple of hours, driving on the other side of the road along with steering from the other side of the car, and many other things.

But during the Christmas holidays, I was particularly introduced to The Snowman.

This is a short Christmas cartoon film based on a children’s book written a few years before. It’s about a boy who builds a snowman and that snowman comes to life at night. After some time of playing around the house and outdoors, the snowman takes a running start with the boy in hand, leaps into the air and they fly on an excursion to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas.

The Snowman has no character dialogue, but is rather driven by music; it’s sort of a cartoon musical. As they fly overhead, a particular song is sung, “Walking in the Air.”

The song and film are both magical, drawing you in to the story yourself. This portion also stirs a desire to once again live in the UK.

So enjoy The Snowman. It’s one of our favorites!