History ComicBook / TheSnowman

* MimeAndMusicOnlyCartoon: There is no dialogue from any character; not that it really needs any.

* SilenceIsGolden: There is no dialogue from any character; not that it really needs any.

%% * ChristmasSpecial: Britain's most popular, where it is far more famous than the similarly themed ''WesternAnimation/FrostyTheSnowman''.
%% * CoolBike: The snowman and the boy take a motorcycle for a midnight ride.
* DigitalDestruction: In 2002 it was "restored"... by being cropped from 4:3 to 16:9. The vandalized version was broadcast every year up to and including 2012. In 2013 they reverted to the old version.

%% * DramaticCurtainToss: The reveal of the motorbike, from under a big, black tarpaulin.

** Via a brief live-action prologue. It's Raymond Briggs in the original broadcast, Music/DavidBowie in subsequent rereleases. (The latter was what Americans saw when HBO ran it annually in TheEighties, but all VHS and DVD versions use the original intro.) The 20th anniversary release featured an animated intro with Father Christmas (voice by Mel Smith) recounting how he met the boy.

* OrWasItADream: No, it was not.

Most famous for the song "[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Walking in the Air]]", which many a choir (and even HeavyMithril band Music/{{Nightwish}}) has sung at some point.

* ChristmasSpecial: Britain's most popular, where it is far more famous than the similarly themed ''WesternAnimation/FrostyTheSnowman''.
* CoolBike: The snowman and the boy take a motorcycle for a midnight ride.

* DeathByNewberyMedal: Nominated for an Academy Award.
* DramaticCurtainToss: The reveal of the motorbike, from under a big, black tarpaulin.

* {{Narrator}}: Via a brief live-action prologue. It's Raymond Briggs in the original broadcast, Music/DavidBowie in subsequent rereleases. (The latter was what Americans saw when HBO ran it annually in TheEighties, but all VHS and DVD versions use the original intro.) The 20th anniversary release featured an animated intro with Father Christmas (voice by Mel Smith) recounting how he met the boy.

* UnconventionalFoodUsage: The eponymous snowman goofs around in one scene, replacing his nose with various fruits.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: At the end, the Snowman has apparently melted, though the ground is still covered in snow, though real snowmen melt much slower due to their lower surface to volume area. Of course, real snowmen can't walk or fly either.

* ABoyAndHisX: A boy and his snowman in this case. The boy is an only child and lives in a rather remote area, so the snowman becomes his OnlyFriend for the night.

* DarkReprise: "Walking In The Air" is heard after the snowman's death.

* NoMoreForMe: A reveler on a cruise ship sees the boy and the Snowman flying by and decides he's had too much champagne.

* RealityEnsues: Really, there was no way the boy could have thought the snowman would last forever.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Returning South from the North Pole, James and the Snowman fly over what is recognisably Brighton Pavilion, which is [[CreatorProvincialism close to Raymond Briggs' home in East Sussex]] but being on the South coast is not on a route between anywhere in Great Britain and the North Pole,especially as they approach it from the sea.

After several escapades, including a memorable motorcycle/car ride around the local fields the Snowman reveals another special ability when he flies the boy to the a snow covered northern forest, with the song "Walking in the Air" playing in the background. There, [[SantaClaus Father Christmas]] and a large group of other [[{{Snowlems}} living Snowmen and Snow-women]] are having a party. Father Christmas gives the boy the gift of a blue scarf with snowmen on it. Then the Snowman flies the boy home. They part ways when the boy goes back to bed and the Snowman remains standing in the garden.

In 1991, a companion film based on ''Comicbook/FatherChristmas'' was made based on Brigg's other Christmas piece, both James and the Snowman make a cameo.

30 years later, a sequel, ''The Snowman and the Snowdog'', aired 24 December 2012 on Channel 4. It follows Billy, who has moved with his mother into the house that James used to live in. At Christmas, he writes to Father Christmas, saying the only thing he wants that year is a new dog to replace his old one that had recently died. In the process, he winds up finding a picture of James and the snowman, and decides to build both him and a snow-dog, who both come to life the next morning.

* AnimateInanimateObject: The titular Snowman who magically came to life one winter's night

* SilenceIsGolden: There is no dialogue from any character, but not that it really need any.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Returning South from the North Pole, James and the Snowman fly over what is recognisably Brighton Pavilion, which is [[CreatorProvincialism close to Raymond Briggs' home in East Sussex]] but being on the South coast is not on a route between anywhere in Great Britain and the North Pole. Especially as they approach it from the sea.

* AnimateInanimateObject: The titular Snowman who magically came to life one winter's night.
* CoolBike: The one the snowman and the boy take for a midnight ride.
* DancesAndBalls: Father Christmas hosts a large party for international snowmen.
* DarkReprise: "Walking In The Air" is heard after the snowman's death.
* DigitalDestruction: In 2002 it was "restored"... by being cropped from 4:3 to 16:9. The vandalized version was broadcast every year up to and including 2012. In 2013 they reverted to the old version.

* TragicKeepsake: The scarf from Father Christmas.

%% * ABoyAndHisX: A boy and his snowman in this case. %% What does their relationship look like and what effect does it have on them? %%

* AdaptationExpansion: Many scenes were added to the film that weren't in the GraphicNovel.

* BittersweetEnding: The sequel's ending is a little more uplifting than the original; the snowdog, that was made in the memory of the boy's recently deceased dog, becomes a ''real'' dog thanks to the gift from Father Christmas. However the snowman has melted come morning, just like in the original, and never comes back.

* OrWasItADream?: After the Snowdog's transformation into a real dog, the boy took it in... only to see it missing when he wakes up. He ran downstairs in a panic, and - to his relief - found it at the back door wanting to go outside.

* DarkReprise: "Walking In The Air" is heard [[spoiler:after the snowman's death.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When the boy rushes downstairs the morning after flying around with the snowman, the look on the parents' faces say that they ''know'' the snowman has already melted, and that the boy will be devastated when he finds out.

* MoodWhiplash: After the lighthearted sequence of the boy and the Snowman visiting Father Christmas, [[spoiler:the boy excitedly runs outside to find the snowman...only to find out that the snowman melted overnight, leaving the boy to grieve his friend's passing.]]

* OrWasItADream?: No, it was not.