Originally published in 1978, The Snowman, created and illustrated by Raymond Briggs has become one of the world’s most popular children’s books, selling in excess of 8.5 million copies worldwide and being translated into over 15 languages.

In 1982, Raymond Briggs’ classic picture book The Snowman was adapted as a 26-minute animated film by TVC (at the time the UK’s longest established animation studio), under the direction of Dianne Jackson. Having spotted the potential for creating a unique and ground-breaking animation, John Coates, instructed two trusted assistant animators, Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison, to ...

Originally published in 1978, The Snowman, created and illustrated by Raymond Briggs has become one of the world’s most popular children’s books, selling in excess of 8.5 million copies worldwide and being translated into over 15 languages.

In 1982, Raymond Briggs’ classic picture book The Snowman was adapted as a 26-minute animated film by TVC (at the time the UK’s longest established animation studio), under the direction of Dianne Jackson. Having spotted the potential for creating a unique and ground-breaking animation, John Coates, instructed two trusted assistant animators, Hilary Audus and Joanna Harrison, to go and buy a dozen copies of the book for the purpose of dissecting it and storyboarding the very first animatic.

This quickly turned into a hand-drawn animation bible, which became the template for the final film. John Coates’ passion for bringing the book to the screen quickly caught the attention of Sir Jeremy Issacs, former Chief Executive of Channel 4 who believed that it would be a fantastic piece for the channel and stand out from the rest of its schedule.

The Snowman was first shown in the UK on 26 December 1982 and has since been shown every year on Channel 4; it has also delighted audiences across the world.

In keeping with the book, the film of The Snowman is wordless and free of dialogue, except for the now iconic, “Walking in the Air” which features as part of a now timeless musical score.

Both song and score were written and composed by Howard Blake, who had in fact written the melody some years before having been inspired by a walk on a Cornish beach.

HISTORY

Born in 1934 in Wimbledon, South London, Raymond Briggs studied at the Wimbledon School of Art, and the Slade School of Fine Art. When he graduated in 1957, he immediately started writing and illustrating, and in 1961 also began work as a part-time lecturer in illustration at Brighton Polytechnic.

That Raymond both writes and illustrates is evident in his work. As he himself said, “The whole point of illustration is that it is literary. If it is not, it remains a drawing only.” His early illustration work included Ring-a-Ring o’ Roses, published in 1962, and The Mother Goose Treasury, published in 1966. The characteristic visual and verbal style of Raymond is well-known and recognised, and can be seen at its best in the comic strip style books for which he is possibly best known. The hilarious Father Christmas (1973) won the Kate Greenaway medal, and The Snowman is a favourite across all age-ranges.

“The main inspiration behind The Snowman was one of my other characters, Fungus the Bogeyman. After two years of being immersed in much, slime and words, I needed some light relief: something clean, pleasant, fresh and wordless.

The idea had been around for seven years. It had been filed away until there was time to work on it. I think it originally came from seeing an old black and white strip cartoon in a children’s comic when I was evacuated in the war. I vaguely remember two snowmen coming to live and one of them clambering over a window sill into a house. Where the flying came from I cannot remember, but the idea seemed perfectly natural. Perhaps it is because snow lightly floats down out of the sky, so it seems reasonable that a snowman can lightly float up again.

Most of my ideas seem to be based on a simple premise: let’s assume that something imaginary – a snowman or a bogeyman – is wholly real, and then proceed logically from there. If a snowman came to live and was invited into a house, he would never have seen electric light, television or washing-up liquid. He would learn to avoid the fire and the radiators, but would love the refrigerator and freezer. It is just common sense and that is all there is to it.”

-Raymond Briggs