Santa vs. the Snowman 3D

Santa vs. the Snowman 3D (also known as Santa vs. The Snowman) is a 2002 half-hour computer-animated film, created by Steve Oedekerk and produced by O Entertainment.[1]

Santa vs. the Snowman 3D
Film poster
Directed byJohn A. Davis
Produced byPaul Marshal
John A. Davis
Keith Alcorn
Written bySteve Oedekerk
John A. Davis
StarringJonathan Winters
Ben Stein
Victoria Jackson
Mark DeCarlo
David Floyd
Narrated byDon LaFontaine
Music byHarvey R. Cohen
Edited byKinsey Beck
Production
company
Distributed byIMAX Pictures (2002 film)
Universal Pictures (DVD)
Release date
  • November 1, 2002 (2002-11-01)
Running time
32 minutes

The film was voiced by Jonathan Winters, Ben Stein, Victoria Jackson, Mark DeCarlo and David Floyd. It is narrated by Don LaFontaine.

Nods to other films, like a scene of ice-made AT-ST's, mostly resembling the ones from The Empire Strikes Back appear throughout.

Plot

The film features the loneliest Snowman. He has no friends and never learned to speak because nobody was around. Instead, his little flute was his voice. Every night, he played his flute for the stars. But one particular night, the stars shouted back. A flash of light zoomed past the Snowman and shattered his flute. Consumed with curiosity, the Snowman set off to find out what created the mysterious light.

Eventually, the Snowman finds himself at Santa's Village. The Snowman enters a toy workshop, where elves were making toys. Another elf comes into the workshop. With him is the workshop owner: Santa Claus. While Santa is chatting with his elves, the Snowman finds a red and gold flute in the workshop. After grabbing the flute, an alarm goes off. The Snowman retreats, but Santa sends some of his elves to retrieve the flute. While being chased, the Snowman drops the flute, and hides from the elves by jumping off a cliff. He grabs an icicle stalactite, waiting for them to leave. After the elves retrieve the flute and return to the village, the Snowman heads home.

The Snowman cannot stop thinking about Santa and his wonderful workshop. It seems that Santa has the perfect life: A marvelous home, many friends, plenty of toys, loved by everybody. But why wouldn't Santa let the Snowman have one little toy? It just didn't seem fair to the Snowman. The Snowman imagines himself as Santa, giving out toys, loved by everyone. At that moment, the Snowman thinks, "Why should Santa keep all that love, good tidings, and friendship for himself? That didn't seem fair. Maybe, it's time someone else got to be Santa?" And with that, the Snowman forms a sneaky plan to take Santa's spot.

The Snowman sneaks into one of the village's attractions, where he is noticed, and kicked out. He comes up with another idea. He makes various equipment for invading the workshop, and snowman minions to help him. The Snowman changes from his usual self to a much more devious Snowman.

The Snowman and his minions invade Santa's Village, but Santa sends his elves to fight back, in a chaotic battle. The elves attempt to melt and blow up the snowmen while the snowmen spew snowballs at the elves. Since Christmas was only hours away, Santa decides to help his elves end the conflict. The Snowman unleashes a snow monster - but Santa defeats it by using heat to shrink it. Just when it seems that Snowman is about to surrender, many more of his minions appear, greatly outnumbering Santa's forces. With that, Santa and his elves are imprisoned.

The Snowman leaves to deliver toys, leaving Santa and the elves in an ice cage. However, an elf named Flippy comes to rescue them.

Meanwhile, the Snowman soars above the rooftops. He sits in his snow replica of Santa's sleigh, while his minions act as his reindeer, feeling wonderful. Now, all he has to do is deliver a few toys, and everyone will love him. When the Snowman arrives at a little girl's house, Santa is making his way to the Snowman. The Snowman gives the girl an ice doll, but the doll shatters. Santa arrives and gives the girl a real doll. Instead of punishing the Snowman, Santa gives him the red and gold flute that the Snowman had attempted to steal, saying that the flute always belonged to him because Santa had accidentally shattered the first flute. Santa explains giving to the Snowman, saying, "Christmas giving isn't just for Santa. The spirit of giving is something that lives inside all of us." As they are about to part ways, the Snowman discovers that his sleigh and his minions had melted from the heat of the little girl's chimney. Santa offers the Snowman a ride back home, and they become friends.

Cast

Release

Originally made as a television special in December 1997, the film was later presented in IMAX 3D theaters during the November 2002–November 2006 holiday seasons. Three bonus features included an interactive game narrated by Oedekerk, but no featurette or commentary.

Santa vs. the Snowman 3D was released on 3D-DVD, including 4 pairs of 3D glasses, on October 12, 2004 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment. It offered optional 2D or 3D viewing. The film grossed $10.1M according to Rotten Tomatoes.[2]

Reception

The film received a rating of 81% from Rotten Tomatoes, making it Jonathan Winters' highest short film review.[2]

Awards

In 2003, Santa vs. The Snow man was awarded a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Special Venue Film.

Sound Editors:

  • Tim Archer (supervising sound editor/ re-recording mixer)
  • Brian Eimer (supervising sound editor/ re-recording mixer)
  • Carl Lenox (music editor)
  • Dan Shattuck (sound editor)
  • Grant McAlpine (sound editor)
  • Regan ramos (sound editor)

References
  1. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 268. ISBN 9781476672939.
  2. "Jonathan Winters". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.