With all the shenanigans of Christmas out of the way for another year, Father Christmas decides to go on holiday to France, Vegas and Scotland before returning home to deal with the mountain of children’s letters. Things appear to be going as normal, but Father Christmas has forgotten something...

Father Christmas (1991 - 25 min, 29 sec) is an animated film from the fertile mind of Raymond Briggs; the film was directed by Dave Unwin, with Mel Smith providing Santa’s voice.

There are no elves in Brigg’s version as Santa lives in a normal suburban home. This is a good natured tale, with (like The Snowman) another song, but not one which compares to ‘Walking in the Air’, although the two are connected with Father Christmas joining in with the snowmens celebrations at the North Pole and even meeting James for the second time.

The animation has held up well, for its age, probably as it has its own distinctive style. Mel Smith is perfect as the slightly grumpy Father Christmas.

Unlike the new release of The Snowman, Father Christmas has no extras, which is a real shame, but shows the level of popularity of the two shorts.

This makes a good companion to the recently released The Snowman, and like that short should appeal to children of all ages.

7

Charles Packer