TVC brings bloomin' Santa to life with faithful detail. 'Father Christmas'
and 'Father Christmas Goes On Holiday' are combined, and there's some
bloomin' dialogue from Mel Smith, kept effectively sparse...

A new sequence was added to the original two tales. In it, Father Christmas
flies to the North Pole to find a ring of Snowmen partying, just like they did
in 'The Snowman'. James and The Snowman himself are also there, suggesting
that the events of both films are entwined. The Marketing Men made great
use of this connection. They even snuck James and his frosty friend on to
the cover of the US video sleeve...

       

Elswhere, eagle-eyed video viewers may note the portrait of - presumably - Mrs
Claus in Santa's hallway when he comes back from holiday. She has a beehive
of white cottonball hair, like she's wearing her husband's beard on her head!

Fans will know that Raymond Briggs' father Ernest, a long-serving Co-op
milkman, features in  the original picture book,. We see him delivering milk to
Buckingham Palace. The TVC film puts a twist on the 'homage'. Here the milk
float features the initials 'RB' prominently on its panels - for 'Raymond Briggs',
of course...

Publishers Hamish Hamilton have produced several splendid movie tie-in books,
including 'Father Christmas - Having A Wonderful Time!', a 1993 storybook illustrated
with a plethora of screen shots and accompanying postcards to remove and
send. One of the postcards Santa sends actually features James' imaginary
home address:

        James
        Downsview
        Chalk Pit Hill
        Nr. Lewes
        Sussex
        England

This address ties in precisely with the original 'Snowman' book and film, in
which he and James fly over the Downs to the south Coast, and Brighton Pier...

See also: Bibliography - Father Christmas
                Bibliography - Father Christmas Goes On Holiday
                Bibliography - The Complete Father Christmas
                Toonhound - Father Christmas


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