Toonhound - The First Snow of Winter (1997)

Poor Sean. Or rather, poor foolish Sean.

    Sean is a lively young duckling who, like all youngsters, never listens or heeds
    the words of his parents. So when he is warned away from his silly games and
    urged to join his Mum and Dad for the big migration south, what does he do?
    He gets up to mischief annoying some seagulls, that's what. And that brings
    him in to close contact with an aeroplane which leaves him unable to fly, with his
    parents already long gone. And that means young Sean has to face up to the
    first snow of winter lonesome and unprepared...

    And that's our cue for a desperately sweet tale in which Sean finds a home in
    an old wellington boot, meets a mad "oirish" water vole and a puffin, avoids the
    unwelcome attention of a hungry fox and learns invaluable lessons in survival,
    resourcefulness and friendship on the way.



    "The First Snow of Winter" is a treat, guaranteed to bring a lump to your throat,
    and a tear to the eye, without teetering into mawkishness. It's a simple tale
    attractively told, with some silly humour, and beaufitul bleak winter backgrounds.
    The humour comes mainly from Voley, as voiced by the late great Dermot
    Morgan (Father Ted) in one of his final roles. Voley doesn't hang around long,
    hibernating before the snow comes, but there's still enough time for him to present
    us with a flock of Riverdancing sheep (!). Those backgrounds capture the steel skies
    and brown lands of early winter just perfectly, before the snow settles on everything,
    and Sean's boot in the snow looks as chilly and lonesome as you care to imagine.

    The film was written, stoyboarded and directed by Graham Ralph. Formerly one
    half of the splendidly successful Hibbert Ralph, Graham now operates Silver Fox
    Films with which he's mined still more animation gold. Silver Fox have brought us
    Second Star to the Left, Spider, Forgotten Toys, Angelmouse and William's
    Wish Wellingtons. Graham also been executive produced and directed
    Bounty Hamster.

    Notice the names of Alan Gilbey and David Freedman on the script credit. They
    later formed Peafur Productions, through whom they brought The Mr Hell Show
    and the afore-mentioned "Bounty Hamster". "First Snow" shows off their more
     sensitive side.

    The film's first UK broadcast was on Christmas Day 1998, and it pooled some
    6m viewers. That's a big rating for a little ducky. Sean has gone on to warm the
    hearts of animation panels the world over. His story has collected a BAFTA for Best
    Animation 1999, an RTS Award, the Prix Jeunesse 2000 for best Children's
    Programme (0-6 fiction), and more. Fans should track down a copy of the
    original BBC video which includes a short "making of" feature with Graham
    Ralph. A tie-in storybook is also available, featuring splendid illustrations
    by Silver Fox artist SueTong.

      Sean and Puffy

      Awards

      2000 Prix Jeunesse - Best Children's Programme (0-6 fiction)
      1999 BAFTA Award - Best Animation
      1999 Royal Television Society - Best Children's Entertainment
      1999 Prix Danube - Best Independent Production
      1999 Chicago Intl Children's Film Festival - 2nd prize, Children's
              Jury for Best Animation
      1999 Kinderfilmfest Tokyo - Grand Prize, Best Short Film
      1999 Washington DC Intl Film Fest - Best Film, Audience Award, Jury Award

      First Snow of Winter on DVD

     The First Snow of Winter
                Region 2 / 4 Front / November 2005

     The First Snow of Winter
                Region 1 / Sony / November 2004

      a Hibbert Ralph Entertainment Production
      in association with Link Entertainment

     written, storyboarded and directed
      by Graham Ralph

     producer:         Jackie Edwards
     exec prods:      Theresa Plummer-Andrews, David Hamilton,
                            Clare Derry
     script:              Alan Gilbey, David Freedman
     music:              Mark Sayer-Wade, Tolga Kashif
                            The Music Sculptors
     principal
      animation:        Mark Mason, Paul Stone, Odile Comon, Teddy Hall
     art director:      Claire Wright
      layouts:            Tom Bailey, Susie Bailey, Ray Rankine
     backgrounds:    Sue Tong, Ray Rankine, Claire Wright
     voices:             Miriam Margolyes (Shaun)
                             Dermot Morgan (Voley)
                             Kate Sachs (Puffy)
                             Sorcha Cusack (Sean's Mum)
                             Neil McCaul (Shaun's Dad)

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			The First Snow of Winter (1997) producers: Hibbert Ralph / Link Ent. for the BBC animation: 2D animation run time: 25 mins
		Poor Sean. Or rather, poor foolish Sean. Sean is a lively young duckling who, like all youngsters, never listens or heeds the words of his parents. So when he is warned away from his silly games and urged to join his Mum and Dad for the big migration south, what does he do? He gets up to mischief annoying some seagulls, that's what. And that brings him in to close contact with an aeroplane which leaves him unable to fly, with his parents already long gone. And that means young Sean has to face up to the first snow of winter lonesome and unprepared... And that's our cue for a desperately sweet tale in which Sean finds a home in an old wellington boot, meets a mad "oirish" water vole and a puffin, avoids the unwelcome attention of a hungry fox and learns invaluable lessons in survival, resourcefulness and friendship on the way. "The First Snow of Winter" is a treat, guaranteed to bring a lump to your throat, and a tear to the eye, without teetering into mawkishness. It's a simple tale attractively told, with some silly humour, and beaufitul bleak winter backgrounds. The humour comes mainly from Voley, as voiced by the late great Dermot Morgan (Father Ted) in one of his final roles. Voley doesn't hang around long, hibernating before the snow comes, but there's still enough time for him to present us with a flock of Riverdancing sheep (!). Those backgrounds capture the steel skies and brown lands of early winter just perfectly, before the snow settles on everything, and Sean's boot in the snow looks as chilly and lonesome as you care to imagine. The film was written, stoyboarded and directed by Graham Ralph. Formerly one half of the splendidly successful Hibbert Ralph, Graham now operates Silver Fox Films with which he's mined still more animation gold. Silver Fox have brought us Second Star to the Left, Spider, Forgotten Toys, Angelmouse and William's Wish Wellingtons. Graham also been executive produced and directed Bounty Hamster. Notice the names of Alan Gilbey and David Freedman on the script credit. They later formed Peafur Productions, through whom they brought The Mr Hell Show and the afore-mentioned "Bounty Hamster". "First Snow" shows off their more sensitive side. The film's first UK broadcast was on Christmas Day 1998, and it pooled some 6m viewers. That's a big rating for a little ducky. Sean has gone on to warm the hearts of animation panels the world over. His story has collected a BAFTA for Best Animation 1999, an RTS Award, the Prix Jeunesse 2000 for best Children's Programme (0-6 fiction), and more. Fans should track down a copy of the original BBC video which includes a short "making of" feature with Graham Ralph. A tie-in storybook is also available, featuring splendid illustrations by Silver Fox artist SueTong. Awards 2000 Prix Jeunesse - Best Children's Programme (0-6 fiction) 1999 BAFTA Award - Best Animation 1999 Royal Television Society - Best Children's Entertainment 1999 Prix Danube - Best Independent Production 1999 Chicago Intl Children's Film Festival - 2nd prize, Children's Jury for Best Animation 1999 Kinderfilmfest Tokyo - Grand Prize, Best Short Film 1999 Washington DC Intl Film Fest - Best Film, Audience Award, Jury Award First Snow of Winter on DVD The First Snow of Winter Region 2 / 4 Front / November 2005 The First Snow of Winter Region 1 / Sony / November 2004 a Hibbert Ralph Entertainment Production in association with Link Entertainment written, storyboarded and directed by Graham Ralph producer: Jackie Edwards exec prods: Theresa Plummer-Andrews, David Hamilton, Clare Derry script: Alan Gilbey, David Freedman music: Mark Sayer-Wade, Tolga Kashif The Music Sculptors principal animation: Mark Mason, Paul Stone, Odile Comon, Teddy Hall art director: Claire Wright layouts: Tom Bailey, Susie Bailey, Ray Rankine backgrounds: Sue Tong, Ray Rankine, Claire Wright voices: Miriam Margolyes (Shaun) Dermot Morgan (Voley) Kate Sachs (Puffy) Sorcha Cusack (Sean's Mum) Neil McCaul (Shaun's Dad) On the web Silver Fox Films The official studio site, for all the info you need on Graham Ralph, his team and their productions... Mark Mason Top Silver Fox animator bloke, Mark has his own site with some splendid info on his other series credits, like "Raggy Dolls" and the wonderfully stoopid "Philbert Frog"... Alan Gilbey Alan talks toons and more on his excellent site... David Freedman And David blogs along here... prev » next »

© Link Ent 1998 / Hibbert Ralph / F2006