"We're all good at different things,
    that's why we make a good team!"
 

   What a calamity! - The Bobblesberg Winter Games are due to get underway
    very soon, but the special team assigned to build the courses is snowed under.
    Still, there's no need to panic because Bob the Builder and his friends just
    happen to be at Bobblesberg too. They're supposed to be building a log cabin
    for the visiting Mayoress of Bobsville, but now, as the clock counts down, and the
    competitors arrive for the big event (including Wendy, who's taking part in the
    skiing),they're racing to ramp up the ski jump, dig out the bobsleigh run and
    smooth over the ice rink in time for the opening ceremony...

    Weighing in with one of the heaviest titles of all time, Bob the Builder's third
    feature-length outing focuses on teamwork, as Bob and his machines pitch in
    to help get those Winter Games up and running on schedule. And in particular,
    this is Scoop's story, as he's the one chosen to be temporary Team Leader.
    Nerves get the better of him, and his determination to see things through
    on his own drives a wedge through the team. Things get so bad, the gang
    end up calling each other names and going their separate ways. That's a
    new development for what is usually such a gentle show, and it's ruffled
    a few feathers in Bob's shiny preschool world, as several Amazon
    reviewers will atest!

    But one cranky machine aside, it's very much business as usual in film
    number three. There's a jolly side story with Spud and the cat, Pickles,
    who have wound up at Bobblesberg too. Spud finds himself sharing a room
    with Bob and he goes on to become a waiter at their B&B. Roley learns
    to yodel and Wendy winds up breaking records in the skiing. Star guests
    include Ulrika Jonsson as the games organiser, Jana von Strudel who is
    followed around town by Eli the yodelling goat. Kerry Fox plays the Australian
    hotelier Charlene, and sports commentators Sue Barker and John Motson
    appear in person to present coverage of the Winter Games. Plus, as always, 
    there are new machines. These come in the form of Bennie the snowcrane 
    and Zoomer the skibogan (although it must be said that young Zoomer is
    only a colour-change away from Scoot).

          

    Presented in glorious widescreen format, "Snowed Under" is yet another
    triumphant toon movie from the HOT Animation team. There are so many
    incidental details to savour. During the ferry trip to Bobblesberg we get
    some beautifully simple foaming wave effects. Charlene's hotel has lots
    of Aussie adornments, and there are little fire signs and notices in Bob
    and Spud's room. Spud's bout of ecstatic bed bouncing is just great -
    especially when you step frame through it - he's got such a joie de vivre.
    And look, when Bob is having his midnight chat with Roley we even get
    to see little puffs of chilly Bob breath on the air. There are some magnificent
    long shots of Bobblesberg and its environs, too, and the town itself is a
    Norwegian wonder, complete with an Oompah band, and an automated
    town clock. And it's all been lit so beautifully, with lots of gentle mauves
    and snowy blues come the evening.

    But if you really want to pick a moment that sums up the magic of this
    movie, it's the sequence where Bob and Wendy are dining in Charlene's
    hotel. The two of them are lit by the most gorgeous, soft-hued candle
    light. They're just dining and eating until Spud shows up, but the set detail,
    and the characters' little movements as they eat is an absoloute delight.
    It's what lifts the film to another level altogether, and it's why any
    folks who decry these preschool spin-offs unseen should be forced to
    watch them through. Seriously, folks, Bob's building a series of unmissable
    films for us to savour...

 

     See also

       Tv Series:
       Bob the Builder
       Bob the Builder: Project Build-It
    
       Specials:  
       Bob the Builder: Bob's Big Plan
       Bob the Builder: Built to be Wild
       Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember
       Bob the Builder: Knights of Can-a-lot
       Bob the Builder: Race to the Finish
       Bob the Builder: Scrambler to the Rescue
       Bob the Builder: When Bob Became a Builder

 

     Snowed Under on DVD

     Bob the Builder: Snowed Under
                Region 2 / HIT Entertainment / Nov 2004

      Bob the Builder - Snowed Under
                Region 1 / Lyons / Lyrick / Sept 2004

 

     a HOT Animation Production
     for HIT Entertainment Plc

 

      On the web


       Bob the Builder
       Bob's home on the web, suitably bright and busy for kids...

       HIT Entertainment 
       The parent site for Bob's owners with corporate info on all of their
       many and varied characters....