CHANNEL 4 UNVEILS THE SNOWMAN CHRISTMAS IDENT

Channel 4 has commissioned award-winning production company Lupus Films to produce a snowy seasonal ident featuring the beloved characters from The World of The Snowman, created in collaboration with Channel 4’s in-house creative agency, 4creative.

The latest in a long line of iconic Channel 4 idents, the film transports the Channel 4 logo to a wintry setting where it oversees The Snowman, The Snowdog and James, the boy from the first The Snowman film, playing in the snow.

The ident marks the very first time that all three characters will be seen on screen together. It will premiere on the channel before Jamie’s Easy Christmas at 8pm on Tuesday, 6th December and will be shown regularly over the festive period.

The ident has been produced by Lupus Films – the producers of The Snowman and The Snowdog – and directed by Robin Shaw who was responsible for the iconic flying sequence in that film. The beautiful animation, in Lupus Films’ trademark hand-drawn style, has been lovingly hand-crafted by Robin Shaw and a small team of top animators using traditional 2D techniques in animation programme TVPaint.

Ian Katz, Chief Content Officer, Channel 4 said: “The Snowman has been a part of Christmas for four decades so what better way to mark the 40th birthday of both Channel 4 and the animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’s beloved character than with a set of hand crafted idents featuring James and the Snowman. It may or may not snow this month but it is guaranteed to be a white Christmas on Channel 4.”

Co-founder of Lupus Films Camilla Deakin said: “We are really honoured to have been asked to bring The Snowman back to life for Channel 4 for the 40th anniversary of this very special animated Christmas classic...

"It’s particularly poignant for us at the time of the tenth anniversary of The Snowman and The Snowdog and after the death earlier this year of our long-time friend and collaborator, the inimitable Raymond Briggs.”

Adapted from the iconic picture book by the late author and illustrator, Raymond Briggs and published by Puffin (part of Penguin Random House Children’s), the timeless story of The Snowman was adapted and first shown on the newly-launched Channel 4 on Boxing Day 1982 and has been repeated on the channel every Christmas since.