The Abominable Snow Baby

Like most people of a certain age I used to read Terry Pratchett Discworld novels as a child. They are fondly remembered by children and teenagers of the 80s and 90s. The Abominable Snow Baby is based on the Terry Pratchett short story from 2015 aimed at young children.

Granny (nicely voiced by Julie Walters) adopts an abominable snow baby after nobody will take him in. The granny becomes an outcast in a fictional Northern town, but forms a bond with the baby.

This is from the same animation studio (Eagle Eye Drama) that produced last year's big Christmas animation for Channel 4 "Quentin Blake's Clown". The animation is digital, but has a watercolour feel to it. It definitely looks like a children's book and there are some stunning scenes. Story-wise as it is aimed at children, it is as one would expect: light on content. Unfortunately, every Channel 4 animation is going to be held up against The Snowman which bankrolled Channel 4 as a formidable force in broadcasting quality original animation. Pratchett fans will get a kick out of some of the inimitable language used such as people's surnames or the photograph of Pratchett on a wall, but it's just a bit meh. I'm not doubting a lot of care and love has gone into producing this, but much like previous efforts of Clown, We're Going On A Bear Hunt and The Tiger Who Came To Tea - I'm just underwhelmed.