One of the best melodies I have ever heard is "Walking in the Air" from the 1982 animated short The Snowman.
I won't bog you all down with the history of the movie except to say it won an Oscar and it was based on a very popular children's book from the day.
This is my blog, and as always, I choose to write about my experiences. This movie holds a special place in my life. Please read on:
I remember seeing this at my Grandparents house when I was young. I was probably 7 or 8. It stuck with me for years, but being that young, I couldn't remember what the hell it was or why it was important to me. Around the same time I was discovering the evil melodies of cool stuff like "Peter and the Wolf", so it was not a stretch that this particular flick was destined to stay with me for a while.
Fast-forward a decade and a half. I actually caught a glimpse of this movie on PBS, and was immediately taken back to my Grandpap's living room. I was pulled in, and sought out some form of playable media so I could share it with my growing extended family.
I eventually found it on VHS, but I can't remember where. I put it in, pressed play and watched every child in the room (at least 4 of them all aged under 10), get just as sucked in as I was. I remember one of them crying at the end, and I have never had the movie far away from me and mine since.
The song itself is a master work. Equal parts sad and beautiful, it takes you on a journey even without the flying sequence of the movie.
The entire movie played on Sprout this year, to which I am hopeful an entire generation of fresh minds discover it's wonder. It is also available on YouTube, but unfortunately not in heavy store rotation this year. It would get lost in a sea of works like Frozen, to which a 30+ year old grainy animation can't really compete, but it's a shame that it is still somewhat an underground work in comparison to Snoopy and Frosty.
My Christmas wish: that this feature finds you and allows you to be drawn in to an innocent child's dream as I was when I was 8, 23 and every year since.
Merry Christmas....
Nago.
