Father Christmas (1991 film)
Father Christmas is a 1991 British animated short film starring Mel Smith as Father Christmas. Created for Channel 4 and first broadcast on Christmas Eve 1991 in Britain, the story is an adaption of two books written by Raymond Briggs - Father Christmas and Father Christmas Goes on Holiday - and is the second animated adaptation of Briggs' work made for the channel, following the 1982 animated short The Snowman.
| Father Christmas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Dave Unwin |
| Written by | Raymond Briggs (books) |
| Produced by | John Coates |
| Starring | Mel Smith (UK) William Dennis Hunt (US) |
| Music by | Mike Hewer |
| Distributed by | Channel 4 (TV) Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (home video) |
Release date | 24 December 1991 (UK) |
Running time | 26 min (British runtime) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The story focuses on a stereotypical vision of Father Christmas with a down-to-earth twist, living in contemporary Britain with his pets and reindeer, coping with everyday domestic chores, who recounts to the viewers about a holiday he took before preparing for another Christmas.[1]
The film was dedicated to the late animator John McGuire. It was later released as part of a DVD bundle alongside The Snowman, before being released separately in subsequent home media releases.
Plot
After delivering presents on Christmas Eve, Father Christmas returns to his house in contemporary Britain. As he settles down and warms up, he greets the viewers and explains how he is busy throughout the year caring for his reindeer and pets, tending to his garden and doing the housework and shopping. Fed up with it one year, he explains how he decided to go on holiday for a change, as the film goes back to the day when he made that decision. After debating on where to go to, Father Christmas decided on France and converted his sleigh into a camper van. After placing his dog and cat into a kennel, his reindeer fly him to his destination.
At first he enjoys the French countryside, but the food he orders at a restaurant makes him ill. After relocating to a campsite with amenities to help him cope while he recovers, he eventually is forced to move on when people begin to recognise him. Deciding on Scotland, Father Christmas enjoys his time in a local pub and buys a kilt, but hates the bad weather and the cold waters of a nearby loch. Fed up, he decides to go to Las Vegas, where he checks into a casino resort. Once there, he spends his time enjoying the food, pool and nightlife for a few weeks. However, he eventually leaves when he runs out of money and is recognised by children. After returning home, he prepares to relax, until letters addressed to Father Christmas begin to arrive shortly after retrieving his pets. He thus spends the next few months reading through each and sorting out presents.
On Christmas Eve, Father Christmas heads out on his sleigh and begins delivering presents, dealing with the various households he must visit. When he has finished, he goes to the annual snowmen's party at the North Pole and meets James and his snowman, while partaking in the festivities. However, his enjoyment comes to an end when the pair find he forgot to deliver two presents to Buckingham Palace. Not wishing to leave the matter unresolved, Father Christmas travels to the palace and delivers them before the dawn of Christmas Day. Back in the present, Father Christmas completes his story to the viewers, before sorting out his dinner for the day and examining the presents he will have waiting, whereupon he wishes the viewers a "Happy Bloomin' Christmas" before going to sleep as dawn breaks outside.
Links to other works
Father Christmas and The Snowman take place in the same universe—both were written by the same author, and both television shorts were made by very similar production teams. It is suggested that this film takes place a year or so after The Snowman, as Father Christmas jokes to the boy "glad you could make it again; the party I mean, not your snowman”, which ultimately gives The Snowman a happy ending. The boy can also be seen wearing the scarf Father Christmas gave him in The Snowman. There is also a poster of the snowman in one of the rooms when Father Christmas is delivering presents. The snowman himself, or a facsimile thereof, can also be seen in Father Christmas' yard during the credits. Mel Smith would later reprise Father Christmas for The Snowman's 20th anniversary opening.
In Father Christmas, Ernest the milkman from Ethel & Ernest can be seen delivering milk to the Royal Family on Christmas morning, and Jim and Hilda Bloggs from Gentleman Jim/When the Wind Blows are shown enjoying a drink in the Scottish pub.
American version
A heavily sanitised American version was produced. The most notable change is that Father Christmas was re-voiced by William Dennis Hunt, becoming much jollier, and all 76 instances of the word "blooming" (75 by Father Christmas, 1 by a child's voice in a song) were replaced with "merry". Scenes where Father Christmas gets drunk, over-eats, dances with chorus girls and suffers a hangover were removed. Also cut are a few candid moments showing his "builders' bum" and sitting on the lavatory.
References
- Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 103. ISBN 9781476672939.