This was a charming movie right up until the end, when a sweet, friendly St. Bernard dog, a central character is killed utterly needlessly. If filmmakers want to make an anti-war movie, they should most definitely do so. But wrapping it in the guise of a family or kids' movie that springs pointless tragedy on its audience with no warning is a betrayal of trust. Parents and dog lovers should be aware of this ending before falling prey to what feels like a dirty trick, one that the message the filmmakers felt compelled to convey could have been made in any number of other ways. Furthermore, choosing to have the children in the film bury the dog in the dirt floor of the barn they all use as a clubhouse or meeting place seems nothing short of bizarre. There's a time and place for children's story telling and a time and place for proselytizing, but combining the two the way Snowtime does makes no sense at all.
Review of Snowtime!
