I first heard about this film through a review by Phelous, a popular internet reviewer, and ever since then I wanted to see the film and judge it for myself, wondering if it's really as cheesy and saccharine as he said. I have put it off for a while, but as the film tells us, "there's a time for questions and a time for action," so I watched it all the way through, and I can now safely say that Phelous pretty much on the mark, as while Magic Gift of the Snowman has its heart in the right place, its head is somewhere else... like where the sun don't shine. I like that they TRIED to convey the message about the power of healing through strength, determination, and even imagination, but they did it all wrong. This cartoon misses the mark by a mile. Like it had all the right pieces, but every piece was wrong. Even from the very beginning, where, as you'll be pleased to know, we start on a "happy" note: this family has a little girl who has some kind of mysterious, incurable disease. The doctor tells them that if she can make to Christmas, she might be alright. Not sure why, as they are extremely vague on what kind of illness Emery Elizabeth has. Her parents and brother, Landon, are understandably upset and sad that they may be losing a member of their family, and hope that she finds the will to live. Guess they really want to hammer the point home that this is a fairy tale. They say they've done all they can do, which I find hard to believe, but Landon decides to go a step further. So early one morning, he goes outside and builds a snowman, which he places directly outside his sister's bedroom window, then he goes inside to wake her and show her the surprise. Now, other than being unable to walk, Emery Elizabeth seems just fine to me. They made it out like she were in a coma and losing the fight against a terminal illness, but there are no IVs or monitors in her room and the only piece of equipment she has is a wheelchair. In fact, they didn't even need to say she was deathly ill, they could have easily just made her break her leg, be stuck inside at Christmas and feeling depressed. Did they even read this script out loud? So Landon introduces his sister's new bedroom buddy as Snowden the Snowman. He even offers to tell her a story about him, on condition that she eat some oatmeal. Is she malnourished too? When Landon finally begins his long-awaited tale, he tells about he and his sister going to visit Princess Electra in her magical kingdom: a land of no grownups, no homework, just kids who play all day. They also meet Snowden, and I don't know who was voicing him or what they were trying to do with this character, but he falls extremely flat. If he's trying to play it "cool", it's anything but. Snowden convinces Em to use her imagination to transform her wheelchair into a train, so they can traverse the land in style. It's a happy land where everyone is protected by the radiant, happy smile of Princess Electra. Nothing could possibly go wrong here. Pretty boring, isn't it? I'd say what we need is a villain.
So after a long, hard day of fun and games, Snowden puts Landon and Emery Elizabeth to bed in beds that are made of marshmallows, but look like waffles, then the lullaby birds come to sing a long, drawn out, monotonous song. They aren't asleep for long when Snowden bursts in to tell them that Princess Electra's smile has been stolen. Huh? How do you steal a smile? But it's true, she's looking sad and so are her once happy, playful subjects. What happened, you may wonder? Well, the evil, no-good, Lord of Yuck himself, the Shameless Charlatan infiltrated the princess' bedroom and literally stole her smile and locked it in a box. Er, keep in mind this is all just a story told by a little boy who made it up on the fly, so suspend your disbelief as far as you can. The Charlatan must be stopped, as Princess Electra's is the only kingdom he did not control, but that may soon change. It's at this point that Snowden becomes a bit of a jerk, as he decides to endanger the lives of two children to venture off to the Charlatan's kingdom, and also puts the pressure of deciding their next move on Emery Elizabeth, who is now filled with doubt. Snowden is apathetic to her emotions and tells her to stop feeling sorry for herself. Hey, show a little compassion; she's dying, you ice-hole. They make it across the river to the Charlatan's land, courtesy of floating atop Snowden who, although said earlier that he couldn't swim, managed to get across with no problem. So, who exactly is the Charlatan? As said, he rules everywhere except Electra's kingdom. He's a weird, deformed, maniacal man who turns everything he touches into "yuck", which is a mixture of sludge and sewage, I guess. His plan is to, you guessed it, take over the world. Of course! And because they felt the need to pad this thing out a bit longer, Emery Elizabeth's wheelchair becomes stuck in some yuck, and she lacks the imaginative powers, or rather the courage to use said powers to transform it into a vehicle. She falls into despair and says to leave her there, which Snowden is perfectly okay with doing. Some "cool friend' you cooked up for your sister, Landon. He's willing to leave you both to die. You might think he was using reverse psychology, but no, he took off for reals. Once again, Landon becomes proactive and convinces Em to overcome her fear and access the power inside of her, which she does and transformers her chair into a plane. They fly to the top of the mountain where that bozo Snowden was waiting. "What took ya so long?" You know, Snowden, I hope it's very SUNNY tomorrow. Anyway, the hapless trio arrive just in time to stop the Charlatan, who looks just like the Cryptkeeper, from destroying Electra's smile, which he kept in a box locked in a birdcage... again, made up on the fly by a little boy. They get the boxed smile away in time, and just as the Charlatan is about to take his revenge, Emery Elizabeth opens the box, blinding him by its effervescent rays, sending him stumbling around the room, knocking over his potions and starting a big fire. Em transformers her chair into a helicopter and flies to safety just as the Charlatan burns alive. Yes, he really does burn to death. You know, for kids! As for Snowden, he sadly didn't make it. Merry Christmas, Em. Oh, but maybe it will be after all, for the next morning, Landon awakens to find Emery Elizabeth not only still alive, but walking! How? She even gives him a snow globe with a tiny Snowden inside it. How? Why? Okay, fine, don't explain it, you didn't explain anything else.
In closing, if you're curious about this special, I would recommend you watch either Phelous or Bobsheaux's reviews, because although it wasn't terrible, Magic Gift of the Snowman was by no means good. The animation is alright in some places, but at times characters go off model. The voice acting is extremely lifeless and flat, which is unfortunate because of all the talented voice actors attached to the project, such as Scott McNeil, Terry Klassen, Ian James Corlett, Phil Hayes, and Gary Chalk. While I know that Ian voiced the Charlatan, and Emery Elizabeth was voiced by actress Andrea Libman, I have no idea who voices anybody else. The movie is also pretty slow paced, but that's okay because not every children's cartoon needs to be fast and loud, something that takes its time is perfectly acceptable, but as long as it's within reason. For me, while the story made no sense and it feels like this project wasn't entirely thought through, I liked some parts of it. I liked the relationship Landon had with Em, being a good big brother taking care of his little sister dying of Plot Device-itis. However, there are far better movies to watch at Christmas time, so while I wouldn't really recommend this, I still have to say it's NOT terrible and some parts are very charming. As I said above, you're better off just watching reviews of it online, though if you do see the DVD on sale for a buck, pick it up. At least it's something the little ones can watch before nap time.
So after a long, hard day of fun and games, Snowden puts Landon and Emery Elizabeth to bed in beds that are made of marshmallows, but look like waffles, then the lullaby birds come to sing a long, drawn out, monotonous song. They aren't asleep for long when Snowden bursts in to tell them that Princess Electra's smile has been stolen. Huh? How do you steal a smile? But it's true, she's looking sad and so are her once happy, playful subjects. What happened, you may wonder? Well, the evil, no-good, Lord of Yuck himself, the Shameless Charlatan infiltrated the princess' bedroom and literally stole her smile and locked it in a box. Er, keep in mind this is all just a story told by a little boy who made it up on the fly, so suspend your disbelief as far as you can. The Charlatan must be stopped, as Princess Electra's is the only kingdom he did not control, but that may soon change. It's at this point that Snowden becomes a bit of a jerk, as he decides to endanger the lives of two children to venture off to the Charlatan's kingdom, and also puts the pressure of deciding their next move on Emery Elizabeth, who is now filled with doubt. Snowden is apathetic to her emotions and tells her to stop feeling sorry for herself. Hey, show a little compassion; she's dying, you ice-hole. They make it across the river to the Charlatan's land, courtesy of floating atop Snowden who, although said earlier that he couldn't swim, managed to get across with no problem. So, who exactly is the Charlatan? As said, he rules everywhere except Electra's kingdom. He's a weird, deformed, maniacal man who turns everything he touches into "yuck", which is a mixture of sludge and sewage, I guess. His plan is to, you guessed it, take over the world. Of course! And because they felt the need to pad this thing out a bit longer, Emery Elizabeth's wheelchair becomes stuck in some yuck, and she lacks the imaginative powers, or rather the courage to use said powers to transform it into a vehicle. She falls into despair and says to leave her there, which Snowden is perfectly okay with doing. Some "cool friend' you cooked up for your sister, Landon. He's willing to leave you both to die. You might think he was using reverse psychology, but no, he took off for reals. Once again, Landon becomes proactive and convinces Em to overcome her fear and access the power inside of her, which she does and transformers her chair into a plane. They fly to the top of the mountain where that bozo Snowden was waiting. "What took ya so long?" You know, Snowden, I hope it's very SUNNY tomorrow. Anyway, the hapless trio arrive just in time to stop the Charlatan, who looks just like the Cryptkeeper, from destroying Electra's smile, which he kept in a box locked in a birdcage... again, made up on the fly by a little boy. They get the boxed smile away in time, and just as the Charlatan is about to take his revenge, Emery Elizabeth opens the box, blinding him by its effervescent rays, sending him stumbling around the room, knocking over his potions and starting a big fire. Em transformers her chair into a helicopter and flies to safety just as the Charlatan burns alive. Yes, he really does burn to death. You know, for kids! As for Snowden, he sadly didn't make it. Merry Christmas, Em. Oh, but maybe it will be after all, for the next morning, Landon awakens to find Emery Elizabeth not only still alive, but walking! How? She even gives him a snow globe with a tiny Snowden inside it. How? Why? Okay, fine, don't explain it, you didn't explain anything else.
In closing, if you're curious about this special, I would recommend you watch either Phelous or Bobsheaux's reviews, because although it wasn't terrible, Magic Gift of the Snowman was by no means good. The animation is alright in some places, but at times characters go off model. The voice acting is extremely lifeless and flat, which is unfortunate because of all the talented voice actors attached to the project, such as Scott McNeil, Terry Klassen, Ian James Corlett, Phil Hayes, and Gary Chalk. While I know that Ian voiced the Charlatan, and Emery Elizabeth was voiced by actress Andrea Libman, I have no idea who voices anybody else. The movie is also pretty slow paced, but that's okay because not every children's cartoon needs to be fast and loud, something that takes its time is perfectly acceptable, but as long as it's within reason. For me, while the story made no sense and it feels like this project wasn't entirely thought through, I liked some parts of it. I liked the relationship Landon had with Em, being a good big brother taking care of his little sister dying of Plot Device-itis. However, there are far better movies to watch at Christmas time, so while I wouldn't really recommend this, I still have to say it's NOT terrible and some parts are very charming. As I said above, you're better off just watching reviews of it online, though if you do see the DVD on sale for a buck, pick it up. At least it's something the little ones can watch before nap time.
