Ever since the evergreen hit of Raymond Brigg's The Snowman Channel 4 have tried the formula again and again in attempt to replicate the strange melancholy and success of the original. Here it's another Briggs book, The Bear, which replaces the snowman with a colossal polar bear. The plot is almost identical, including a misjudged sequence with the child trying to hide the monstrosity crashing around the house. They even watch "The Snowman" on TV as the Bear looms improbably over them. Some of the "arctic bear spirit dancing over London" sequences are really beautiful but it feels a hollow sort of affair. A cash-in. A far better successor is the goofy and vulgar "Father Christmas" which I always watch as a double bill. It's the polar opposite, rather than a polar clone.
Review of The Bear
