We got together with some friends last night for a Christmas party. We played some games and had dinner. Afterward, we put on a classic holiday film for the kids The Snowman. If you’ve never seen it, it’s a 30 minute animated film about a young boy who builds a snowman on Christmas Eve Christmas Eve. The snowman comes to life and takes the boy to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas.
One of my favorite moments in the film is when the snowman takes the boy and they fly off into the air to the North Pole with this haunting, melancholic song “Walking in the Air” playing. It hits hard.
I hadn’t seen this film in at least a decade and watching it last night I was reminded of how powerful this moment is. It’s a sweet and gentle snapshot of holiday wonder from the 80s and it hits hard.
“Walking in the Air” was sung by 13 year old Peter Auty and written by composer Howard Blake (Flash Gordon). Blake apparently came up with the melody while taking a walk one day on the beach at Cornwall during an emotionally rough patch in his life.
What is it about this song and this moment? It feels like a lost memory from childhood. Some sort of magic we all want to recapture, but can’t quite grasp. Maybe it’s some of that Christmas magic we felt when we’re too young to understand the world?
Cinematic Point Of View 
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