Aimed at very young audiences, the cheerier remake - with voice work by Sandra Oh as the young architect of a snow fort and a song by Celine Dion - is more distinguished by its charming animation than how it handles the storyline.
Snowtime!
War, war, it's not a reason to hurt each other!
2015 · 1h 22m · PG Animation, Comedy, Family
Overview
To amuse themselves during the winter school break, the kids in a small village decide to have a massive snowball fight. Luke and Sophie, both 11 years old, become the leaders of the opposing sides. Sophie and her cohort defend an elaborate snow fort against the assault of Luke’s horde. Whichever side occupies the fort at the end of the winter break, wins. But what starts out as pure youthful fun and enthusiasm deteriorates into a more serious conflict. Joy is restored when all the children decide to attack the fort rather than each other and happily destroy every last bit of the snow fort.
Director and cast
- Mariloup Wolfe as Sophie (voice)
- Sophie Cadieux as Lucie (voice)
- Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc as François (voice)
- Nicholas Savard-L'Herbier as Luc (voice)
- Anne Casabonne as Maranda (voice)
- Catherine Trudeau as Jacques (voice)
- Gildor Roy as Chabot (voice)
- André Sauvé as Henri Leroux / Georges Leroux (voice)
- Ross Lynch as Piers (voice)
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
The characters remain underdeveloped, a problem complicated by the weightless, unexpressive animation.
"Snowtime!" is by turns ribald (there's a flatulent dog), boisterous (there's charging through the snow with wooden swords wildly waved), tender (there's a boy grieving quietly for a father killed in a real war) and, yes, tragic.
That's the charm (and the quandary) of this film. Sophisticated in its look and feel on the one hand (the warm hues and tones evoke a warmth that defies the wintry cold), it's almost too retro for its own good on the other.
It is aimed at younger children and includes pretty songs, but it doesn't soft-pedal anything. Its low-key story is about friendship, but it's also about loss, which should leave pint-size viewers with plenty to think about.
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