David Bowie in The Snowman: Why did the music icon appear in the Christmas classic?

20 December 2023, 14:33

Creator Raymond Briggs wasn't a fan of Bowie's introduction.

The Snowman is a true staple of Christmas, and you've no doubt seen in every year for decades.

However, depending on what version you're most familiar with, you may be surprised to know that a certain famous rock star introduced the film.

• Iman won't call David Bowie her "late" husband: "He is my husband"
• Warwick Davis shares lovely memories of David Bowie on the set of Labyrinth that prove he was the best
• David Bowie documentary film release date, trailer, soundtrack and synopsis explained

In case you also have never seen it, David Bowie did indeed record an intro as a grown-up version of the boy in the film. Watch it below:

The Snowman - Bowie Intro - HD

So, how did Bowie get involved in the film?

Its original airings featured an introduction featuring creator Raymond Briggs describing how much it had snowed the winter he made The Snowman. However, according to Briggs, the American TV networks wanted a more famous name.

• How many children does David Bowie have, and who are they?
• The story of how David Bowie and Elvis Presley came *so* close to collaborating
• How David Bowie met Iman: Matchmaker recalls night "lonely" star met his soulmate

Watch Briggs' original intro below:

The Snowman with Original Raymond Briggs Intro Part 1

A few years later, David Bowie was featured reading a different speech, after walking into the attic of 'his' childhood home, discovering a scarf and telling the same story, as if he was the boy himself.

However, this intro is not always shown on TV. To celebrate the film's 20th anniversary, Channel 4 created a new opening featuring Raymond Briggs' character of Father Christmas, remembering how he met the boy, with comedian Mel Smith reprising his role from Father Christmas. Watch it below:

The Snowman 1982 with rare animated Father Christmas (Mel Smith) Intro HD

Channel 4 used this intro from 2002 until Mel Smith's death in 2013. Since then, particularly after Bowie's death in 2016, the Bowie introduction has returned.

• When Andy Gibb sang 'White Christmas' in 1981 and it was sensational
• QUIZ: Can you finish the lyrics to these Christmas hits?

Briggs is not a fan of Bowie's intro at all. In 2017, he told the BBC: “I did an introduction to the Snowman film, and the Americans wanted somebody more important than me, quite rightly. And they somehow got David Bowie to do it.

“He got it all wrong, terribly. Hopeless. It didn’t matter, they did it about six times. But it was fun meeting him, wearing his wonderful, glittering pink shoes. I’d never seen pink shoes before on a man.

“And he said, 'I greatly admire your work.' And I said, ‘God, I wish I could say the same’… Well, I muttered it.”

Ouch.

The Snowman was followed by a sequel, The Snowman and the Snowdog in 2012, though Briggs was not involved.