Tucked away on Channel 4 on Christmas morning (at about 6am) you may find this little gem. It's another Raymond Briggs adaptation from the makers of The Snowman, but in my opinion it's actually better, yet for some reason few have seen it.
Made in 1998, The Bear tells the story of a young girl, Tilly, who drops her toy into a bear enclosure at London Zoo. The giant polar bear brings it back to her house, instigating a bond between them, which causes Tilly to attempt to keep the polar bear in her bedroom.
While it's essentially The Snowman, albeit with a little girl and a polar bear in place of the boy and a snowman, in my opinion The Bear is more artistic, especially when the great constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear) comes to life when the pair have a night-time adventure in London.
As with The Snowman, the story is told with no voice acting, just the amazing orchestral score. It concludes with the song 'Somewhere a Star Shines for Everyone', which is sung by a very young Charlotte Church.
If you've never seen it before, and you like The Snowman, this is certainly for you. Watch it on All4 now. You'll be humming the score for weeks to come!
Written by Rhianna Evans
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