The Snow Cat

Narrated by Maureen Stapleton (All in the Family), this beautifully animated (using a finger-painting technique!) adaptation of the late Dayal Kaur Khalsa's 1992 children's picture book tells the story of a young woman named Elsie, who lives alone in a small cottage in the wintry far north and wishes for a pet to keep her company. The North Wind, hearing her request, sends Elsie a huge magical snow cat with icicle teeth and eyes fashioned from hail stones...with one proviso: Elsie must never let the snow cat into her toasty-warm cottage. Directed by Sheldon Cohen (The Sweater), this is a wondrous film that combines creative animation, a superb musical soundtrack, solid narration and a wonderful story (credit to children's author Tim Wynne-Jones for expanding Khalsa's original story). In true fairy tale fashion, Elsie learns a costly lesson, of course, but that's only the beginning of an experience that will redefine her relationship with the world around her. Khalsa's book is included with the video, but viewers should be aware that the two are quite different, with the video substituting the "North Wind" for God, adding an additional narrative thread, and greatly augmenting the book's simple visuals. Highly recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)