Hogfather in Australia

The two-part movie Hogfather, based on the novel by Terry Pratchett, was screened a year ago on British television, and I wrote a blog post at the time reviewing the preview material that was officially made available on the Internet. Well, the movie has now been screened on Australian television too, and so I’ve finally seen it. Here are my thoughts.

The first episode:

I missed the first few seconds due to my unfamiliarity with the remote control for my parents’ television. I came in as the narrator was saying “Much, much later than that”, which is from the prologue of the book, so I couldn’t have missed much. The intro sequence looked really good to me, and I think the movie as a whole had the right Discworld atmosphere. The lighting, the incidental music, and all those little things were done well.

I still think the casting was excellent in most cases. I would like to single out Ian Richardson (Death and narration), Michelle Dockery (Susan), and David Warner (Lord Downey) as the best three. Marc Warren (Teatime), Peter Guinness (Medium Dave), and the rest of the gang are just right, as are Jon Ridgeon and the other guests in the house of Susan. David Jason as Albert and Tony Robinson as Mr. Crumley were good choices as celebrity actors.

I really liked the Death of Rats, particularly the motion. The Auditors are very good on the whole, but the comically nasal voices don’t work for me. I was not at all impressed with the sleigh-pulling pigs, which look too much like soft toys rather than the wild beasts they are supposed to be.

A’Tuin is pronounced correctly (well, the same way I’ve always pronounced it), as is Ankh-Morpork. The line “I saw your piggy do a wee” was spoilt for two reasons, mostly because it was delivered in entirely the wrong tone of voice (it should be said excitedly), and also because the girl’s accent made the word “wee” sound like “way”.

The most notable changes from the book can be broadly divided into the following categories: (1) cosmetic changes that probably have something to do with budget, (2) changes to the personalities of characters, (3) changes to the way in which plot elements are revealed. Among the cosmetic changes are Ridcully’s new bathroom which is brown and drab in the movie but colourful and vibrant in the book, and the monster under the bed which in the book is described in the book as something large and hairy with eight legs (the human face didn’t work for me). As for changes to characters, Susan tells the children that the Hogfather won’t come if they don’t believe in him, which I don’t think is consistent with her personality in the books. At one point, Ponder Stibbons uses the word “radiation” which has too many Roundworld connotations unless preceded by the word “thaumic” (which it wasn’t). The Auditors engage in at least one question-and-answer dialogue with each other, which appears to me to be tantamount to a degree of individuality (as they then have distinct conversational roles of questioner and answerer).

But the biggest difference between the movie and the book is that things which are left as mysteries for most of the book are revealed rather early on in the movie. This has been widely criticised by fans, but I think it may well have been the right decision to give the movie enough appeal to an audience to whom everything Discworld is new. On the other hand, I think the most confusing thing in this episode for the average audience was probably the way that the magic with the teeth works to some extent backwards in time (similar things happen in the book, but there it is explained). Anyway, examples of things that are revealed much earlier in the movie than in the book (and in different ways) are the kidnapping of Violet, the notion that the sun won’t come up without the Hogfather, the thing about the child’s painting, and most significantly the fact that the gang are at the tooth fairy’s castle in order to stop children from believing in the Hogfather.

I am told that when the first episode was screened on British television last year, it was followed by a preview for the second episode that spoilt the rest of the story. However, the Australian screening came with our own Australian preview for which that was certainly not the case.

The second episode:

I saw the intro sequence from the very beginning this time. Nice Tower of Art, by the way. Also nice in this episode was Hex (incidentally, is that handwriting based on, or available as, a font?), but I did not like the way Hex was described to Death as “the biggest thinker in the world” instead of “a machine for thinking”. I remember being very impressed with the Eater of Socks when I saw the promo material a year ago, but unfortunately the Eater appeared so briefly in the movie that I missed it. What a waste! Later on, the scene where Susan and Bilious are inside the child’s painting is well done from a visual perspective.

Of course, there were many scenes cut out from the book, and in most cases I do not mind this even when those scenes would have made excellent television, because I realise that there are practical constraints on how much can be included. But they really should have included the scene in which the conduit relationship between Bilious and the God of Wine is established, partly because it’s a wonderful idea and partly because without it the former’s desire for a drink has no context. Another line for which the context necessary to explain it was absent was, “Did you suck your thumbs when you were young?” - the connection between sucking thumbs and the Scissor Man was left out.

I feel that one of the biggest flaws in the second episode is that some important plot elements were glossed over. For example we are shown the scene in which the wizards are waiting for the Hogfather but not the dialogue in which they plan to do so.

Some of the best scenes appeared towards the end of the story. Maggie McCarthy as Ma Lillywhite was suitably terrifying, and I loved Michelle Dockery’s handling of Susan’s verbal confrontations with Teatime. For example she delivered the line “Hi, Inner Child, I’m the Inner Baby Sitter” with absolute perfection. Susan’s compassion for the apparently dead Hogfather was also well portrayed, showing Michelle Dockery’s skill at portraying a range of emotions. The scene of the sun rising in front of the silhouetted Hogfather was appropriate in all respects, and the Hogfather’s nod was just right.

Ian Richardson as Death does a good job with the scene in which the moral of the story is explained (”humans need fantasy”, etc), and with his verbal confrontation with the Auditors, although the latter would have been even better with more of the dialogue from the book. I also wish they’d left in the scene where Death explains to Susan about the Auditors (”Imagine what THEY think of humanity”, etc), because that’s the scene in the book that really illuminates the sheer evil of the Auditors. Death’s Hogswatch card was good, but I’m not sure if the aspects of his personality that it is supposed to illuminate come through strongly enough in the movie.

I would like to finish by revisiting a few of the comments I made a year ago. I remarked that Death’s body language sometimes seemed too submissive, but having seen the movie I no longer think so. I also criticised David Jason’s handling of the matchgirl conversation, complaining that the right emotions were not put into it. However, the line “You’re not allowed to do that!” is delivered well enough that it makes up for any faults in the preceding dialogue.

Conclusion:

Overall I would award the movie four stars. Now I’m waiting for the upcoming amateur Australian production of Troll Bridge. Pity about the Good Omens movie that didn’t happen - under Terry Gilliam’s hand it would have been great.