Terry Pratchett's Hogfather

You can almost hear the Sky executives' minds at work on this one: "We need a homegrown Christmas hit, something that will pull in the ratings like Only Fools And Horses and, hang on... *checks the BBC listings* ...Del Boy is available!

Now for something Sky-esque, funky and zeitgeisty... What did I see the intern reading the other day - something about Guards, Pratchett somebody. What else has he written? Maybe something with a Chrimbo feel? *checks Amazon* Hello, Hogfather. Kerching! Sounds like a winner". And thus is born quite an immense folly of what-might-have-been. In the right hands this could have been fantastic and the production values certainly scream quality.

Even the source material is rigidly stuck to. So why doesn't Hogfather work? For me it lies in the performances, perhaps with the exception of the late Ian Richardson (voicing Death with a laconic Urquhart lilt), Marc Warren is un-menacing as Mr Teatime (looking just like Malcolm McDowell) and is merely reprising Johnny Depp's Wonka (even referencing him in the making of), and David Jason looks just plain lost. Such a shame as this could have been wonderful. Fans should still check it out (for nothing other than completism's sake), but for newcomers a wide (wyrd) berth is recommended as you pass this in the DVD section and head towards the superior books.

Extras: Making of Hogfather, deleted scenes, podcasts, stills gallery, TV spot, The 12 Days Of Hogswatch.

Released 23 April 2007 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Written by Simon Cole.