Will the Hogfather be happy this Christmas?

Maybe.

On Monday night I was at the Curzon Mayfair in London at the premiere of Hogfather. For those who don’t know, Hogfather was the 20th Discworld book by British fantasy author Terry Pratchett (he’s written more than 30 now), and satellite channel Sky One has made a two-part film to be shown at Christmas in the UK.

Discworld is a fantasy land that lives of the back of a giant turtle swimming its way through the universe. Basically an allegory and satire of our world, each book comments on different topics such as newspapers, wars, the postal system etc. They’re witty, convincing and plain brilliant. Hogfather is about Santa Claus or Father Christmas if you prefer.

The story revolves around the fact that the Hogfather has gone missing after an assassin is hired to kill him. In response Death (yes, Death) dons a red suit and white beard and with the help of his butler Alfred, the Death of Rats and his grand-daughter Susan, he sets out to ensure all the children’s wishes come true.

The premiere was actually only for the first part of this four-hour adaption, but it gave enough away to get a feel of what the whole thing will be like. I can’t really spoil anything for anyone who’s read the book as it’s as faithful as it can be, but I won’t for people who haven’t either. While characters may differ from your imagination as in all films adapted from books, the film creates a wonderful version of Discworld. The opening sequence in particular is brilliant at setting the scene for new and old viewers alike. The humour that shines through in the book comes through and actors such as David Jason as Alfred with Death and the cameo by watchman Nobby Nobbs (a bit better looking than I imagined).

David Warner as Lord Downey of the Assassin’s Guild, Joss Ackland as Mustrum Ridcully the wizard and others relish their roles. However there are a few negatives. The pace is slow, I’m hoping this will pick up in the second half though as maybe they’ve done a too faithful adaption of the book and could have missed some bits out. And then there’s the voices of the Auditors. Never have I heard such ridiculous voices. They remind me of the Vogons from the BBC adaptation of The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Mister Teatime (Marc Warren) – oh dear. He looks great with the black eyeball and blank stare but I just couldn’t be scared by someone with a baby’s voice. It just didn’t work for me.

However to save the day there’s Death (Sir Ian Richardson) and Susan (Michelle Dockery). As Death and Albert try to replace the Hogfather they provide some great humour and as a skelton Death is realised brilliantly. However it’s Susan who’s the star of the show. Trying to escape her destiny she deals with bogeymen like they’re a fact of life and at the end of the first part rushes to the Hogfather’s castle of bones and finds the God of Hangovers. I really can’t see anyone else in the part, she’s excellent.

The scenery is beautiful and with only a £6million budget the special effects are decent and some of the sets outstanding – Death’s house for instance. It’s screened in a few weeks over here and despite a few reservations I’m really looking forward to the second part.

The scoop from the pre-show Q&A was that director Vadim Jean is working on a screenplay of another Pratchett book with Terry himself adding “it might have a Rincewind feel”.

Photos can be found here.

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