BBC One is already preparing for Christmas 2019 and the latest announcement is that it will be adapting Sir Michael Morpugo’s Children’s book to create a short Mimi And The Mountain Dragon film for the winter holidays. It’ll take the style of the original artwork for the animation and it’ll all be set to a classical music score. While an official air date hasn’t been announced you can check out the details below for when to expect it to arrive on BBC One.
The film has been co-created by Factory and Leopard Pictures, but the story of its origins is slightly unconventional. While the children’s book came out in 2014, it came about when the Head of Commissioning for BBC Music TV approached the author with a request to write a children’s story that the BBC could develop for the screen with classical music running through it all. The result is Mimi And The Mountain Dragon and the film follows the book to air five years after publication.
A story in the snowy mountains
The story follows Mimi who lives in a little village beside a mountain that has always lived in terror at the prospect of the dragon that lives at the top of the peak. However, the brave, but shy little girl takes it upon herself to journey up the perilous mountain pass when she discovers a baby dragon in their woodshed.
Reasoning that it must be the child of the frightening dragon atop the mountain, she sets off with a lantern, a little scarce wrapped around her and the baby dragon on her back. Through the howling with, thick snow and blizzard high above the village she treks to return the little scorcher to its much bigger mother.
It’s a story that was inspired by a trip that Sir Michael Morpugo made to a little village in Switzerland years earlier. The famous writer, whose previous stories include War Horse and Why The Whales Came, saw the kids of the village in red hats during a festival in which they ring cowbells and bang drums to drive away evil spirits. It’s from this concept that the idea for Mimi And The Mountain Dragon came. You can see more from Michael Morpugo on his website https://www.michaelmorpurgo.com.
Mimi And The Mountain Dragon music
Music will be an important part of Mimi And The Mountain Dragon, with the animation set to an accompanying score of classical music that will narrate the story like Disney’s Fantasia. The original music has been written by composer Rachel Portman, who scored films like Never Let Me Go, Despite The Falling Snow and Their Finest, as well as children’s stories like Beauty And The Beast: Enchanted Christmas and The Adventures Of Pinocchio.
She has earned two Academy Award nominations over the years for The Cider House Rules In 1999 and Chocolat in 2000. Her music for the BBC One animated film has been performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra with singing by the Hallé’s family of choirs and recorded at the BBC studios in Media City, Salford. It’s bound to be a magical seasonal flurry of classical music to light up Christmas with the family film.
Air date
The air date for Mimi And The Mountain Dragon hasn’t officially been announced, but it will be a little unusual if this doesn’t go out on BBC One on Christmas Day. It possible that it could be either Christmas Eve or Boxing Day, but it’s shaping up to be one of the Beeb’s big seasonal films, so the 25th December 2019 is the most likely air date. You can follow BBC on its official Twitter page to keep an eye out for the latest, but we’ll be updating things here as they’re announced.
How to watch the full movie
You’ll be able to watch the Mimi And The Mountain Dragon movie when it airs on terrestrial television at Christmas 2019. Obviously, you can set your recorder if you’re going to be busy visiting relatives, however, if you’ll also be able to watch it on the BBC iPlayer for around a month after the air date.
Most BBC films also get released via iTunes and Amazon Video to buy if you want to add the movie to your collection.
