"Okay, watch the door." "Oareful." "Whoa!" "Oof!" "Are you okay?" "Where are you from?" "My name's Billy." "Billy Kirkfield." "No way." "That's ice." "You can't throw ice!" "That's illegal!" "I can citizen's arrest you now." "Stop it, or I'll face wash your head off!" "Rrrr!" "Whoa!" "I was ten years old when Howard Garvey moved in across the street." "It was the first time he'd ever seen real snow." "It was the first time I'd ever met a real Jamaican." "Oh, you got..." "You got snot." "No!" "No!" "Get off!" "Huh?" "Hey, you!" "Howard!" "I'm through." "Oome on in here." "Help me dig it out." "Oome on." "It's just snow." "Oan't kill ya." "Billy, quick, get out!" "You can't play here." "It's too dangerous." "What's the danger, mon?" "You're not Billy." "Lucas, it's okay." "He's with me." "Billy, no." "Kids get killed playing on the boulevard." "Oome on." "Look how much snow the plows left." "Oome on in, guys." "Lucas Lamb was the biggest wimp in school." "Well, that's what we all thought, anyway." "But he was the only friend I had left until Howard showed up." "I used to have tons of friends back before I started getting sick all the time." "But things were about to get better." "The three of us were gonna have the most amazing winter ever." "It would be known as" ""The Year of the Snowman,"" "the year we set a world record, the year that I died." "It's true." "I died when I was just ten years old." "Don't worry." "It doesn't bother me." "It's actually a pretty good story." "Man, this is so cool!" "This is like the biggest snow fort ever!" "It's, like, world record big!" "Yeah, mon." "I mean, I just can't believe me first day, and I'm already making an igloo." "It's so profound, right?" "Well, actually, it's not an igloo." "It's a quinzhee." "Igloos are made out of ice blocks, and quinzees are piles of snow that you just hollow out." " But it's a profound quinzhee, right?" " Yeah." "Why you keep saying that?" " Profound?" " Yeah." "It means it's, like, so super important, it's like, "Whoa. "" "All of the kids are saying it." "No, Lucas." "Only you're saying it." "He's trying to come up with the next cool word at school." "Whoa, look what I found." "I think it's a boot." "Someone got their boot stuck." "Oome on." "Help me get..." "What's that sound?" "I'm gonna go look." "Snow plow!" "Get out, get out, get out!" "Go!" "Move it!" "Follow me!" "This way!" "Billy, this way!" "Hurry!" "Oome on!" "Ow!" "Oh!" "Hey, Billy, is that the boot?" "What is that?" "People are referring to him simply as The Snowman." "No word yet on his true identity or how he ended up in front of these Silver Lake homes." "Fiona, do we have any idea how long the body may have been there?" "One paramedic we spoke to suggested the body may have been unknowingly picked up by city plows." "Well, because it's a media frenzy out there." "I mean, you know, just this one time, just come in the back way, okay?" "All right." "All right." "I love you." "Bye." "I'm sorry." " Thanks a million." " There you go." "We should be helping you, you know." "Howard, come help the woman." "Oh, no, no, no, please." "I need to stay busy." "This is better." "Thank you." "...any missing persons, it suggests that this..." "Dad's home." "It appears this is the home of Reggie Kirkfield, known well to locals for his Orazy Kirk car commercials." "Reggie, Reggie, is this your home?" "Are you aware..." "I know people are dying for a good deal, but what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks?" "Oome to the dealership, not my home." "This is, uh..." "You know, seriously, this is a tragic event, and, um, I just want to get inside to my family." "But was it your son who found the body?" "You know, I'll give you a statement tomorrow." "You stop by the dealership, okay?" "It's Kirkfield Motors at the corner of Quarry and Old Miners Road." "I'll give you a statement there tomorrow." " All right." " Okay, thanks." "Thank you." "There you have it." "It, um... seems to be confirmed, son of Reggie Kirkfield." "Hey, Billy?" " No, he's okay." "He's okay." "Hey, Billy, you okay?" "Oome here." "I am totally fine." "It's all right." "It's not even that big of a deal." "I'm fine." "Oh, I'm so glad you're home." " Orazy Kirk here!" " Hey!" "Now you're on a commercial." "I'm feeling trapped by all these overstocked cars!" "And catch a fresh deal like this Kirkfield special for under 16,000!" "And I'm Orazy Kirk!" "Whoa!" "That's kind of a coincidence that that would be on right now." "When I heard about the body, I called in a favor to the station." "What if somebody finds out?" "There's no such thing as bad publicity as long as they remember the name." "I'm pretty sure we haven't met." " I'm Reggie." " Leonard." " Leonard Garvey." " How you doing?" " Good, good." " And I bet that's your son." " Howard." " Hi, how are you?" "They just moved in here today from Jamaica." "Really, today?" "Well, this weather has got to be a real shocker for you, huh?" "Oh, yeah." "And the dead man in the front yard." "Oh, well, yeah." "Uh, is your wife here?" "Oh, no." "She's on her way." "Um, she's riding the bus." "No, no, no, no, no." "You can't bus in this weather." " I'll get that." " Let me help you get a car, all right?" "A special discount for my Jamaican friend." "Hey, look." "You can see the house." "We're on TV, look!" "No official statement from the family, but we have been told that the boys who found the body" "are struggling with what must have been a very traumatic experience." "I bet we'll be like celebrities now." "Just stick with us, Howard." "We'll tell you who's good to hang out with." "Profound!" "I bet we're gonna be more famous than my dad." "Hey, you guys hear what happened?" "We found a dead guy in my front yard!" "It got on the news and everything!" "And we almost got killed digging the guy out." "Yeah." "That's neat, Billy." "Wait!" "You didn't even hear the coolest part yet!" "Make sure you tell everybody!" "That was weird, mon." "Yeah." "Let's go find the kids that matter." "Whoa, what is that, mon?" "It's called Kill Hill." "That's all the snow from the parking lot for the whole year." "Whoever rules that hill rules the school." "That's Jason Bound." "Don't look at him." "He's the biggest kid in school only 'cause he failed three grades." "Don't go on that hill ever." "They play super rough." " Hey, Billy." " Um..." "Hi, Gwen." "Um, I heard you were one of the boys who found that Snowman guy." "Yeah, yeah, we did." "Me and Lucas and Howard." " He's from Jamaica." " Hello there." "I'm going now." "Okay, bye." "You guys okay?" "I mean, it must have been scary, right?" "Well, no." "Actually, I don't really get scared." "I just heard they found a boot sticking up." "Well, then, you heard wrong, 'cause I was this close to the dead guy's face." "Really?" "Then what did he look like?" "We couldn't see that much, 'cause of all the ice and stuff." "Yeah, at first." "But then the ice melted off, and we could see his face." "It was so disgusting." "His skin was all blue, and his hair was like icicles sticking up in every direction." "And then, something so scary happened." "He opened his eyes..." " Hmm?" "... and he stared right at me." "Bull!" "That old fart was dead." "No, he wasn't, not totally." "You're so full of it, Kirkfield." "You don't know." "I do know, because I killed him, and I stuck him in your front yard to warn you to stay off my hill, you sick freak." "Let's just go." "What was that, Pukus?" "You want to speak, you ask permission first." "You got that?" "I didn't hear you, Mucus." "Do you understand?" "Oan I say something?" "May I have permission to speak?" "Who are you?" "I'm Howard Rudolph Victor Garvey, just moved here from Jamaica, and you're Jason Bound, right?" "The na-na head that failed three times." "Leave him alone, Jason." "He doesn't know the rules." "Well, then I better teach him." "Who is he?" "Ohh!" "Ohh!" "Ohh!" "Hello there." "Have a nice trip." "Profound!" "Billy, we're going skating at the duck pond tonight." "You guys should come." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Good morning, boys." "Good morning, Miss Wetzel." "Jason, hat off, please." "Mr. Garvey, I believe you are the first student in our history to see the principal's office before your own classroom." "Mr. Garvey?" "Okay, Jason, you know the drill." "In my office." "Or maybe we should call it our office." "I heard what happened to you last night." "Do you want to talk about it?" "Billy, how are you feeling lately?" "I'm fine." "How are you feeling?" "Bahamas here." "Here is Jamaica!" "Wow." "It's pretty close to the equator, so it must be pretty warm there, right?" "Right now, I'd be swimming in the ocean." "Wow!" "So what was it like seeing snow for the very first time?" "It was cool, but my dad hates it." "He already wants to go home." "Well, I'm sure that your dad will learn to like it, too." "Thank you, Howard." "It doesn't matter where you are." "People learn to adapt, to live happily anywhere, whether it's in the snow or in the desert." "Maybe even someday, they'll learn to adapt to live on Mars." "Lots of animals adapt to their environments, too, sometimes in ways that might be surprising to you." "For example, can anyone guess what animal can survive best in the freezing cold?" "A penguin." "Good guess, but smaller." "A polar bear." "Smaller than a penguin?" " A baby polar bear." " Nope." "The animal I'm thinking of has no fur and no feathers." "Anyone?" "It's a frog." "A frog?" " It's true." "There's a very special frog that lives in the Arctic Oircle thanks to a unique adaptation." "When it gets too cold, it freezes just like an ice cube, and then, when it warms up, it thaws out and the frog comes back to life." "See?" "The Snowman in my yard could have come back to life." "No, Billy." "I'm sorry." "It doesn't work that way for people." "But people adapt in other ways." "Like if it gets too cold," "we invent things like warm houses or hats." "Don't worry, Howard." "I'm sure your dad will learn to adapt, too." "It's not right at all." "Ahh." "Oh, this ain't right." "This ain't right at all." "Bring my whole family here..." "I don't think he's adapting." "I hope he doesn't make you move away." "That was so cool today the way you stood up to Jason." " You were so fast." " Hey, watch the hat." "Hey, how come you didn't have to take your hat off at school today?" "Are you bald under there?" "Yeah, I'm dying." "I have cancer." "They had to shoot me with all these chemicals and radiation just to keep me alive, but it made all my hair fall out." "No." "You said you were all better now." "Yeah, but when I first got sick, my dad told me it was just a cold." "The way he said it," "then he started hugging me all the time, I just knew." "They still hug me too much." "Are you sure, Billy?" "The hospital still calls every day." "My parents try and hide it from me because they want me to enjoy my last days." "But you guys got to help me." "Anything, Billy, anything." "I don't want to die a loser." "But after the Snowman and getting on the news and now we're about to skate with the most popular girls in school," "I just..." "I don't have to be remembered forever as just the pathetic bald kid." "We just can't screw it up." "So how long before you... you know?" "Weeks, days, maybe even..." "It's not funny!" "Stop it!" "Billy, I know you're pretending." " Bill?" " Rrrr!" "Oome on, Lucas." "Every time." "I knew you were joking, mon." "I knew it." "Well, not about the dying." "That part's really true." "This ain't right, mon." "This ain't right." "You know, this car been running for ten minutes, it's still freezing in here." "You know, your father sold me a broken car." "No, he didn't." "It's not broken." "Your motor's really small, so it'll take, like, 20 minutes to warm up." "Oh, my goodness." "This ain't right." "Wait." "What is this, icing up again?" "That's on the inside from your breath freezing." "My breath is freezing the inside of the window?" "Oh, God." "Boys, stop!" "Everybody stop breathing." "Stop breathing." "Dad, wrong side." "Not Jamaica." "They really don't have hockey where you're from?" "The only ice in Jamaica is for keeping your drink cold." "Whoops!" "I look stupid." "No one else is wearing all of this stuff." "You can take it off once you learn how to skate." "I bet It only takes you, like, five minutes." "Aah!" "Oh!" "Oh, no, no!" " Are you okay?" "You're gonna need to learn how to skate" "'cause around here even losers know how." " I'll be right back." " No, mon!" " Hey, Billy." " Yeah." " Um, we're gonna go play tag." " Yeah, tag." "Tag is..." "Tag is really a lot of fun." "Good choice." "But we need a few minutes to teach Howard how to skate." "Maybe ten minutes?" " He's not playing." " Yes, he is." "I already invited him." "Gwen, I don't want him touching me." "No, it's okay." "My parents say I'm not sick anymore." "Then take your hat off." "Sherry!" "Yeah." "Take off your hat, Kirkfield!" "You know, I came here to put Jamaica in his place, but it looks like he already found it." "You're pathetic." "Just go away, Jason." "Sure, as soon as you take your hat off." "What's wrong?" "I thought you were all better now." "Leave him alone!" "Whoever gets his hat gets to hang with us on Kill Hill for a whole week!" " Oh, I'll get it." " I'll help you, Billy!" "Just piss off!" "I'm not playing!" "Take it off for two seconds." "Then you can go." "Just leave it!" "Please!" "Billy!" "Billy, I'll get the hat back!" "Unh!" "Billy, it's okay." "You look like a basketball player." "You can have my hat." "No." "Just go." "Please, I want to be alone." "Please." "See that new kid?" "Yeah, he's friends with Billy." "He's such a dork." "So no talking, huh?" "Well, you know, how about scraping?" "Why don't you go out and scrape off the windows for Dad?" "Enough ice for one day, huh?" "Don't worry yourself, son." "I know how you feel." "# You'll always be my best friend #" "The man discovered last week buried in a neighborhood snow..." "Wait!" "Go back!" "I think that was about the Snowman!" "Has been identified as 87-year-old Emerson Wyte, thought to have suffered a stroke while out for a walk during last week's snowstorm." "According to police, the deceased lived alone..." "Whoa, he was in your front yard almost a whole week." "Quiet!" "I can't hear, Lucas!" "Quiet." "Mr. White's body was found nearly eight miles from his home, which has authorities wondering how far did he walk and how far was his body moved by city plows?" "Funeral services will be held Saturday at St. Paul's Oemetery." "In other news, the warm weather is expected to continue." "We could go to the funeral." "Funeral is only for family and friends." "What friends?" "Nobody even knew he was missing for a whole week." "That's the graveyard across the lake?" "It's right past the underwater park, and I bet the TV people will be there so we can get on the news again." "Oh, oh, yeah!" "And you should tell the story of how he opened his eyes and looked right at you." "That's a good story, right?" "Hey, hey, hey, mon." "I ain't swimming across no lake in the cold, mon." "Slow down, mon." "We can't go any slower." "Oome on, Howard." "This ain't safe, mon." "They wouldn't make a path if it wasn't safe." "Maybe we should go back and walk around." "Oome on." "Look how big this lake is." "It would take, like, hours." "Just skating across it takes, like, ten minutes." "Well, at least if you would try." "Whoa, oh!" "What happened?" "That was me trying, mon." "We should put our boots on now." "The cemetery's right over that hill." "Whoa!" "Look at the swing set!" "Wow!" "Bet you don't have one of these in Jamaica." "Oh, mon." "I can't believe they actually built a playground underwater." "Well, actually, they built it in a hole too close to the beach." "Floods almost every year, but, man, it's never been this deep." "I mean, look at the slide." "Whee!" "I heard it flooded one time while a bunch of kids were playing, and they all drowned." "It doesn't flood that fast, but it is definitely haunted." "Every year, kids fall through this very ice and get trapped underneath." "Sometimes when the ice is clear, you can see their ghosts down there, playing on the swings and the slides." "But if the ghosts see you, they climb up and break the ice from underneath, and then they grab your ankles" "and pull you down to play with them forever." "I ain't going to no cemetery, mon." "Excuse me." "Pardon me." "Sorry." "So how do we know which one it is?" "Well, it's gonna be fresh, and there's probably gonna be news people around it." "Excuse me." "They don't care if you step on them." "So you're not scared at all?" "Of stepping on dead people?" " No." " No." "Of what's gonna happen to you when you die." "Well, what's that supposed to mean?" "I'm definitely going to heaven." "My parents make me go to church and everything." "That doesn't mean you get to go automatically." "That's what my mom says." "I do get to go automatically, 'cause I'm a kid." "Kids don't even have to be that good." "It's like a rule." "Oh, right." "Like dogs." "What?" "Dogs do not go to heaven." "Yeah." "All dogs go to heaven." "It's in the Bible, right?" "Probably in the Book of Sparky." "So if you know you're going to heaven, who cares how people remember you?" "Well, what if I meet a famous angel like Benjamin Franklin, and he says, "I invented electricity." "So what did you do?"" "And all I can really say is I found a boot with a dead guy in it." " Billy, Billy." " What?" "Is that a new grave?" "Oh, look." "This is it." "Emerson Wyte." "Oh." "Man, we missed it 'cause he was so slow." "Maybe nobody came and they just stuck him in the ground early." "No way!" "Someone must have come to his funeral." "Maybe not." "I mean, look." "He didn't even get a tombstone." "Just a piece of plastic." "I'm gonna end up like the Snowman, like nothing in my life ever mattered." "I got to do something so people don't forget me." "Hi, I'm Reggie Kirkfield of Kirkfield Motors." "Recent events have made me appreciate how difficult winters can be on those less fortunate, and that gives me an idea." " I'm freezing last year's prices!" "... freezing last year's prices!" "Don't be left out in the cold." "Oome on over to a hot new deal." "You don't want to be caught walking out in this weather." "You don't want to be caught walking in this weather, so why not warm up in this scorching deal?" "So come on over!" "Reg, are you serious?" "What?" "Elaine." "Elaine." "Medical insurance, medical bills that the insurance won't pay for," "the lawyer who can't get the medical insurance to pay for them." "Oh, hey, Dad." "Hey." "How long have you been there?" "I was just watching that commercial." "It's really good." "Oh, yeah?" "Better than the road kill one?" "That one was really funny, but this one is like a classic." "Oh." "Maybe I should hire you to work at the dealership." "What's going on, champ?" "What's up?" "Um, can you help me get on the television?" "You want to be in a commercial?" "Actually, there's something else we're doing at school that we thought would be kind of cool" "if we put it on TV or the news or something." "Do you know how to do that?" "Well, what?" "What are you talking about?" "Um, it's... it's a surprise." "Oh, a surprise, huh?" "You know what?" "Record it yourself, and that way, you could post it on the Internet." "It'd be free, and the whole world would see." "What?" "Oan we borrow your video camera?" "I'm Billy Kirkfield," "and I'm about to be hit by 100 snowballs in one minute." "Ready, set, go!" "Profound!" "Yeah, but look." "Only 16 people have watched it." "It's pretty good for two days, right?" "Yeah, but we just now watched it four times, and I watched it, like, twice at home." "Me, too, mon." "Me, too, a couple times." "Maybe ten." "Sorry." "We definitely need to do something bigger," "something no one else has ever done before." "Billy, please don't do this!" "This is dangerous!" "Oh, look." "Is that Jason down there?" "Hey, Kirkfield!" "I heard you were gonna kill yourself!" "Oouldn't miss that!" "Well, you're too chicken to do it yourself!" "Hey, there's a big difference between being chicken and being stupid!" "Then how'd you get so good at being both?" "Man, I'm gonna laugh at your funeral." "Let's do this, mon." "Oome on, Lucas." "Move out of the way." "Oh, crap!" "Ohh!" "Are you guys okay?" "Oh, no." "I think I got snow down me drawers." "Wait." "Wow, guys, that was great." "Maybe next time you should go a little bit faster." "Oh, no, there'll be no next time, mon." "I bet people will want to watch it." "Forget it." "I don't want to be remembered for something embarrassing." "You know, you could send it to Guinness World Records." "You should make it for the biggest losers." "This is it!" "If I can get my name in this book," "I'll never be forgotten." "Ah, here it is, mon." "The official website for Guinness World Records." "Hey, look at this guy, the world's longest earlobes?" "We can do that, right?" "We can stretch our earlobes." "Stretch your brain, Lucas." "I don't want to be tripping over me ears." "We need to do something else." "Think, guys." "What can we do here that other people in the world can't?" "We can build snow forts." "Snow!" "That's perfect!" "We have more snow than anybody!" "What about, like, world's tallest snowman?" "That's a good one, mon." "I'm gonna look it up." " But the snow has to be sticky." " You're right." "But there's already a record for world's tallest snowman, and he's huge." "120 feet tall?" "They said they used cranes to build it." "Oh, look." "There's cute little tractor tires for the eyes." "Keep looking." "There has to be some other record that uses snow, right?" "Maybe we should do the earlobe thing." "Oh, how about this?" "Most snowmen built in one day." "That's really good." "What's the record?" "In Hokkaido, Japan, 2,311 snowmen." "That's all?" "I bet we could make the bottom snowball in three minutes, um, and the middle snowball in two minutes, and the head a minute." "That's easy!" "Easy!" "That's six minutes per snowman and ten per hour, and if we do it in 16 hours, that's 160 snowmen each." "We'd only need, like, ten other guys and we could destroy the old record, right?" "But, Billy, you forgot." "We're gonna need time to eat or take a leak." "Then we'll just have to make some of them faster." "That's why we're gonna test how long it actually takes." "It's good snowball snow, right?" "Good." "And we have an hour till sunset." "Okay, let's try and make as many snowmen as possible." "Ready?" "Go." "That was an hour?" "What?" "No way!" "Hey, guys, guys." "Oome look." "I made a snowwoman." "Billy, we're gonna need a lot more people to help us." "No, Petunia!" "Hey, Billy, what are you doing?" "Get inside." "You're still fighting a cold." "Yeah, whatever." "Sorry." "I have a really important question really fast." "Okay, what, what?" "Really fast, what?" "When you're at your work, and you have one of those really big sales, how do you get everyone to come?" "Why do you want to know that?" " Dad, I'm really cold." " Wait, wait, wait." " I need to know." " Okay, okay, okay," "All right, all right, here." "Oome on." "I'll tell you really fast." "Okay." "Okay, how do I get everyone to come?" "It's like throwing a good party." "You got to convince everyone that everybody else is gonna show up," "and then they all come." "But, I mean, isn't that kind of lying?" "Spinning." "I'm just telling people what they want to hear." "I do the crazy commercials, I put the posters up, the balloons." "People do not like missing out on opportunities." "So whatever it is you're doing, you got to make it seem like it's a really big opportunity, then they all show up." "Spinning." "Spinning." "Thanks, Dad." "Our secret." "Dad, okay." "Okay." "Sixth graders will all be there to help you guys." "They promised, so you can have a lot of fun." "Here's a flyer, mon." "Please join us next week, mon." "Here's a flyer." "We're gonna make more snowmen in one day, mon." "It's gonna be great." "All the sixth graders promised to help me and the kids." "Oome on Friday." "World record attempt!" "Get your flyer!" "Most snowmen in one day." "Much more easier than skating." "Ooh!" "Ooh!" "Oh!" "Thank you!" "Oh oh oh ohh!" "The younger kids all say they can build more snowmen than you guys." "Look at how many people signed up." "Okay, so it's not even a hundred." "Maybe it's enough, mon." "No." "We need everyone helping, every single kid and teacher." "We need to set a record so big, no one can ever beat it, so big no one will even try." "But we've already asked everybody." "Billy?" "Everyone, attention, please!" "Oome on!" "It's really important!" "Guys, please, listen!" "I'm Billy Kirkfield, the kid who's dying," "But before I go," "I want to do something important." "So next week, I need you guys' help to set a world record, but I can't do it without all of you." "So, please, it's my dying wish." "Oome on." "You got to give someone his dying wish." "Please, you have to!" "Hey, I want to sign up!" " Okay, good." "Take one and just sign on the back and give it back to us after school." "Okay, so now we only need to work on getting sponsors and the official guy." "Oh, man!" "Why didn't you say anything?" " Sorry, mon." " Sorry." "Make sure you get one!" "Tell everybody!" "When?" "When were you going to tell me about your little event?" "Honestly, boys, there's a lot more involved in setting a world record than making pretty posters." "We know that." "We've worked everything out." "I don't think you understand." "Well, the people at Guinness World Records already approved it." "You actually spoke to them?" "This is the letter they sent us." "And here's the contract." "We went over all the rules and everything." "We got a sponsor, too." "The whole school gets free pizza all day." "This is very impressive, boys, very impressive." "But this requires certain people and officials." "The mayor's coming to do the official count." "The mayor's coming?" "He said he'd be here at the end of the school day, at the same time as the news crews." "The news crews?" "Uh, attention, everyone." "This is Billy Kirkfield." "I just wanted to thank everyone who signed up to help set a world record." "I just wanted to announce that Principal Wetzel now wants the whole school to help, so that means that..." "If you want to make snowmen on Friday, you get to skip classes." "Profound." "They don't give us money for setting the record, but we'll probably get paid for, like, interviews or commercials or something." "So, hopefully, we'll have enough money to buy you a tombstone." "Oh, yeah, and we put your name near the top of the list with ours, so in a way, you'll be remembered with us." "Hey, you don't sound sick anymore." "Yeah, it's my last burst of energy." "That's what happens at the end, so just make sure we set the biggest world record possible." "It's warm out." "That means the snow is sticky." "That's good." "But it's too warm." "What if we don't have enough snow to set the record?" "There'll be enough." "It's too cold out here!" "Then you should go inside, and you'll be warm for a while." "But you know what?" "Someday when you're so old that you can't even get out of bed to poop," "I bet you'd trade every single day between now and then just for one chance to do something important with your life, something that no one else has ever done and will never be able to do again." "So, please, don't waste this chance!" "Go, Billy!" "Until every flake of snow is off this field, let's make snowmen!" "# Moving forward using all my breath #" "# Being friends with you was never second best #" "# And I saw the world crashing all around your face #" "Whoa!" "# Never really knowing it was always mesh and lace #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# You've seen the difference, and it's getting better all the time #" "# There's nothing you and I won't do #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "Hey, I got a joke for you." "What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman?" "Frostbite." "I'll come back with more." " Hey, want to hear a joke?" " Nope." "How do snowmen travel?" "By-icicle." "Get it?" "By icicle." "By-icicle." "That's awesome." "Good job, guys, seriously." "Bicycle." "By-icicle." "By-icicle." "I'll come back with more." "They eat iceberg-ers." "Ice burgers." "You know what else they like to eat?" " Lucas, stop bothering them." " Hold on." "Let me just finish this one." "You know what else snowmen like to eat?" "Ohilly." "Iceberg-ers and chilly." "Okay, good." "Keep moving." "I looked up a bunch of snowman jokes." "For morale, right?" "Hey, guys, you know where snowmen keep their money?" "No, Lucas." "Stop it." "They keep their money in a snow bank." " Oome on, Lucas!" " Get it?" "Snow bank!" "No more jokes!" "About three inches short." "Profound." "Hey, Howard, how are we doing?" "Um, pretty good." "Done with my section." "Hey, Howard, how do snowmen travel?" "Lucas, stop it." "No more jokes." "They travel bicycle." "Get it?" "By-icicle?" "That's the best one, right?" "I hope it's the last one, mon." "Oome on, guys." "Let's go get lunch and go over the numbers, okay?" "Okay, mon." "Oh, guys!" "How does a snowman lose weight?" "He sits by a fire." "Well, obviously, you can see there's more than enough room for them, and the owner before you, what he did" "is he put in a satellite television, and you get the local stations like..." "Tell me about what's happening here today." "My gosh, that's my son." "We're setting a world record for the most snowmen in a day, and I think we're gonna do it." "I haven't counted yet, but, yeah." "I think we're doing good." "About 800 done for sure, maybe 400 still need faces." "We should hurry up and get back out there, right?" " Yeah, we should." " He's right, mon." "They're not even halfway and lunch is almost over." "Profound." "We're doing great on the numbers." "We can do this." "Billy, we have a problem." " What's the matter?" "We have almost 2,000 snowmen already." "That's fantastic!" "But it's all melting." "Snowmen are falling over or shrinking." "We're spending all our time just fixing everything." "We're running out of good snow, too." "All that's left is muddy, gross stuff." "Billy, we have to fix this." "We only have three hours till the mayor gets here." " Yeah, I know." " Uh-oh." "I think the mayor's here now!" "Mr. Mayor." "Mayor Noray, welcome." "I'm the principal." "Yes, we are just so thrilled and honored that you could come here." "How could I say no?" "Oh." "Well, here comes the mastermind now." "Hi, Bill." "So, uh, how we doing?" "Well, you're kinda early, so we need just a little more time." "Uh-oh." "Well, that's fine." "That's fine." "Maybe like an hour, at least an hour." "An hour?" "Why that's..." "That's perfect." "Let's set as big a record as we can now." "I'm even gonna come help you in a minute, right after we take this tour." " Thank you so much." " Thank you!" "Okay." "Wait a minute!" "What are you doing?" "Everyone, why are you leaving the field?" "Don't give up!" "Everybody!" "Listen!" "We have one hour!" "We can do this!" "But the snow's too melty." "Oome on." "Don't give up." "We're so close." "Hey!" "What happened to all their heads?" "Don't cry, Little Willie." "Maybe you'll make it in the record book for the world's biggest waste of time." "Let's report him." "Where'd the teachers go?" "They went inside with all the cameras and the mayor." "Just ignore them, Billy!" "We need more snow, don't we?" "Don't you think that's enough?" "Kill Hill?" "No way." "Won't melt fast." "We could chop it up into blocks and make snowmen that way, like an igloo." "I don't think they're gonna let us." "Not without a fight." "Bill, those look icy." "You can't throw ice." "Don't, Billy!" "It's not worth it." "They're gonna kill us." "It doesn't matter to me." "Don't, Billy!" "Please!" "Let's go!" "Oh!" "Let's go!" "Let's get out of here!" "Oome on, Billy!" "Whoa!" "Waste him." " Yeah!" " Get him!" "Get him!" "He's over there!" " Hurry!" " We're gonna get you!" "Oome on!" "Let's go!" "You're gonna get it now!" " We're gonna get you!" " Uh-oh!" "Get him!" "Whoa!" "Yeah!" "Oh, crap!" "I'm gonna get you, Lucas!" "Aah!" "Hurry up!" "Oh!" "Get him!" "Hey, they're over here!" "Hey!" "Ow!" "There's no one on Kill Hill!" "Let's go!" "Oh, my gosh!" "They're taking the hill!" "Oome on!" "Oome on, you guys!" "Yes!" "I'm king of Kill Hill!" "Yeah!" "What's wrong with you?" "If you can't handle it, then stay off the hill, you little whiner." " You okay, kid?" " What are you doing?" "Who cares about the little turd?" "He deserved it." "Yeah, well, that was too rough, Jas." "Screw you, you pansy!" "Hey, you made it to the top." "Way to go, man." "Where are you going?" "I just saved the hill." "Oome on." "We can cream these runts!" "Who cares?" "It's just a pile of snow." "Fine." "Then go home to your mommies, you bunch of losers!" "You're the loser!" "Oh, come on!" "Rrr!" "Get off!" "Get him, Lucas." "Now's your chance." "Get him!" "Get him!" "Get him!" "Oome on!" "Oome on, Lucas." "Hit him back." "Hit him!" "Hit him!" "Hit him!" "Just hit him!" "Don't be a wimp!" "I'm not a wimp!" "Go, Lucas!" "I'm coming, Lucas." "It's weird." "I actually feel sorry for him." "Me, too." "It must be hard not having any friends." "Are we still doing the record?" "Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely!" "Go get the shovels, and we'll start chopping up the hill, okay?" "What about right here?" "This is a good one, right in front of the school sign." "Oh, yes." "That would be wonderful." "Oh, got to check for yellow snow." "Wouldn't want that." " He's set to go." " Yellow snow." "You know what would be really cute, really cute?" "If we used the mayor's scarf for the snowman, don't you think?" " It could be..." " Hey, hey, hey!" " Looks like I made itjust in time." " Oh." "Mr. Kirk..." "Oh, Principal Wetzel, how are you?" "Hi." "It's good to see you." "What a surprise." "It's Orazy Kirk here!" "Ha ha!" "Orazy Kirk's Motors!" " How are you?" " Nice to see you, Reggie." "I can't say I'm surprised." "I saw what was happening on the news, and I just wanted to see if my son helped set the new world record." "Let me say this right now, how honored I am to be a part of your son's legacy." "He's an extraordinary boy," "and, uh, people will remember him for many, many years." "You make it sound like he's dying." "What?" "You make it sound like he isn't." "We can do this." " Yeah!" " Yeah!" "This is it!" "This is all the snow we need to set a record!" "But it ain't enough people, mon." "We'll just get on the news and ask everyone in town to come help." "We do have until midnight, right?" "Oh, man, we're so close." "We can do this." "That's enough!" "Everybody, back to your homeroom, please." "It's a greatjob, but there's not gonna be a world record set here today." " I'm sorry." " What?" "Why?" "No, we can still do it." "We just need to ask for help." "Billy!" "Billy, stop." "It's over, okay?" " Why?" "Why can't we keep trying?" "Because you lied to everyone, Billy." "You tricked them into helping you." "What lie?" "Oome on." "We'll talk about it at home." " Oome on." " No!" "Are you talking about me dying?" "It's true!" "I have cancer!" "My dad just doesn't want me to know so I can enjoy my last days!" "Oh, my..." "I'm so sorry." "I'm sorry, uh..." "I don't know what's wrong with him." "Oome on." "Then why have I been so sick lately?" "You have a cold, Billy." "I know you know that because I was with you when the doctor told you." "Yeah." "Just like you told me it was a cold last year when it wasn't." "Dad, it's okay." "I know the truth." "I can feel it." "I know I'm dying." "I told you I would never, ever lie to you about that again." "Dad, you're not lying." "You're spinning." "You're telling me what I want to hear... just like you do on your commercials." "Billy." "Oh, okay." "Billy." "You don't have cancer anymore, Billy." "You beat it." "You really did, Billy." "Billy?" "Billy!" "I came here to be alone." "You left these at my place." "Thought you might want them." "You actually skated all the way across the lake again?" "Only fell twelve times." "I really did think I was still sick." "I mean, at least I was pretty sure." "I'm kind of glad you're not dying." "Be easier if I was." "Now I have to live with everyone hating me." "Rrrrr." "Whoa." "Are you a ghost?" "I am." "Sorry, just kidding." "Oaretaker humor." "Ha ha." "Oan I help you boys?" "No." "We're just visiting Emerson Wyte." "We were his only friends." "Don't know why you think that." "He had lots of friends." "You knew him?" "I was working here during the funeral." "One of the nicest services I've ever seen." "But I thought..." "On the news, they said that nobody even noticed him missing." "A man that age, family's moved away," "friends have a hard time getting around." "Sounds like he kept to himself since his wife died, last summer, as I recall." "Now... here they are together again, hmm?" "How come she gets a tombstone and he doesn't?" "He's gonna have a beautiful stone to match his wife's here." "We'll put it in in the spring once the ground thaws." "Would you like to see some photographs of him?" "Mr. Wyte?" "Huh?" " Yeah." " Sure." "The family still hasn't picked these up from the service." "He looks happy." "Yeah, always smiling." "That's what everyone said." "But what did he do?" "Well, a lot." "He was 87 years old." "Whew." "But did he do anything that mattered?" "Like what was his job?" "I think he owned a grocery store." "Yeah, here." "That's it?" " Uh-huh." " He owned a shop?" "Yeah." "You see this lad here?" "He stood right here and shared how Mr. Wyte" "helped him through rough times when he was younger." "This chapel was full of people with stories like that." "But that's just those people." "I want to do something that matters to the whole world like setting a world record." "A record?" "Wow." "We tried to make the most snowmen in one day." "Well, that sounds like a lot of fun." "But it wasn'tjust fun." "It was..." "It'll always be proof that I did something important." "So setting this world record makes other people happy somehow?" "I've seen a lot of funerals, heard a lot of life stories." "And it seems to me that when people talk about someone living a good life," "it's not what they did that matters so much as how they did it." "Maybe being a good person is a purpose all by itself." "Being a good friend, even with people who don't want to be friends." "That's the kind of thing that could ripple from person to person for years and years." "That's profound." "I got to get back to work." "You boys just let yourselves out." "See ya." "No, not for a long time." "Not for a long time." "Reggie?" "You all right?" "How's your car?" "Never warms up." "I'll get you a better one, okay?" "Even trade." "So I was, uh..." "I was watching the news." "Oh, yeah?" "Did they show what happened at the school?" " Oh, yeah." " Yeah." "Did they get my sign in?" "Yeah." "You know, big enough to read." "He had a one-in-five chance of beating it." "There was an 80 percent chance that I was gonna lose my son." "All the tests said he beat it." "Praise God for that." "Yeah, but he didn't believe it." "Oh." "I've been so obsessed with paying all the bills." "The hospital calls every day," "and I've just been in such a rush to put it behind us." "The whole time, he thinks he's gonna..." "Reggie, there's time now." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Hi." "Mr. Kirkfield?" "Yeah?" "Hi." "I'm Gwen." "I'm a friend of Bill's." "Oh..." "You're Gwen." "Yeah, he's mentioned your name, a lot actually." "Um, do you think he'd want to see anyone right now?" "Um, he hasn't come home yet." "Matter of fact, I was just gonna go look for him again." "Oh, they went to see the Snowman." "You know, the man they found in the front yard." "They've been visiting his, uh, grave." "That's creepy." "Uh, do you know which cemetery?" "Um, it's somewhere near a water park." "They said underwater, I think." "Oh, I know where that is." "Up, over, around, and through." "Oan you stop wiggling?" "Up, over, around and through." "You should learn how to do this yourself." "They're too loose when I do it." "I don't think we should skate today." "Everything's melting." "The park always melts first." "Lake ice is way thicker." "Right, Billy?" "So, uh, Billy, your hair gonna grow back now?" "Guess so." "You should grow a Mohawk or grow, like, really long hair." "No, like Mohawk, yeah." "And then dye it purple and go to all these funky parties." "Lucas, watch out!" "Get away from him!" "Back off or I'll cut him!" "How would you like that, Lucas?" "How about a closer shave than Billy?" "Leave him alone, Jason." "He didn't even want to fight you." "But he's such a chicken." "I can't stand him." "You're the chicken." "Only reason you pick on him is 'cause he doesn't fight back." "Yeah, mon." "Why don't you fight us?" "No." "Back off, Howard." "Just me." "Just fight me," "or are you too chicken?" "Were you crying?" "Any last words, Kirkfield?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry I threw those snowballs at you and that we took over your stupid hill." "I'm sorry I always make fun of you failing three times." "Maybe you're just a jerk because nobody gives you a chance to be anything else." "I failed one time." "You're still gonna die, you know." "I'm ready." "Look out!" " Billy!" " Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Billy!" "We have to get him out!" "We'll get him out, but you got to get help!" "You're the only one with skates on!" "Go!" "Go!" "Billy!" "I see him!" "I see him!" "He's drowning!" "We have to get him out!" "You're gonna kill yourself, too!" "It's not woking!" "Oh, no." "Billy." "Whoa oh!" "I'll get you out!" "Billy!" "Help me!" "I can't!" "I'm too heavy!" " He's drowning!" " What am I supposed to do?" "Get over here!" "And then I couldn't hold my breath anymore, and I knew I was gonna die." "That's when I stopped praying for God to save me" "and just asked him to forgive me." "It didn't matter that I wasn't in the record books." "That didn't even cross my mind." "All I could think about was missing my friends and family and them missing me." "It's funny how clear everything is when it's too late." "Oh, please, God." "Grab it!" "Just hold on!" "Help!" "Help!" "Over there!" "That's Howard!" " Help!" "Something's not right." " Help!" " Sit back." "Hold on." "So that's it." "That's how I died." "You probably didn't believe me before, but I wasn't spinning." "I really was dead... for almost 53 minutes." "The doctors said I survived because I was so cold, basically frozen." "All they had to do was thaw me out and start me up again." "Sort of like that frog we learned about." "Oh!" "Thank you." "Oan we see him now?" "Please, please." "Please, please." "No cameras, please." "Stop." "Billy." "They said no one had ever been dead so long and come back." "Well, not without brain damage anyway." "The funny thing is," "I'd set a new record." "I was famous," "and I didn't care anymore." "We... mwah... have a surprise for you, but that's not it." "Hey." "Look at that." "Pretty handsome." "Did you make a new commercial?" "No, no." "It's gonna be something much better than that." "Billy." "Those..." "The 53 minutes, do you remember anything?" "Yeah." "I was wrong." "There are dogs in heaven." "Okay, here it is." "Hey, kid, move over." "Now for the latest snowman report." "Fiona, how we doin'?" "Well, Terry, it is an amazing scene here." "In just the past hour, buses from three other schools have arrived, bringing hundreds of more students." "And the latest count, more than 12,000 snowmen." "That's more than five times the record set in Hokkaido, Japan." "Ha ha, isn't that great?" "With several hours still to go, that number is expected to rise significantly." "All over town, thousands of snowmen are being made, and all of this inspired by one miraculous young man who continues to recover in the hospital." "His name is William Kirkfield, or Billy as he's known to his many friends." " We miss you, Billy!" " Hi, Billy!" "They did it." "You did it." "Right here, 501... 2." "Wait a minute." "Did I miss one?" " Oh, no!" "No!" " I need a scarf." "Look." "Not you..." "Not you again." "Are you kidding?" "Don't worry, Billy." "We put your name at the top of the list." "Things changed a lot after that." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "Jason and Lucas started hanging out, and I made lots of other friends, too, including my first girlfriend." "Hi, Billy." "Howard even joined a hockey team." "He still wasn't the best skater, but he took his team from last to first place as the best goalie in the league." "And Howard's dad?" "He's still adapting." "For me, every day since we set the record has felt like bonus time." "I know there's a plan for my life, and I know I'll be happy." "After all, it's not what we do that's important, so much as how we do it." "That's what makes us who we are." "And me?" "I'm proud to be a snowman." "# Moving forward using all my breath #" "# Being friends with you was never second best #" "# And I saw the world crashing all around your face #" "# Never really knowing it was always mesh and lace #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# You've seen the difference, and it's getting better all the time #" "# There's nothing you and I won't do #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# You should know better #" "# Dream of better lives, the kind which never hate #" "# You should see why #" "# Trapped in a state of imaginary grace #" "# You should know better #" "# I made a pilgrimage to save this human race #" "# You should see why #" "# Never comprehending the race that's long gone by #" "# Hey, hey, hey, hey #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# You've seen the difference, and it's getting better all the time #" "# There's nothing you and I won't do #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# The future's open wide #" "# The future's open wide #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# You've seen the difference, and it's getting better all the time #" "# There's nothing you and I won't do #" "# Let's stop the world #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# The future's open wide #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# Yeah, yeah, yeah #" "# You've seen the difference, and it's getting better all the time #" "# There's nothing you and I won't do #" "# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah #" "# I'll stop the world and melt with you #" "# I melt with you #"