John Coates, who produced the animated Christmas classic “The Snowman” has died of cancer at 81.

Because the film is silent except for the score by Raymond Briggs, it is sometimes played at symphony youth concerts with live accompaniment.

Coates recently finished working on a sequel to mark the 30th anniversary of “The Snowman”, which was released for Christmas in 1982.

The original tells the story of a young boy taking a midnight flight with a snowman to the north pole.

The sequel is called “The Snowdog”.

“The Snowman” was nominated for an Academy Award in 1983.

Coates also worked on other animated films, including the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” and “The Wind in the Willows”.