Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

MissSimonetta This adaptation of The Snow Queen is likely the most well-known animated film from Russia and rightfully so. It's a beautiful film with a lovely color palette and interesting character animation. Unlike the recent musical-comedy Frozen (2013), this is more faithful to the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and the central bond between Gerda and Kay feels comes across as much more poignant than anything in the later film, as Gerda goes through hellish scenarios for Kay's sake.Unfortunately, the ending dilutes the emotion of the story. (SPOILER WARNING) Once Gerda makes it to the Snow Queen's palace and finds Kay, the confrontation with the titular character is less than convincing. Gerda simply shouts, "Go away!" and the mildly agitated queen disappears, leaving the children to make their way home and live happily ever after.Now I was not expecting a ridiculous battle for the climax, but I felt it could have been handled with more power, with Kay forced to pick between the safe but soulless domain of the Snow Queen and Gerda's love. It would have been more satisfying. Or they could have kept the original ending too. Either of these would have been better than what was chosen. I'm not the only one who feels this way either; even director Hayao Miyazaki expressed his displeasure with this film's finale in an interview.Still, this is among the better adaptations of the fairy tale to date and classic animation fans should not miss out.

Julia Arsenault (ja_kitty_71) Like I said animation is an art form, and in a few countries in the world there are some excellent animation; especially in Japan and The Soviet. My first glimpse of animation from Russia are shorts that were dubbed in English in a TV show from Film Roman called "Animated Classic Showcase."I now confess that Russia's Soyuzmultfilm Studios make excellent animated shorts and films like this wonderful adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy story "The Snow Queen," which is another favorite of mine. In 1960, the film had been dubbed in English along with a live-action prologue to go with it and a top-notch voice cast like : · Sandra Dee...Gerda, · Tommy Kirk...Kay, · Louise Arthur...The Snow Queen, · June Foray...Henrietta the Court Raven/the Finnish woman, · Paul Frees...Ol' Dreamy/Mr. Corax the Raven, and... · Patricia McCormack...Angel the robber girl.

Galina "Snezhnaya koroleva' (1957) aka "The Snow Queen" directed by Lev Atamanov is a beautiful animated movie of my childhood that I'd seen dozens times back in Moscow even before we had a color TV. It is creative, colorful, sometimes dramatic and intense, and always poetic and moving Russian adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of voyages "The Snow Queen". Seeing it last night after such a long time together with my husband, we both agreed that this is one of the timeless classics. This story of the devoted heart of a little brave girl and the friendship and love which are above everything and are worth to fight for and to go to the end of the world, will never get old. Two best voices of Soviet stage and cinema participated in the narrating of "The Snow Queen", Maria Babanova - The Snow Queen and Yanina Zhejmo – Gerda. Zhejmo was absolutely charming as Cinderella in the Russian adaptation "Zolushka" (1947) which is also one of my all time favorites.The film was released on DVD by the company "Films by Jove" with the original Russian soundtrack and English subtitles and is available from the company's site. Four more excellent films by Lev Atamanov are included on the DVD: "Golden Antelope", the Indian fairy tale and three short animations, "Bench", "Cyclist", and "Fence" adapted from the cartoons of Herluf Bidstrup, celebrated Danish artist, famous for his comics, humorous drawings, series of graphical anecdotes, and caricatures.

David Hutchinson I have fond memories of this film as a child... Watching it today, it actually still holds up well. The Russians have adapted one of Hans Christian Anderson's lesser-known tales quite well, and utilizes a talented cast for the English-language version: Sandra Dee, Tommy Kirk, Patty McCormick and even June Foray("Rocky" of ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE fame). Like most of Anderson's stories, THE SNOW QUEEN has many dark moments, and might actually be a little frightening for the little ones, but also treats the viewer to a little bit of morality- that of the love and devotion of two childhood friends. While the actual film is great, the American-added prologue with TV Host Art Linkletter and a bunch of kids really dates the material... fast-forward and enjoy this wonderful treat for young and old.