MartinHafer In the 1950s and 60s, several Hollywood studios bought international films and re-dubbed them into English. In many cases they also cut the films to pieces and rearranged them in a sad attempt to make them more marketable. In EVERY case I can think of, the results left a lot to be desired. A few of these, such as the re-dubbing and reworking of "Godzilla" (where Raymond Burr seemed to be added rather randomly in order to 'Americanize' the action), worked well enough. But most were simply awful. The list of terribly dubbed stupid international films is very long indeed, with films like "Invaders from Space" and cartoons like "Alakazam the Great" and "Pinocchio in Outer Space". While "The Snow Queen" isn't as bad as the three films I just mentioned, it is pretty bad. Why is it so bad? Well, much of it is because when it comes to showing it to American kids of the day, the material is pretty dull stuff. And, with excellent Disney productions to compare it to from the same time period (such as "Sleeping Beauty" and "101 Dalmatians"), the film just comes up very, very short and the kids would have clearly demand Disney! The film begins with a prologue starring Art Linkletter and a bunch of not particularly talented kids (one who is named, I kid you not, 'Dick Johnson'- -so much for making this a family-friendly film). They are all enjoying a supposedly impromptu and TOTALLY SCRIPTED Christmas morning. You wonder WHO all these kids are and WHY are they at Linkletter's home and WHERE are the parents!! It's all done in an attempt to legitimize the film which follows. In other words, back in the late 50s, Linkletter was a beloved American TV star...and if HE loved the film, it must be good...right?! Well, no. I just assume that Universal Studio paid him a gob of cash to hang out with the kids and promote a crappy Soviet cartoon. As for this Russian film, it's well animated compared to some films of the day (by the late 50s, standards in animation were dropping world-wide). Not as good as Disney, but not bad for the day. Sure, the humans often had creepy expressions but again I make allowances for this because of the period in which it was made. The story is about the Snow Queen from Hans Christian Andersen. It's actually a lot closer to his story than the recent Disney film "Frozen", though I doubt if many folks will really care. The story is about two adorable (?) kids who love each other--Kay (a boy) and Gerta. Unfortunately for them, Kay makes a mistake of making fun of the Snow Queen and she responds by hardening his heart and making him a total jerk towards poor Gerta. Then, the Queen steals the boy and takes him to her frozen kingdom to be her friend. As for Gerta (and this is the ONLY thing I really liked about the film), she wasn't about to stay back home and cry--she set out on a long adventure to get her beloved Kay. The path leads to many adventures (some involving nice fairy tale creatures and some involving fairy tale jerks) and eventually Gerta's persistence is rewarded. In many ways, it reminds me of the wonderful children's book "The Paper Bag Princess" but is so dull and heavy-handed that its great message is lost because the film is so charmless. The bottom line is that I cannot see many kids enjoying this. Younger ones especially will squirm in their seats if they're made to watch this one and older ones simply will wonder why they didn't just watch something else. You should definitely consider seeing something else.

Armand for one who discovers it in childhood and believes, after years, that it is a splendid gift for soul, another definition is impossible. because it is not an adaptation. only a delicate delight. innocent, subtle, fresh, adorable. it is a meeting. with a fairy tale but, more important, with a art of cartoon. it is a magic occasion to understand a world. very fragile, almost dark, strange and in a way, cold. four years after Stalin, a year after Ungaria intervention. and this basis makes it profound and essential. like an adventure of spirit. like testimony of a form of resistance against evil. so, it is not exactly an adaptation. maybe, a parable. this is its secret. secret of the art to remain a delight. secret to be , at every age, a isle of peace and joy.

TheLittleSongbird For as long as I can remember, I have loved Hans Christian Andersen's stories. While some have a touch of darkness to them, they are also poignant and charming with great characters and settings. The Snow Queen is no exception, and as a story pretty much epitomises all those qualities. This Russian animated version is fairly faithful to the spirit of the timeless story, and is wonderful on its own terms.The animation is simple, yet very effective. The backgrounds and colours are pleasing, and the characters are all drawn well. Animation-wise, what really impressed me was the animation on the Snow Queen herself, her appearance alone makes her icy and chilling. The music is just stunning, sometimes it's beautiful, sometimes it's haunting and sometimes it is melancholic.For me, the story is one Andersen's best, and with many effective scenes and most of the crucial scenes of the story there and maintaining their impact this animated film does it justice. The script is wonderfully poetic, and the characters are engaging with Gerda determined and headstrong and the Snow Queen the best-realised being as chilling as she is in the story.The voice work is also good. The English/American voice cast are good, with June Foray and Paul Frees being the most effective and Gerda was surprisingly emotive, but in my eyes the original is more authentic with the voice actress of the Snow Queen especially wonderful. Overall, enchanting animated adaptation, and one of the better adaptations out there too, there aren't many but this one is the most faithful in spirit. 10/10 Bethany Cox

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.