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
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