The Snow Queen (Snezhnaya koroleva)
Directed by Lev Atamanov
Written by Lev Atamanov et al from the story by Hans Christian Andersen
1957/USSR
All-Union Animated Cartoon Studios/Soyuzmultifilm
First viewing/YouTube
[box] “I can give her no greater power than she has already, said the woman; don’t you see how strong that is? How men and animals are obliged to serve her, and how well she has got through the world, barefooted as she is. She cannot receive any power from me greater than she now has, which consists in her own purity and innocence of heart. If she cannot herself obtain access to the Snow Queen, and remove the glass fragments from little Kay, we can do nothing to help her.” ― Hans Christian Andersen, The Snow Queen[/box]
This is a beautifully animated retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.
Gerda and Kai are such close friends they call themselves “sworn brothers”. One wintry night Gerda’s grandmother tells them the story of the Snow Queen. The next day the two friends play Snow Queen games and Kai draws her attention by boasting how he could defeat her. The Snow Queen descends and hardens Kai’s heart with ice crystals. She then kidnaps the boy to her icy kingdom. Little Gerda spends the rest of the story undergoing many adventures to save him and bring him home.
This is a touching testament to true friendship. It is currently on YouTube in both subbed and dubbed versions.
