The 1976 BBC adaption of The Snow Queen is, from what I take it, the very first English adaption of Hans Christian Andersen's beloved fairy tale, as well as the most faithful to the original story.
As a child, I adored The Snow Queen. I'd watch it all the time until the video got jammed in the VCR. Recently, I watched the full movie on Youtube, and while, it's not as good as I used to think it was, I recommend taking a look at it.
The movie starts off with the Devil and his troll minions creating an evil mirror that reflects the ugliness in beautiful things and vice versa (you deserve a cookie if you sit through this opening without being the slightest bit scared of the demented laughter and horrific images that show up). However, as the troll minions fly the mirror up towards Heaven to mock God with it, they laugh uncontrollably, fumble the mirror and drop it, smashing it into tiny pieces which make their way into everyday objects or just floating around on Earth.
This sets in motion the rest of the story. Gerda, a young girl, and her friend, Kay, are going to stay with Gerda's grandmother during Christmas when a street lantern containing a shard of the Devil's mirror cracks and lands in Kay's eye and heart, turning him cold hearted and cruel. During the night, Kay is abducted by The Snow Queen and taken to her palace. The Snow Queen brainwashes Kay into forgetting Gerda and sets him to solve a difficult puzzle. If Kay can solve the puzzle, he will be rewarded with a pair of ice skates as well as the entire world, but he will also belong to The Snow Queen forever. While this is going on, Gerda sets of on an adventure to find Kay and discover the hidden power within her.
The overall quality of The Snow Queen is mixed. On one hand the pacing is nice and quick, yet sometimes it lingers. Namely the scene with the talking flowers in the garden, that scene is nothing more than filler. The animation, while it is dated, is lovely, especially considering how cartoons during the 1970's were cheaply produced by companies wanting to cut corners while still being lucrative (ie. Hanna-Barbera), plus the whole look of live action actors on animated backgrounds is neat. The supporting actors do a fine job, but the two lead child actors are simply awful. Yes, they may be children but if Anna Paquin can win an Oscar at the age of 11 and Abigail Breslin nominated at the age of 10, then I don't see why the leading kids can put on a decent performance. Also it would have been nice to see what Kay was like before he was corrupted; the film makers can't just expect the audience to believe that Kay was a kind and friendly boy without showing it or even having it mentioned, especially since Kay still acts the same as before when the spell on him is broken. Finally, there could have been more of The Snow Queen herself. She's the title character and the main antagonist of the movie, yet she barely makes much of an appearance throughout the movie, and she only talks in two scenes. It's a real shame, the design of the character is really unique to boot.
Overall, while it has plenty of flaws, I still recommend viewing BBC's 1976 adaption of The Snow Queen, even at least once.
Final Score: 7/10
As a child, I adored The Snow Queen. I'd watch it all the time until the video got jammed in the VCR. Recently, I watched the full movie on Youtube, and while, it's not as good as I used to think it was, I recommend taking a look at it.
The movie starts off with the Devil and his troll minions creating an evil mirror that reflects the ugliness in beautiful things and vice versa (you deserve a cookie if you sit through this opening without being the slightest bit scared of the demented laughter and horrific images that show up). However, as the troll minions fly the mirror up towards Heaven to mock God with it, they laugh uncontrollably, fumble the mirror and drop it, smashing it into tiny pieces which make their way into everyday objects or just floating around on Earth.
This sets in motion the rest of the story. Gerda, a young girl, and her friend, Kay, are going to stay with Gerda's grandmother during Christmas when a street lantern containing a shard of the Devil's mirror cracks and lands in Kay's eye and heart, turning him cold hearted and cruel. During the night, Kay is abducted by The Snow Queen and taken to her palace. The Snow Queen brainwashes Kay into forgetting Gerda and sets him to solve a difficult puzzle. If Kay can solve the puzzle, he will be rewarded with a pair of ice skates as well as the entire world, but he will also belong to The Snow Queen forever. While this is going on, Gerda sets of on an adventure to find Kay and discover the hidden power within her.
The overall quality of The Snow Queen is mixed. On one hand the pacing is nice and quick, yet sometimes it lingers. Namely the scene with the talking flowers in the garden, that scene is nothing more than filler. The animation, while it is dated, is lovely, especially considering how cartoons during the 1970's were cheaply produced by companies wanting to cut corners while still being lucrative (ie. Hanna-Barbera), plus the whole look of live action actors on animated backgrounds is neat. The supporting actors do a fine job, but the two lead child actors are simply awful. Yes, they may be children but if Anna Paquin can win an Oscar at the age of 11 and Abigail Breslin nominated at the age of 10, then I don't see why the leading kids can put on a decent performance. Also it would have been nice to see what Kay was like before he was corrupted; the film makers can't just expect the audience to believe that Kay was a kind and friendly boy without showing it or even having it mentioned, especially since Kay still acts the same as before when the spell on him is broken. Finally, there could have been more of The Snow Queen herself. She's the title character and the main antagonist of the movie, yet she barely makes much of an appearance throughout the movie, and she only talks in two scenes. It's a real shame, the design of the character is really unique to boot.
Overall, while it has plenty of flaws, I still recommend viewing BBC's 1976 adaption of The Snow Queen, even at least once.
Final Score: 7/10
