The Snow Queen

Kai and Gerda are neighbours' children. They grow up under the same roof and there is a rose garden between their windows. Winter comes. The Snow Queen comes to the boy's window and wants him. A splinter of mirror gets into Kai's eye; from that moment he sees everything as ugly and no longer likes Gerda. The Queen takes him north. Gerda goes after him. On the way there is a river, a woman gardener, a prince and princess, a robber girl and a reindeer. Each of them either stops her or helps. Lev Atamanov directs. It is a Soviet production made at the Soyuzmultfilm studio. The source is Hans Christian Andersen's tale. The animation was produced with rotoscoping; the movements were first filmed with live actors and drawn over. The film was sold to many countries and dubbed into different languages; in some versions the opening section was changed. Hayao Miyazaki has described many times seeing it when young and its part in his decision to continue in animation. The matter it treats is persistence; Gerda has no power at all and proceeds only by walking. The Snow Queen is drawn as cold rather than evil and the narrative does not punish her. The use of colour and the snow scenes are its strongest side. Its limit is pace; the narrative proceeds in pieces and some of the intervening sections run long. Who it is for: viewers who like classic animation and adaptations of fairy tales. Who it is not for: the pace is slow, the animation belongs to its period, and the narrative episodic.