The Snow Queen - La Reine des Neiges

Gerda, a small girl whose parents have been killed by the evil Snow Queen, sets out on a journey to rescue her only brother Kay from the clutches of the same tyrant. Accompanied by a troll who doesn't really know on which side he is, she must try to put an end to this terrible reign which is about to become invincible.

I have to tell you that although I didn't have high expectations from this one, it managed to disappoint me. The story is as cliché as it is stupid, the replies are for kindergarten, the side characters are as pointless as they are ugly and idiotic, the basic laws of physics don't apply here (the characters walk and run on ice like it's tarmac) while the finale is unconvincing, to say the least. To give you a small example, every single one on that land is against the Queen and her ice age but nobody is willing to do anything about it. Furthermore, they even slow Gerda's quest with their pathetic problems only to pretend to help her by "providing" some material help (which was destroyed by them in the first place).

This movie has one big plus and that is its aspect. It looks absolutely gorgeous from every single angle (except the above mentioned side characters) and although its animations sometimes lack a bit of polish, it still looks great overall. I can't say I enjoyed this movie and I'm only giving it this rating for its appearance and its soundtrack. Everything other than that is not worth mentioning, unfortunately

There's one thing I like and one I dislike about this version of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen."

1. The animation kept a good pace with the original story in modern perspective as promised by Wizart Animation officials. Even though there are a few scenes and/or plots that are a bit confusing, but they do adapt the elements from the original story.

2. The English soundtrack sounded and looked like that it was improvised than putting up a good effort. The English soundtrack was not that I've expected. It was supposed to stay on course with the story, but instead jumped out from the story to show off.

I give that movie a "B+." However, I'll give it an "A" if they do a better job with the English soundtrack.

Not great by all means(the animated adaptation of the story from the 50s is much better), but a more than acceptable version of one of Hans Christian Andersen's best stories. In detail it sticks much more faithfully to the story than Disney's Frozen did, though that film had more polish and magic from personal opinion, and it has that mysterious and poignant spirit of the original story if not its darkness, understandably. Some of the story here did have a slightly rushed nature to it pace-wise, maybe part of the reason for some skim-the-surface character development, the characters are very recognisable and have personality but lack dimension(rather archetypal in a way)in places. The dialogue also can sound cheesy and not as flowing as it could have done. However, much of the story does work, the latter parts of the film do pack a powerful punch, it always did engage me at least and there is some nice messaging. The heart-warming and tense parts are done well as well. The animation is very well done, it doesn't try to do too much and it looks completely natural from the smallest details to bigger effects like snow fall and the lake reflections. Everything moves smoothly and the colours are very lavish and atmospheric, the characters look good and match their personalities fine. The music added a lot to what was going on, the scoring was beautifully melancholic, hauntingly powerful and any tense parts to the music were done very rousingly and enough to make you bite the nails. The voice acting is more than serviceable with everybody playing with heart and commitment, with only Gerda's voice actress having occasional unevenness, big emphasis on occasional because she did do a good job. Overall, not a definitive version, though it never intended to be and I wasn't expecting to be either, but a good one. The original story is a classic and while with some obvious foibles The Snow Queen(2012) does very little to disgrace it. 7/10 Bethany Cox

For a movie with a lower budget (compared to other animated movies), The Snow Queen is really beautiful. Some of the animation is really impressive. The setting is really vivid and creative. It's got a cast of pretty neat characters, and a weasel side kick that steals the show. The character design on the Snow Queen is really interesting.

As for the bad stuff...

The audio for the film was less than stellar. I watched the English dub, so it might be better in the original version. It's just that some of the vocal performances aren't great. Some of the character designs are a bit ugly. Also, the plot isn't great. It feels like things move incredibly quickly, and the beginning feels slow. The ending felt confusing and rushed, and some of the plot points aren't explained very well.

Overall, I recommend this movie, especially for a younger audience. It's really creative, and the visuals are spectacular. It might not be the best movie in the world, but it is certainly entertaining.

My little one loves this movie! However, I'm not sure but there's a scene where they end up in this witches garden and as the camera creeps through her gate, it says 666 on the gate, then again on the little girls socks not long after. I really hope that wasn't on purpose.