The Snow Queen

The latest entry in the "Stories to Remember" series, this version of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen is based on the 1982 picture book by Amy Ehrlich and illustrator Susan Jeffers. Narrated by Sigourney Weaver and scored by composer Jason Miles, the story is about a young girl named Gerda who's separated from her friend Kai, when slivers of ice (originally part of the Snow Queen's mirror) pierce his eye and heart. Kai is taken north by the Snow Queen, and Gerda sets out to find him. The program, which holds the distinction of being the first animated production from Moscow made for the U.S., is nicely made (though the style does not really follow Jeffers' use of soft pastels), but is curiously flat and somewhat unbalanced dramatically. Where Gerda is supposed to meet the old woman, the princess, and the robber girl before confronting the Snow Queen, in this abbreviated version the princess is dropped. Too, the abducted Kai--who in other versions is attempting to solve an ice-word puzzle (which eerily spells "eternity")--is pretty much ignored until the finale. What's lost is the sense of urgency that's supposed to be present in Andersen's tale. On the other hand, even this flawed treatment of The Snow Queen is honestly much better than most children's fare--it just doesn't hold a candle to some previous "Stories to Remember," such as the haunting Beauty and the Beast or the wonderfully humorous and uplifting Noah's Ark, both of which were truly memorable. Recommended, with reservations. (Available from most distributors.)