What makes it different from others?

To me, this movie is perfection.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is most beautiful film from my memories.After 10 years i found this film,although I have never read a book.It is so charming and warm film,from the beginning.It is fairy tale but adults will enjoy in film too. It relaxes but it is not boring. Style is very different from Disney and today-films.You will really get into story and have a empathy with all caratchers.And that is something that today-films do not have.After 10 years,I still remember music.This really is film for kids,although there is some sharp scenes on the end,it is easy watchable and gives strong messages. 10/10

A Russian animation film based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It tells the story of child Gerda in her quest to rescue her beloved brother Kay, kidnapped by the beautiful but icy Snow Queen. It is, above all, a story of fraternal love, and how love conquers everything if you fight against the adversity. Love melts the coldest heart... has a meaning in this story.The animation is very good according to the standards of the 1950s, with beautiful backgrounds, and great human movement. The drawing of the Snow Queen is gorgeous and her drawing reminded me of the Socialist Realism paintings and sculptures with angled facial features and muscular strong bodies. Also excellent and very Japanese-style (Edo Period) is the drawing and movement of the sea waves. The image of the painting "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" by Katsushika Hokusai came immediately to my head. The film shares some visuals with Disney, and the little character that introduces the story reminded me of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio; he even has the little umbrella with him! However, to be true, Disney was doing more advanced things (both visually and re the complexity of the scripts) at the time. The classic music by Artemiy Ayvazyan is truly beautiful, and typical of long-footage animation movies at the time. The Russian dubbing is also very charming.What fails, to me, is the way the story is told (the script) and the plainness of the characters, which can be explained by the fact that the movie is targeted to a public of small children. The only characters I found interesting and believable were the ones of the little child thief and the the witchy Snow Queen. The same can be said of the action of the movie, which is not that thrilling for adults.The film got different awards for animation in international film festivals, Cannes and Venice included, at the time. It is also attributed to Miyazaki saying that he loved this movie and that convinced him to continue with animation in a moment when he had doubts whether to make of animation his career.

I was entranced by this film when I saw it a kiddie matinee in the 60s, and upon repeat viewings it is truly wonderful. I just don't understand why this film has not been given a proper treatment in the west. I've seen three english versions; the original US release with Art Linkletter was what I saw in the theater. A few years ago I chanced upon a strange version with the original elf narration restored, but with portions of the score dropped out to make way for horrible contemporary pop songs. Thirdly there was a version shown on PBS sans Linkletter, but with an entirely new soundtrack, which fared better than the pop version I mentioned (though not much better) Still the imagery is fabulous regardless of which botched presentation it is, and I would go out of my way to see an unadulterated version even without the benefit of translation.

This is one of the best-loved animated features in Russia, richly animated by the renowned Soyuzmultfilm studio. The dubbed U.S. version was released by Universal in 1959 and was widely shown on local TV stations, especially at Christmas time. A hokey prologue was added for the U.S. release starring TV host Art Linkletter and some extremely polished and starched youngsters, including Billy Booth, who played Dennis the Menace's pal Tommy Anderson on the TV series. The kids literally quote lines from Linkletter's best selling book "Kids Say the Darnest Things." Some videos of the movie do not include this prologue at all. The confusion arises when the director of the prolugue is credited with directing the movie! Several low-budget VHS tapes of this gem have been released, and to this day I have not found one with either a satisfactory film print or sound track. It's a shame, because once you see this film, you never forget it.