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The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Snow Queen Flop
Review: Right as I'm writing this review, I'm watching 'The Snow Queen.' And I'm really, really disappointed.
It's really, really, REALLY LAME.
The movie starts out well with good music, good atmosphere and passable acting. It's like this until we see the adult Gerta, and the whole movie goes downhill.
The script is horrible; it makes one feel as though the writers deliberately chose the most awkward phrases for this movie to make one flinch. The acting is wooden, and the two main characters aren't likable in the least. Although I liked the Snow Queen the first time Gerta saw her (in all her dark-maiden glory), this was lessened the next time she came along. I felt they made a major mistake in making the Snow Queen have an american accent and speak casually - it makes her seem much less regal and imposing. I cringed when she said "c'mere."
Don't bother watching this movie - it's long, it's dumb, and it's boring.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Extremely lacking
Review: As far as I know there has never been and English version of this story done before now except for an episode of Shelly Duval's Fairie Tale Theater(It wasn't very good either but more faithful to the original tale at least.) Sadly this version isn't anything like Anderson's wonderful tale of growing up and discovering love. And since I don't recall another version having been made why make all the changes to the original story? It is easily long enough for a miniseries just left alone and done faithfully.
The two leads were completely wooden and boring, and the odd subplots they threw in as well as changing Gerda and Kay's ages just made it even more confusing.
I also agree that the change from it being a demon to being satan was cheap and silly. Completely uneccessary.
What I did like enough to give it two stars was Bridget Fonda and the Polar bear plot line, even though it had nothing to do with the original tale it was more interesting than the rest of the film. The film also looked really good, although I got confused as to where and when it was happening since folks tended to dress rather 19 century and everyone had accents ranging from French to American but they seemed to have a lot of modern lighting all over the buildings...And the weird subplot with Gerda's mother that was so badly written as to make the ending of the film completely silly.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: "Never Underestimate the Power of a Kiss"
Review: As Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale "The Snow Queen" is one of my favourite fairytales ever, you can only imagine my delight at learning Hallmark Entertainment (who is well known for creating lavish, beautiful visual productions) was adapting it for a movie. However, despite the beautiful costuming, makeup and set design, the faults found in the story and the acting don't quite make this a movie to treasure always. Though I certainly didn't loathe it, I continually grieved during my viewing of it at the opportunities lost to bring a potent fairytale to life.

Whoever wrote the screenplay must be well aware of the original fairytale, as several times there appear tiny details from the tale, such as the shadows of dreams appearing on the wall, and the words of the hidden roses in the garden. And yet, with all the beautiful material that Anderson has to offer, they insisted on changing large portions. Gone are the Lapland women, the talkative Crows, the helpful Prince and Princess and the children's beloved Grandmother. Perhaps they would not have been missed so much if they had been replaced by equally intriguing characters and a strong plot, but instead we get a strange jumble: the mirror whose part in the book serves as a simple and poetic reason as to why some people are determined to see the world as an ugly place becomes the focus of the drama: Kai does not have to write "Eternity" with shards of ice, but piece together the mirror so that the Queen may cover the world with Winter. Though he does get a shard in his eye, its effects are dubious - he's rude to Gerda and throws a snowball, but apart from that it seems to have little purpose, and is removed not by Gerda's warm tears, but the Snow Queen's icy kiss.

There are several new characters present, including a travelling Conjurer whose gender remains a mystery (no really, was it a boy or a girl? I couldn't tell) and a band of huntsmen who briefly use Gerda for target practice and then disappear. Other characters are warped beyond recognition: the magnificent reindeer who gallops through the snow in his delight at being freed is now a decrepit beast with a silly name. The nurturing, yet subtly overwhelming old woman becomes a psychotic personification of Spring with a bizarre taste in clothing. The children's beloved grandmother becomes a middle aged housekeeper who for some reason speaks in an Irish accent, which quite baffled me.

But despite contradicting several other reviews, I must say I enjoyed Bridget Fonda's performance as the Snow Queen. She is the only professional actor in the cast, and manages to bring to her character something I never perceived in Anderson's fairytale: a sense of vulnerability. It was a fascinating twist on the archetypical "ice-queen" and one cannot help but feel a twinge of pity for her at times. She carries herself like a true queen, and the cool tones of her voice perfectly match her appearance. Other notable performances include Kai, who is quite the sweetheart, and despite the distain of other reviewers, I found the Robber Girl's performance quite refreshing and very true to the book, with her spoilt and temperament nature. And the polar bear who works as the Queen's guard and in love with her himself is a fascinating creation (due credit given to Jim Henson's Creature Shop), and one of the changes to the story that worked for me. The ambiguity of his transformation at the end may confuse some viewers, but I liked the extra touch of mystery it brought.

But a few performances bring this production screeching to a halt. It is said that eyes are the window to the soul, and forming expression within them is certainly one of the most important thing an actor can develop. But Chelsea Hobbs, who plays Gerda displays only one thing in them: complete and utter boredom. Though the fault may lie with the abysmal dialogue she is given, it hardly helps that she wanders through every scene as if in a stupor. And since the entire movie revolves around her as the protagonist, the core of the story cannot hold. If one does not care about the hero/heroine, one does not care about the movie and she is hardly helped by the actor playing her father Wolfgang, whose portrayal of grief is to sulk in a chair.

Likewise, the context of the story is in doubt: though it should have taken place in an "olden day" setting, the time placement is rather confusing to behold. The villagers search the wood with lanterns, yet on Wolfgang's desk is an electrical desk lamp. The Snow Queen's white sled is replaced with a flying snow-mobile. And as another reviewer pointed out, the use of modern slang, especially when its coming out of the mouths of the fairytale characters, is very jarring.

Despite beautiful visuals there is something severely lacking in this production, and I can only hope that one day someone will tell this story on the screen the way it ought to be told. If I could, I would give it two and a half stars, making it an exact balancing act between lost potential and complete mess.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Single, white, female...
Review: but's she's no Snow Queen. What a disgrace to Hans Christian Andersen! A horrible attempt at a beautiful classic. One star is too generous.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bad- bad- It's pretty bad, all in all* !!!!!
Review: DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE* If you must, just rent it.
But my advice is don't even bother. When the movie is only half over & I start fast forwarding... wondering how long can this go on... Well, I guess that's pretty bad. And when I did fast forward & reach the end finally... it was as I expected it would end... nothing worth watching the whole thing for- that's for sure* This movie is probably up there with the Worst I ever rented*
(If you're a Bridget Fonda fan, watch her in Point of No Return* That's a much better movie... different yes, but MUCH Better*!!)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Snow Queen and Kai
Review: Does she really love Kai,or only for the last piece of mirror?
Well,it's a wonderful film after all.I like the seductive looking of the Snow Queen,don't you think?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Enter this Fantasy World!
Review: For those who believe this is a child's video - don't pass it by. Based on the classic fairy tale, the movie takes us to alternative worlds, and who doesn't need that once in awhile? The conflicts between good and evil, truth and seduction and the power of true love are at the core of the story. What saves this production is the wonderful acting by the cast; Bridget Fonda especially exudes menace with a touch of vulnerability. The acting is not over the top - after all, it is a fairy tale! This movie reassures us there are still bright talented people making good movies that the entire family can watch without embarassment and that the 'Dude, Where's My Car' mentality hasn't completely overtaken the US. Bravo to the ensemble responsible for this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Things We Do For Love....
Review: Gerda is our beautiful, but unhappy heroine. Her mother died in a freak winter storm when she was a young girl and her father has become a cold and distant stranger. Then her father hires a new bellboy to work at his hotel. Kai is full of life and fun and Gerda is quickly drawn to him. Kai teaches Gerda how to skate, how to laugh,and even how to live. Their friendship turns into a strong first love...but it is short lived.

A lovely, but cold woman mysteriously turns up at the hotel, even though a winter storm has closed most roads. She is gone the next morning...and so is Kai. Everyone believes that Kai is dead, but Gerda suspects that that is far from the truth.

Gerda, on the slim chance that Kai is out there somewhere and needs her, sets off on a quest to find her one and only true love. Her journey takes her through mysterious lands where she encounters strange and wonderful people and faces many dangers. But finding Kai is only her first problem...

Lovely and romantic movie! It does justice to the well loved classic fairy tale. Don't miss it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: follow your heart
Review: hello,its wonderful to meet so many people who have seen the film and like it,i love it too.
i think ,the love in the real life will meet as many difficulties as that in the film showed,the snow queen is not a bad women,and the bear who loves her is great and full of tolerance.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: follow your heart
Review: hello,its wonderful to meet so many people who have seen the film and like it,i love it too.
i think ,the love in the real life will meet as many difficulties as that in the film showed,the snow queen is not a bad women,and the bear who loves her is great and full of tolerance.


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