Customer Reviews
Overlooked Animated Classic. 
2006-04-28
I have only recently discovered this animated classic and this DVD provided me with my first viewing. Westlake Entertainment has put together a good DVD release of `The Snow Queen', with an animated menu and scene selection as well as a quality cover.
The quality of the transfer is not great. However, this is to be expected considering the treatment that the public domain print would have received over the decades. The majority of the film is very dark and grainy and the soundtrack jumps occasionally. This serves to severely date the picture, making it appear much older than it is. However, this should not detract from the beauty of this animated feature. It is still very enjoyable to watch and can be appreciated by both adults and children.
The live action introduction with Art Linkletter could be considered by today's standards to be overly corny, but I believe it serves as an interesting example that gives viewers a look at how children's entertainment was presented almost 50 years ago.
This is a remarkable movie, with exceptional animation, great vocal performances and a wonderful soundtrack. I could only imagine how beautiful it would look with proper restoration.
Great Kids Movie 2006-03-02
The Snow Queen was a favorite of my kids in the 70s. Now I've bought it for their kids. The grandkids ages 3 1/2-5 all love the movie.
Flawed - but still a "Must Have" for the Christmas Collection 2005-12-14
This reviewer's criteria for awarding 5 stars is "BUY THIS NOW! If you might loan it to a friend, (who may 'forget' to return it,) buy several now!" And not the hokey introduction by Art Linkletter and kids (Look! There's Toby Tyler!) nor the even hokier introduction and narration by "Old Dreamey" a/k/a "the Prince of Dreams" and his magic "slumberella" such that, a la Pam Ewing, the story is presented as a dream Hans Christian Anderson had, the sometimes poor condition of the visual and audio on this re-found 60's jewel, nor the absence of bonus features can dissuade this reviewer from giving this DVD 5 shining stars. The animation draws one in and the voicing by another Disney original staple - Tommy Kirk; and Sandra Dee, and June Foray (voice of Chatty Cathy when we pulled the ring string, and Rocky the Flying Squirrel) remain as captivating and magical as I remember. This, "It's a Wonderful Life," and "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" are essential ingredients to my Christmastime viewing.
Parents beware - this version of "the Snow Queen" may not be suitable for very young viewers - those afraid of the Wicked Witch of Western Oz and her flying monkeys may be equally fearful of the evil Snow Queen dispatching her fiendish snowflakes. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
Flawed US release of a Russian Animation Masterpiece 2005-07-03
This is the Universal-International release of Soyuzmultfilm's classic with Art Linklater's awkward intro tagged onto the beginning. While the dark splicey PD print leaves much to be desired, this is what I saw in a kiddie matinee showing in the 60s. The production holds up wonderfully, and I find Frank Skinner's lush orchestral score preferable to the electronic keyboard variet used on the print used in PBS' version (also available on dvd) A decent no frills edition.
I still have my beloved record album of this movie and both film and recording hold up after all these years 2008-05-09
I recall being a child and listening to the record version, based on the movie. Actually, the record may have been the original movie, full length, put on a record. If it was edited and shortened, they certainly left in the best parts.
IMPORTANT INFO FOR POTENTIAL BUYERS: Several versions of this exist on VHS and/or DVD. The one you want is the one with Sandra Dee, Tommy Kirk and (as much as you may hate this part) the voice of Art Linkletter just before the movie starts. Why? Because that is the definitive version, the one you may recall from childhood if you are a Baby Boomer and the one that endures the test of time.
Not a typical Disney type of film, the movie and soundtrack contains all the basic plot outlines of The Snow Queen (two young children, a boy and girl fall in love until the evil Snow Queen hardens the heart of one) but it isn't overly prettified for children. I was absolutely entranced by both the film and music as a child and the clearly Russian flavor of the music, very romantic. Some of the animals have European accents. Patty McCormack (yes, the same child star who appeared in The Bad Seed) does a tour de force performance as Angel, the child torn between evil and good. Sandra Dee makes a fine Gerta.
When she sings the very lovely "Do What Your Heart is Feeling" I am still swept with nostalgia. It is a bittersweet song with lyrics that go, "Do what your heart is feeling...what is the point concealing...but do it while you're young...go after the one you love, he needs you..but do it, don't wait". Seeing these lyrics, stripped of musical background and put on the page, I realize how impossible it is to describe the plaintive quality of Sandra Dee's voice as she sings these words, the yearning and pain. I can only urge you to see the movie and catch the performances of her, Tommy Kirk, Patty McCormack and many others. The Snow Queen comes across as formidable as well, truly cold and heartless, never yielding. This isn't for very young children (or use your judgment about that).
This is a classic film but I am admittedly biased. I see it through waves of nostalgia and memories of kiddie matinees at the movie theatre, feet stuck to the floor (usually due to some candy tossed around by various children), entranced by the story of The Snow Queen.
Dim transfer, lousy DVD 
2008-04-08
Lovely Soviet animated film from 1957, marred by a badly faded, scratched, and spliced print. The English language track, featuring Tommy Kirk and Sandra Dee, dates from the film's 1959 US release -- as does the live-action prologue with Art Linkletter. No Russian-language soundtrack here, folks. The video transfer is so dim and grainy that night scenes are all but unwatchable. For such a steep retail price, this DVD is an insult. An average dollar-bin disc looks better.
Great childhood memories!! 2007-06-09
I was so excited to find this on DVD! This was one of my favorite films growing up and I never thought I'd get a chance to see it again. I hope I'm not naive in thinking that today's children would love it as much as I still do. I do some baby sitting for kids in the neighborhood and I thought I'd bring it with me the next time....hope the kids have fun with it!
If you're over 40 or 45, you may also remember this film. As I get older, I appreciate my childhood memories so much more. I remember going to the Village Theater with my best friend and seeing this on a Saturday matinee. Sweet, sweet memories! Sorry if it sounds hokey! :)
The Tale From My Childhood: 2007-02-07
"Snezhnaya koroleva' (1957) aka "The Snow Queen" directed by Lev Atamanov is a beautiful animated movie of my childhood that I'd seen dozens times back in Moscow even before we had a color TV. It is creative, colorful, sometimes dramatic and intense, and always poetic and moving Russian adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of voyages "The Snow Queen". Seeing it last night after such a long time together with my husband, we both agreed that this is one of the timeless classics. This story of the devoted heart of a little brave girl and the friendship and love which are above everything and are worth to fight for and to go to the end of the world, will never get old. Two best voices of Soviet stage and cinema participated in the narrating of "The Snow Queen", Maria Babanova - The Snow Queen and Yanina Zhejmo - Gerda. Zhejmo was absolutely charming as Cinderella in the Russian adaptation "Zolushka" (1947) which is also one of my all time favorites.
The film was released on DVD by the company "Films by Jove" with the original Russian soundtrack and English subtitles and is available from the company's site. Four more excellent films by Lev Atamanov are included on the DVD: "Golden Antelope", the Indian fairy tale and three short animations, "Bench", "Cyclist", and "Fence" adapted from the cartoons of Herluf Bidstrup, celebrated Danish artist, famous for his comics, humorous drawings, series of graphical anecdotes, and caricatures.
Great family movie; poor reproduction 
2006-11-03
This movie is a treasured memory from my childhood; along with The Grinch and It's a Wonderful Life, The Snow Queen was a Christmas TV staple until it just vanished. Finding it 30 years later was tough, but worth it. This Russian film is wonderful family viewing (although the sappy Art Linkletter intro is skippable), and you almost have to forgive the extremely poor quality of the print (which includes obivous missing chunks) and awful sound. Still, the story of the indomitable Gerda searching for her kidnapped brother rings as true as ever, and is also a welcome "girl empowerment" tale. Of course, it's harder to square the fact that the evil character is yet another dangerously cold woman ala almost every Disney baddie, but at least this one is drawn more along the lines of C.S. Lewis' queen. If you're willing to overlook the technical difficulties with this DVD, you'll find a wonderful story that has not faded with time.
