The Snow Queen (2012 film)

The Danish author Hans Andersen's collection of fairy tales compiled first in Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. First Booklet (1838) has had tremendous influence on Russian culture that spans over two centuries. The stories became a fabric of their culture, as media such as music, illustrations, poems, prose evoked the themes of the nineteenth century fairy tales.[6] Russia already had its own Snow Maiden or Snegurochka that is similar to the character the Snow Queen in Andersen's fairy tale. Snegurochka is depicted as the helper to Ded Moroz, the legendary holiday gift-bringer.[7] Today, Andersen's plots are being transmitted into new media like animation, live-action films, computer games, and digital spaces.[6][8]

Critics such as InterMedia have found Andersen's tales befitting in the cultural landscape of Russia because of its "archetypal proximity of the fairy tale of Andersen to the Russian mentality."[9] The eponymous character the Snow Queen was written by Andersen as a ruler of the Laplands that includes the northern regions of Scandinavia, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia.[10]

The fairy tale was interpreted into Russian for the first time by writers and poets Innokentij Annenski, Marina Tsvetaeva, and Boris Pasternak.[11] In 1894, two St. Petersburg publishing houses, almost simultaneously, published Andersen's collected works in new high-quality translations. The first was Illustrated Fairy Tales: The Complete Collection in Six Volumes translated by B. D. Porozovskaya (publishing house F. Pavlenkov) and the four-volume Collected Works translated by A. and P. Hansen (typolithography of S. M. Nikolaev).[12] Hans Christian Andersen writings later influenced the works of Russian authors Dostoevsky and Tolstoy.[13] By the turn of the twentieth century, interest in Scandinavian literature from Sweden, Norway, and especially Denmark became part of the cultural interaction in Russia.[14]

In the Soviet Union era, Anna and Peter Hansen's translated version was the most popular, albeit edited and refined to fit the commissar's guidelines that gave a new interpretation to The Snow Queen.[15] The period after the revolution and into the Soviet Union is considered the moment when Andersen become part of the Russian cultural space.[16][17] Andersen became “our foreign author”, as the fairy tales resonated with the Russian public. The author's works were so influential to the point where playwright Evgeny Schwartz inspired by the Andersen's writing wrote an acclaimed children's play The Snow Queen that was staged in 1938.[18] The stage play premiered in Slovakia theaters in 1989. In 1967 a live action Russian film The Snow Queen premiered as well as a 1986 Moscow Studio Ekran musical called The Secret of the Snow Queen.[19]

By the second half of the twentieth century the cinematograph began adapting individual stories from Andersen's canon.[20] One of the adaptations was the animated Soyuzmultfilm The Snow Queen by Lev Atamanov produced in 1957 that has said to have influenced animator Hayao Miyazaki.[21] In dedication to the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen during March of 2005 at the Maly Theater of Russia, Mr. Lars Vissing, the CEO of the Andersen Foundation noted Hans Christian is very well known in Russia and the attitude towards him is "passionate."[22]

Director Vladlen Barbe

Initially, InlayFilm had at first plans to adapt Peter Pan. However, producers of the project Sergey Rapoport states, "We took this step consciously", reminding themselves The Snow Queen by Andersen is a well known fairy tale by the audiences of Russia and Europe.[23] Inspired by the classic film as well as the fairy tale, Wizart Animation undertook a new animated version with a completely different animation style.[24] They viewed the fairy tale with the same integrity as Shakespeare's Hamlet and was eager to extrapolate the story line by Andersen to depict previously unrecorded characters.[25]

However, the studio kept the spirit of the movie intact faithfully following the source material.[24] The characters the Lapp woman, little robber girl, the prince, and the princess are all derived from Hans Christian Andersen's story.[26][27] They used 3D stereoscopy animation to revive the fairy tale eventually exhibiting the film, The Snow Queen. The atmosphere of this Snow Queen film is decidedly more comical and was targeted for the family audience.[24] The film was produced at the Voronezh animation studio in 3D for $7 million with over 1,000 special effects. "We have been working at it for three years. The story is classic, although there are new heroes", Dmitry Kchrustaliov reported.[28]

The concept of a Hans Andersen fairy tale film was sprouted ever since 2007, when Wizart Animation was founded.[29] Until 2012, the studio's parent company was InlayFilm with the main production site of the studio located in Voronezh, and some divisions located in Moscow.[30] However news of a Disney production of the same name initially made the studio prioritize on other other projects putting the film in the shelves.[23]

In 2010, the production for The Snow Queen restarted that lasted over 3 years. They were planning to release the film in the New Year at the turn of 2012-2013.[23][24] The studio reduced its production time while increasing the personnel and technological process.[31]

The studio were honored to work again from the source material of 1957 movie by Lev Atmanov and Andersen's fairy tale.[24] The cartoon was the directorial debut by Maxim Sveshnikov, who previously worked on the scripts of such famous cartoons as Dobrinya and The Dragon (CTB Film Company, Melnitsa Animation Studio).[32] Initially Maxim Sveshnikov was script writer who became more fascinated with the progress of the writing. Thereafter, the writer became convinced that he could direct the film with a script that could be a delight for the audience. Thereafter the producers agreed to give Sveshnikov the director role.[33] The movie was also co-directed by Vladlen Barbe (Sinbad: Pirates of the Seven Storms).[34]

The exclusive first poster of the film released in 12 June 2011 by lnlayFilm featuring the eponymous character Gerda ready to confront the spiral palace of the Snow Queen in Spitsbergen.[35][36]

Acclaimed producer Timur Bekmambetov of the Bazelevs Company along with InlayFilm agreed to produce the movie. Bekmambetov's animation credits includes 9 , Kikoriki, Team Invincible, and Zambezia.[37] This move was one of the steps that that took the film to compete on a worldwide scale that combined Bazeles Company's experience in producing commercial features. Bekmambetov said. “As to The Snow Queen when we first saw the project we immediately felt its great potential and decided to step in as co-producers.”[34] Alexey Tsitsilin was cinematographer.[25] The Snow Queen completed production on 22 October 2012. The date coincided with the anniversary date of 22 October 1957, the day The Snow Queen by Lev Atamanov was released.

Russian artists Nyusha voiced the heroine Gerda, and Ivan Okhlobystin (Interns) voiced the troll Orm. Troll Orm fit the voice of Okhlobystin perfectly who was invited to the voice studio without any finalized conclusions beforehand.[38] Supporting ensemble voice cast included Galina Tyunina as Snow Queen, Ramilya Iskander as Kai, Erin Fitzgerald as Luta, Dmitry Nagiyev as Housemaster, Yuri Stoyano as King, Olga Shorokhova as shopkeeper, Lyudmila Artemyeva as Flower Lady, Mikhail Tikhonov as Prince, Olga Zubkova as Una, Anna Ardova as Lapp woman, and Liza Arzamasova as Alfida.[4][24]

There was no blind audition except for a few actors. Instead the quality of work determined the casting. Ivan Okhlobystin fit the character Orm who gave "so much energy, humor, and some sparkling acting impromptu." Lyudmila Artemyeva who voiced the flower girl was well received by the public as well by Artemyeva herself who stated, "How did I do that? This is probably my brightest role." Dmitry Nagiyev as Housemaster gave a short cameo that turned out to be bright and memorable. Nyusha gave the role of Gerda "bundle of energy and lively reactions." The voice cast by Galina Tyunina for the Snow Queen "is incomparable! Her words are bone-chilling!"[24] A review praised the movie's use of Russian language as default without going into the extreme ends of localization.[39]

The English cast was picked by René Veilleux. Jessica Straus the acclaimed actress of voice acting who has over 200 credits in games, animation, and anime voiced Gerda.[40] Doug Erholtz was picked as Orm, Cindy Robinson as Snow Queen, Marianne Miller as Kai, and Dee Bradley Baker as Luta. On 20 November 2013, the PRL Studio In Poland, recorded a dubbing for the film. Alfida the pirate was voiced by Małgorzata Socha, Maciek Rock as Prince, and Arkadiusz Jakubik as troll Orm.[41] For the Latvian cast, actresses included Laila Kirmuška(lv) while the Snow Queen was spoken by Riga Theatre actress Sandra Zvīgule(lv). Latvian actors included Gints Grāvelis(lv) and Uldis Anže(lv).[42]

The cast for the Korean release included actress Park Bo Young as Gerda and comedian Lee Soo-geun as troll Orm. According to Zum of Korea, Park Bo-Young "brought the character's charm to life with a lovely voice" while Lee Soo-geun "overpowered the atmosphere with his distinctively jovial voice" for troll Orm. Mother of actor Cha Tae-hyun, Choe Soo-min, played the Snow Queen, while Jang Gwang, a voice actor played the King and Housemaster.[43] The movie was one of the most anticipated projects to come out of Russia in 2012.[44]

The Sveshnikovs followed the abridged Soviet stye adaptations used by Soyuzmultfilm animator Atamanov and playwright Schwartz.[45] Maxim Sveshnikov was very emotional when he saw the Soyuzmultfilm film for the first time as a child. He tried to convey the same emotional qualities to the script.[24] The research for the script included the animated, live-action features, and TV series of The Snow Queen brand. However, the script tried to be a unique dynamic take from the rest of the stories.[29]

Sveshnikov explains, "We tried to keep the spirit of the fairy tale, the spirit of family values by Andersen." However, to relate the Soviet classic to modern audience, the team used a combination of modern technology with traditional animation to evoke the "magic atmosphere" of the original to create a new adaptation. From the script perspective, the writers who couldn't completely follow the 1957 movie or Andersen's fairy tale because both had religious undertones and was decidedly targeted for an historical era.[46]

The writers combined and refined concepts from both source materials while focusing on the children audience, by stating "The Snow Queen will indeed be understood by even the youngest children." The writers read both the original Andersen's translation considered the "adult" version and post-Soviet Union version considered the "nursery" version. The script integrated the narration portion from the nursery version and the mirror of the trolls and the trolls themselves from the "adult" version. Together with additional input in comedic schemes they were able to achieve an educational content material.[47]

The project is dedicated to the family and is a family film. The audience of the film is as stated by the creators of the film:

"Of course, first of all for their loved ones, for parents and relatives who live all over the world, for the family you love. It's so nice to get feedback from them, these are the simple things that bring joy and give energy for further work."[24]

By the final edit of the script, many events had to be refined.[48] Gerda and Kai become sister and brother rather than neighbors. The robbers from Andersen's story become pirates for the film. However, the story did keep the concept of the magic mirror intact as well as refining the side character troll of Andersen's tale.[49] Another difference is the character troll will kidnap Kai, instead of the Snow Queen.[50] The concept of an Icy Wind that chases after people is one of the main antagonists of the story.[51] Gerda is characterized as a spirited girl who fights for justice in contrast to the moral, upright Gerda found in Andersen's fairy tale.[46]

The script tried to concretize the character Snow Queen who will be characterized as a person with a universal antagonist appeal that explains to the audience why "her heart is so cold."[46] However, they added time loop flashback sequence to the Snow Queen's past that will define the benevolent beginnings of the Snow Queen as Little Irma.[52][50] A review stated, "The creators do not adhere to Andersen slavishly, but remain faithful to him at least in the basics."[19]

The director also remarked, the movie will elaborate on rarely explored elements of the 19th century fairy tale that previous film adaptations missed. A classic example of renewing forgotten characters is the troll Orm, who was forgotten by the directors of many previous TV and film versions of the winter tale, and yet Andersen had it.[29] According to Reuters, the erstwhile troll from Andersen's tale depicted as an arch villain and an associate to the Snow Queen with dark undertones was completely converted into a harmless creature.[53] Just like animated films, the troll became a comedic relief character.[49] Another accompanying character is the small fluffy weasel Luta who always helps Gerda.[54][46] Kai the brother, is a faceless character from the fairy tale that comes to life as a talented artist.[55]

The film's motto was, "Cold can freeze your heart, love can set you free."[56] The concept of love and empathy is encompassed in the motif object, the mirror of Master Vegard whose reflections of truth contribute to exploration another theme of prejudice against the arts. The character Snow Queen's demands to track down Gerda and the children of the Master through a secondary character troll Orm disguised as a black ferret contributes to new themes of illusion, friend or foe concept, and friendship.[57][19]

Gerda's quest to save her brother Kai, evokes the theme of family values, friendship, and selflessness.[47][54] The film explores the effects of deception, lies, betrayal, cynicism.[38] Gerda's willpower to combat the society of the Snow Queen and help save the world from the prejudice against artists echoes the theme of tolerance and the role that books and literature play in a free and informed society.[58]

The film evokes the stories of Charles Dickens such as Oliver Twist, as orphanage street children confront the Snow Queen at the ice palace that also evokes rags-to-riches, underdog theme.[53][59] The theme of self-belief is used to explore the actions of Gerda that helps her gain inner strength, fight evil and win. The theme is primarily described in Gerda's confrontation with the Snow Queen.[54]

Gerda and Kai living as orphans was a completely new take from Andersen's tale, yet the idea parallels Andersen's own lifetime.[60] Andersen who was the son of a shoemaker was born to a poor family.[61] He was orphaned at an early age. Nevertheless, Andersen had keen insight in literature that was developed to create critically acclaimed works in such genres as fairy tales.[33]

The fundamental theme of innocence and purity of the soul as children is explicated in the movie. The creators of the film purposefully introduced the flashback of the Snow Queen as Irma to explain to the audience the symbolic growth of Gerda as a human being in the pilgrimage as opposed to the de-growth of the Snow Queen back to her child form in the finale. The climax is intended to explain the qualities of a good heart and if one can be "rooted in our childlike selves we can overcome the evil that surrounds us."[50]

Animation of The Snow Queen at Wizart Animation

One of the animation directors of the film was Alexander Dorogov. Acclaimed artist Artur Mirzoyan was also part of the team.[55] Wizart Animation's main advantages is its work on 3D stereoscopy.[30] For a report by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the animation studio in the city center is like a fairy tale with an elevator traveling into the creative departments.[62] Yuri Moskvin noted that Wizart innovated in many animation methods despite the context they were living in. Russian CG industry was still developing at that time. The workforce was built from the grounds up as there was no animation school to recruit new animators. The movie presented challenges because it was the movie with the most effects done in a Russian CG movie during that time period. Wizart's general producer, Vladimir Nikolaev(ru) noted the movie is not pseudo-3D, but produced simultaneously in real-time multiple camera shots.[46] For every 12 seconds there is a special effect.[31] An in-house R&D team helped the studio's Maya-based tool set.[29] The most difficult part of the animation was the editing and deciding the take that will go into the animation.[38]

Animators were present in many departments including backgrounds, textures, cloth movement dynamics. Animation technology included operating, lighting, and sound engineering. The robbers from Andersen's fairy tale turned to pirates living on an icebreaker brig. The animator's novelties included fish frozen in icebergs and the intricate details of the items at the merchant shop.[62]

Mark Willott, an Emmy winning composer from UK joined with Wizart to compose the soundtrack for the film. The theme song "We Will Never be Apart" is sung in English in the closing credits of the film with vocals by Phil Gwynne.[27][24] The official soundtrack was heard in trailers 1 and 3. A Russian music video for the film was made and performed by singer Nyusha that was titled "This New Year."[63]

Latvian band Brainstorm performed the main track called "Shine Clear" that became the theme song in the animated movie The Snow Queen.[64] The song was composed with animation and was played at the finale of the film.[24] The verses were written by Riga poet Sergey Timofeev(ru).[39] Their song got translated into English titled "Flashlight" sung by Scottish band "Travis" with lead voice by Fran Healy. The song premiered internationally.[65][66] Henry Huo performed the title track for the film in China.[67]

The first trailer was released on 27 June 2011,[68] the second trailer on 3 February 2012,[69] the third trailer on 27 February 2012,[70] and the fourth and official trailer on 25 October 2012.[71] The Russian promotional trailer was released on 7 December 2012.[72] The official poster was presented in October 2012.[73] The official English trailer was released on Deadline Hollywood and YouTube.[74]

The Snow Queen was first presented for international buyers at the AFM (American Film Market) in November 2011. Olga Sinelshchikova, Business Development Director, explained, "At the AFM, we received very positive feedback from buyers from over 20 territories, including USA, Canada, Germany, Italy, South Korea and China, among others. Due to this fact, we decided to produce a version for international distribution, so this past January we successfully completed the English dubbing with Los Angeles-based production company Verité Films. The dubbing was recorded at Salami Studios with established, veteran animation actors – Cindy Robinson, Doug Erholtz, Kirk Thornton, and Wendee Lee – who have more than 200 animated projects in their portfolio. The Snow Queen is now more than ever an international project. We are convinced that this kind of story as well as the stereoscopic 3D technologies have high commercial potential and will attract an extensive audience not only in Russia but worldwide. So we expect to close first deals for this project at the EFM."[2] The AFM screening, which took place on 1 November, at 9 am at the AMC Theater on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California, was the first time that buyers got a chance to see the complete film.[75] On 15 October 2012, excerpts from the film was screened at a new program in Moscow called Red Square Screenings.[76]

On November 14 2012, governor of Voronezh Alexey Gordeev visited the animation studio and gave felicitations for their new film.[52] for On 27 November 2012 at the 89th Russian International Film Market, The Snow Queen was presented.[77] Timur Bekmambetov and Ivan Okhlobystin held a press conference at the Moscow Film Market on 13 December 2012.[78] On 24 December 2012 in Voronezh, Russia, Ivan Okhlobystin and other actors presented a special premiere of The Snow Queen in 3D at the cinema, Spartak.[79] In December, The Committee of Culture and the Trade Union and the Committee of the State Duma organized its first 3D picture show for children at the Duma assembly in Russia.[80] A significant advertising campaign was launched before the film premiered. There was outdoor advertising, advertising on TV and radio.[81] A pre-premiere screening was held at the RIA Novosti Moscow press center.[82] The movie had a wide release in Russia on 31 December 2012.[52] Cobaka enlisted the film as one of the highlights of the New Year rentals.[83] Voronezh residents were able to see a screening of the film in the New Year.[84]

The Snow Queen returned to the EFM for a 2013 presentation at the Berlin International Film Festival.[85] There the movie received appraisals from Brazil, South Korea, Israel, Indonesia, and the Middle East for distribution.[86] Rights to the movie was gone to CCS Media for South Korea, MT Entertainment for Indonesia, PlayArte(pt) for Brazil, Film House for Israel, Shooting Stars for the Middle East, Big Sales for Baltic states and Aurora Distribution for Ukraine.[87]

The movie found appeal to distributors at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival in France.[88] On 25 April 2013, Cartoon Brew has announced that it will be presented at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2013.[89][90] On 22 May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, it was confirmed that Vertical Entertainment will provide the U.S. distribution for The Snow Queen.[91] It competed at the IX International Animated Films Festival in Varna, Bulgaria.[92] The film participated at the Czech Republic Zlín Film Festival.[93]

The Snow Queen was one of the animated features selected to be screened at the Tromsø Children's Film Festival in May 2013 hosted by Norway.[94][95] Wizart Animation presented the film in Denmark, the homeland of Andersen, at the Buster Copenhagen International Film Festival for Children & Youth. The forum started on 5 September 2015. Originally, there was only 1 screening, but the organizers had to add 4 more sessions as the Danes showed profound interest. It was presented at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in November 2013.[96] On 18 September 2013, it was presented at the Gijón International Film Festival in Spain.[97]

A special pre-release was arranged in Riga, Latvia on 27 December 2012.[42] In Korea, it was released on 7 February 2013.[43] In Lithuania, it was released on 22 February 2013.[98][99] On the same day, distributor company PlayArte(pt) released the movie in Brazil in over 200 screens.[33] Actress Larissa Manoela voiced Gerda.[100] In Israel, it was released on 7 March 2013. In Indonesia, it was released on 13 March 2013.[86] In France, it was released on the fall of 2013 under Universal Studios.[101] In Poland, it was released on 26 December 2013.[102][103] Due to rules of the cinema industry and the context of the time period, in the United States the film did not have the chance to release in theaters.[104][37] However it managed to release in video on demand on 10 October 2013, and DVD on 28 January 2014.[74][105]

After its 2012 premier, The Snow Queen continued to open to new territories. The film premiered theatrically or on home entertainment in 17 countries till the end of 2015, featuring countries of Canada, South Africa, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Snow Queen became the first Russian animated film to get a wide release in China. It released to 3,400 screens on 31 July 2015.[106] On 30 October 2015, The Snow Queen released in South Africa. For the first time in the history of Russian animation, a project was voiced in Afrikaans. Composer band Brainstorm's Flashlight theme song for the movie was localized in Afrikaans. Local star cast for South Africa included popular South African actress Heidi Mollentze.[107][108]

The Snow Queen, was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Real 3D Blu-ray in Russia by musical company Misteriya Zvuka on 31 January 2013.[109] It was released on VOD on Thursday, 10 October 2013.[110] The film was released on DVD in the United States on 28 January 2014.[111] With distributor Universal, more than 13,000 DVD and Blu Rays have been sold sold. As of January 2014, more than 100,000 DVDs have been sold.[112]

The Snow Queen received 85% of positive reviews from critics, adults, and their children in Russia.[113] In the United States, it received mixed reviews. JM Willis reviewed that he liked the characters in The Snow Queen and was positive toward the film, "The animation, story and score is enough to help this film stand on its own."[57] Another review from The Village Voice said, "A Russian animated adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, Snow Queen proves both visually cruddy and narratively muddled."[114]

Mike McGranaghan for The Aisle Seat commented that "there's nothing inherently wrong with Snow Queen. It's a pleasant enough movie with some nice visuals... That said, the problem faced by the movie is that, while it's not bad, it's also simply not good enough." In particular the review took issue with the plot structure stating "the story is kind of disjointed... These moments feel more like a set of ideas than an actual plot, however. Never are they substantially integrated into the main idea of the movie", concluding finally that "Compared to [big name American animated films], Snow Queen is an also-ran."[115]

A RogerEbert review stated: "The message gets muddled with plot strands going every which way, though the real culprit is some awkward animation."[116] Review at Movie Mom stated the movie was lackluster by stating, "The vocal performances are uninspired and uninvolving. And the one effect that works, a 360 degree swoop-around, is relentlessly overused. The script is muddled and dull."[117] Common Sense Media with 2/5 stars also found the movie uninspiring and incomparable to animated import films from Japan. The review also stated, "As for the story's plotline, it's a bit muddled and confusing, but at least Gerda the protagonist is sweet -- if not very confident. Gerda's desire to save her brother Kay is the movie's biggest redeeming factor."[118]

Jennie Kermode for Eye for Film complimented the film's appropriateness for children, remarking that the film's "esoteric scenarios may not make much sense to adults but they're conveyed with a sincerity that kids will find appealing. They're all very child centered and well paced. Threats seem credible without being too scary for sensitive kids and the humour is well balanced. Though the villain isn't particularly charismatic, her backstory goes some way towards justifying this and making her interesting in other ways."[119] Oscar award expert for the The Hollywood Reporter shortlisted the movie as a possible contender for the best Oscars animated movie.[120]

A Portuguese Brazilian review by Alisson Oliveira from Reuters, noted the movie starkly contrasts from past Snow Queen adaptations by stating: "Unlike the animations of recent times The Frozen Kingdom is not a comedy, but an adventure in a fable tone."[53] A Lithuanian review from Alfa.lt remarked at the exhibition of the movie's female characters.[121] A German review from Kinderfilmwel, states "if you feel like an entertaining adventure and want to put yourself in a pleasant winter mood with great, snowy landscapes and lots of sleet, this is the right place!"[122]

A Polish review Kultura Poznan.pl by Sylwia Klimek was surprised by how Wizart handled the transformation of Andersen's decidedly more mature fairy tale to a kid-friendly version by stating: "It turns out that Andersen - without profanities - can be shown in 3D." The review compared the movie to a video game:[103]

"It's a modern, three-dimensional, glamorous film. Using the latest advances in technique, and from Andersen's fairy tales, drawing only those passages that allow the whole resource to be made interesting. It is like a good computer game: dynamic three-dimensional images, interesting graphical solutions, saturated colors, expressive characters."[103]

The audience reaction for the Polish review was positive as the children's themselves are jubilant after the ending: "And after the screening, they clap loudly. It's quite a challenge to create an animation today that children will react to that way."[103]

However, Nikita Krasnoglazov of Vesti Segodnya with a rating of 4 stars did not think the movie was a game but instead a poetic "synthesis of genres." The three year work put into this exhibition drew from many facets of movie making including the "beautiful Russian language" of the voice cast, the poetic verses of the song, and the special effects of the animation.[39]

Maria Tereshchenko review for Kino Theatr commented, "The winter world through which Gerda and the Troll travel is absolutely fascinating with its computer-generated glamorous beauty (however, small islands of summer are also good, for example, in the magic garden), the interiors are pleasing to the eye, the Queen's palace with strange ice goblins is perfectly invented."[60] Lora Mjolsness of KinoKultura Russian cinema reviews stated: "The new film also supports the original tale’s message about the strength of a child, albeit in a different way. In The Snow Queen Gerda is certainly able to stand up for herself, yet her personality is different. Her power is based on physical force, on her wit, and on her determination. Her heart is not as innocent and she appears older and more street wise on her quest."[27] An Annecy review gave the movie 4 stars. The review remarked the movie is reminiscent of the golden age of Russian animation:

"Visually, despite a texture of characters it is not really successful and 3D not always completed. The set is still very beautiful for a Russian production. Ambition is present both in the setting and in the realization. However, the ambition of a country with few animation productions is to be welcomed despite a time of fame in the 50s and 60s."[123]

On 6 January 2013, The Snow Queen at the Russian box office made only $5.16 million in the first week.[27] But on 31 January 2013, it was considered a box office success as it had drawn 1.3 million viewers.[113][124] It grossed $7,580,435 at the Russian box office.[124] On 1 February 2013, it grossed $8.8 million.[125] Preliminary results of the New Year holiday box office collections in Russia which was the highest from any of the previous years, showed The Snow Queen at 7th place. Only The Three Bogatyrs on Distant Shores was the other animation to top the list at 2nd place before The Hobbit.[126] The results of a record year in 2012 for animated films in Russia was noted by a review as an "indicator of the recovery of society. The increased attendance of cartoons in cinemas means that Russians are choosing family holidays and that they have more and more children to spend time with."[39]

In total, the movie collected 233 million rubles (~$7.7 million) in Russia.[67][127][128] On 7 February 2013, the movie released in South Korea. According to the results of the first weekend in Korea, the cartoon took the fifth place in the local rating of collections, earning $540 thousand on 311 screens and even managed to surpass the results of the Pixar cartoon Monsters University ($337 thousand on 173 screens).[129] On 15 February 2013 in Korea, it grossed $1.5 million at the box office. The film also grossed $1 million in Brazil.[130] As of November 2013, the total box office ratio was 78.87% for Russia and the rest of the countries – 21.13%.[31] Today, The Snow Queen made $14 million total at the box office. The profit was twice the budget they had spent.[131]

There was increased attention from the media both domestically and internationally for a potential clash in the box office between Walt Disney Animation Studios feature Frozen and The Snow Queen due to the fact that both are remakes of Andersen's classic 19th century fairy tale The Snow Queen and the movies were ready for debut around the 2012/2013.[137][138][24] Initially, Wizart's project was delayed. Sergei Rapoport the producer for the film recalled, "At a time we were developing several projects that could be launched at once. We had information that Disney was planning to start working on its The Snow Queen. Then this project was frozen." However, InlayFilm, the co-producer studio for the film had the ambitions to restart the animation in the summer of 2010.[23]

Wizart's The Snow Queen was released on 31 December 2012.[52] Disney's Frozen was released on 19 November 2013.[138] The Snow Queen released to theaters in 2012, one year earlier than Frozen.[139] When Disney revealed their film will be titled Frozen, the prospects for Wizart's international release were lowered.[140] However, according to representatives of Bazelevs, the movie was received with open negotiations by international distributors.[31][2]

After The Snow Queen's debut, many reviewers also drew comparisons between it and Frozen, with one commentator for IndieWire remarking "The cold war with Russia is back - but this time it's over our Frozen flick versus their Frozen flick."[141][142] Sunday Independent stated, "The Cold War never went away, it just swapped espionage and 'big red buttons' for animated films based on Hans Christian Andersen tales."[143] Bleeding Cool stated, "Before Disney's Frozen, A Russian Snow Queen."[144] A 2014 Guardian review stated "Both films, rather obviously, are rather in the shadow cast by Frozen but this is cheerful enough, with a wacky troll, a sinister ice queen, and feisty girl-hero named Gerda. There’s a frenetic, eye-popping quality to the visuals that forestalls the kind of emotional engagement Disney can offer, but there is some entertainment to be had here."[145] Chesapeake Family Life reviews critiqued The Snow Queen doesn't need deserve interest in context to Frozen because the former is "incomprehensible and unarresting."[146] However, on the other spectrum, in 2020, film distributor Signature Entertainment Limited of UK in their distribution of The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands revealed The Snow Queen was a possible inspiration for Disney's Frozen as it stated, "Discover the dazzling story that inspired Frozen!"[147][148] Some people have also wrongly claimed that The Snow Queen is a rip-off, or mockbuster, of Frozen.

The original concept art of The Snow Queen published in June 2011.

The exclusive first original poster of Wizart's The Snow Queen released on 12 June 2011 in VKontakte by InlayFilm. The poster featured the eponymous character Gerda ready to climb the spiral palace of the Snow Queen in Spitsbergen.[35][36] The exclusive poster of Disney's Frozen also released in 5 July 2013. The poster is inspired by Wizart's and InlayFilm's The Snow Queen original poster featuring similar outline, angles, concept, and orientation with character Anna in the role of Gerda.[149][150]

In response, the release of the The Snow Queen in Brazil and Portugal went by the name O Reino Gelado (The Frozen Kingdom) as the film attempted to release the same time as Frozen in late 2013.[53][27] Film-Rezensionen states, "In the end, it was just a bit unlucky that the US colleagues started with their Version almost a year later and thus only forced these comparisons."[151]

Film Press from Slovakia shed light on the concept of originality. After The Snow Queen's "favorable reception in the winter of 2012 in Britain and elsewhere in the world" and its "selection for prestigious festivals in Cannes, Annecy, Copenhagen or Gijón" there was a question of which film was the original one.[19]

Film Press also initially thought, "Surely the Russians have imitated Disney's Ice Kingdom!" However, upon further analysis, "the reality is different, almost the opposite: the digitally animated long-form film, inspired by the fairy tale of Hans Christian Andersen, began shooting in Russia in 2009, and premiered three years later." "In Russia work on the first full-length digital animated film with stereoscopic (3D) image was already in full swing." The review also surmised, "Maybe that's why the Ice Kingdom moved so far away from the original."[19]

On 24 December 2019, French television news website Toutelatele evaluated the box office of the two films in the year of 2013. Frozen "stifled the Russian version" at the French box office and in general all other places in 2013.[139] "Powerful marketing have secured the US Ice Kingdom world audience favor, billions in sales, pushed the Russian Snow Queen to the edge of the global field."[19] Initially Wizart's film had numerous small screen broadcasts, but quickly moved to video-on-demand.[139] However, Toutelatele concluded The Snow Queen is a mysterious legacy force, "the first part of the Russian saga launched in 2012, one year before Disney, a genesis that began in 2007."[139]

However reviews by Annecy and others have emphasized The Snow Queen is genuine and has no connection with the creative process of Frozen.[123][152] In an interview, Yuri Moskvin, the producer at Wizart finalized any confusions regarding the clash of the Snow Queen films during their debut at 2012/2013. Moskvin stated when they knew about the film, they weren't intimidated by the competition, because coincidentally, both studios revived their projects in 2012. They are completely different films, with different budgets and different experiences of creation. However, Wizart's movie moved forward and the studio is happy that the movie can be seen as a "conditional contender."[24]

People on the other aisle praised The Snow Queen for its faithful plot with quality animation despite a small budget. The budget between the two films varied by $143 million. The Snow Queen was produced on 1/25th the cost of Frozen.[153][27] Impacting Culture noted with only 5% of a typical Disney budget, Wizart made a noteworthy revival of a classic fairy tale. In comparison, Disney/Pixar budgets depend on $150 million budgets to enliven their projects, while Wizart only needed $7 million budget.[154]

Reviewers were quick to note the movie's authenticity to its source material. Czezh Republic review Červený Koberec by Jiří Kábr gave the film a bronze medal, stating, "The Russians are coming up with a counterattack for America's success with the ice kingdom! Or, better to say, they showed love for the same story as Disney, however, they retained at least some fidelity to it."[155]

The National from UAE stated the movie was the first before Frozen, and is a more faithful adaptation to Andersen's fairy tale.[156] Hangzhou Net from Daily Headlines in China stated, "Unlike Hollywood's Frozen which changed Andersen's original work extensively, the interpretation of the story of Ice Queen is closer to the essence of the original work. Even sisters and brothers Gerda and Kai use the names in the original work."[157] Cartoon Brew commented the authenticity of the film is unmatched. The Snow Queen is more authentic to Hans Christian Andersen's original story than Disney's version, as well as referring to the original 1957 Soviet version.[153]

The movie has been able to be seen in over 75 countries in its final global distribution.[158] Komsomolskaya Pravda Kuban declared the film as one of the top seven holiday cartoons to watch.[159] The success of the film can be attributed to its low maintenance cost. The film can be sold to a distributor without risk of default. Another reason for the accomplishment of the film was the enthusiasm of the creators.[25]

After Wizart's success for The Snow Queen at the AFM, they confirmed to produce a theatrical sequel titled The Snow Queen 2: The Snow King.[160] The sequel tells about how Kai and Gerda help Orm the troll save his people from the Snow King. The voice cast for Snow Queen 2 included Sean Bean as General Arrog, Sharlto Copley, as troll Orm, Bella Thorne as Gerda, and Isabelle Fuhrman as Alfida. It grossed $15.5 million at the box office.[161]

On 29 January 2013, a few weeks after the release, Voronezh State University partnered with Wizart to open an animation department at the university. Voronezh students interested in animation can enroll in courses taught by veteran animators of Wizart. Wizart's school of animation was Russia's first privately sponsored state university course in computer graphics and animation.[162][163] The initiative was started to create a training base of qualified personnel who mostly went to Western animation.[24]

A third installment, titled The Snow Queen 3: Fire and Ice, was released on 29 December 2016.[164] The movie met with critical and commercial success. The movie set a record for Russian animated ventures abroad and has since inspired a fourth installment, titled The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands released on 1 January 2019 in Russia. The film was noteworthy for its acceptance in film festivals as well as international collaboration.[165][166] Today, The Snow Queen animated tetralogy series has managed to be released to over 150 countries and has been translated into 30 languages.[167][168]

Andersen, Hans Christian (2007), The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Tatar, Maria, W. W. Norton & Company, p. 55, ISBN 978-0393060812

Pilipoveca, Tatjana (2017), "Interpreting "The Snow Queen": A comparison of two semantic universes", Σημειωτκή - Sign Systems Studies, Estonia: University of Tartu, 1–2, pp. 181–193

Orlova, Gayane (2017), О феномене популярности сказок Х.К.Андерсена в России конца XIX — начала ХХ века [On the phenomenon of the popularity of H. K. Andersen's fairy tales in Russia of the late XIX-early XX century] (in Russian), 15, Russia: Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, pp. 98–109

Hellman, Ben (2019), Hans Christian Andersen's Legacy in the Works of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Wagner: Negotiating Aesthetics and Meaning In M. Sohl Jessen, M. Balina, B. Hellman, & J. Norregaard Frandsen (Eds.), Hans Christian Andersen in Russia, Denmark: University Press of Southern Denmark, pp. 115–133, ISBN 978-87-408-3194-8

Krasnova, Elena; Gurova, Elena (2019), "The reception of H.C. Andersen in Russia" [Рецепция Х. К. Андерсена в России], TIMELINESS. LITERATURE, CULTURE AND MEDIA, St.Petersburg University (published 17 January 2019), 13 (1), pp. 89–103

Ледниковый Период (Нажмите) [Ice Age (Press)] (PDF), Novatek Plus, 2012, archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2016