Gerda, a small girl whose parents have been killed by the evil Snow Queen, sets out on a journey to rescue her only brother Kay from the clutches of the same tyrant. Accompanied by a troll who doesn't really know on which side he is, she must try to put an end to this terrible reign which is about to become invincible.I have to tell you that although I didn't have high expectations from this one, it managed to disappoint me. The story is as cliché as it is stupid, the replies are for kindergarten, the side characters are as pointless as they are ugly and idiotic, the basic laws of physics don't apply here (the characters walk and run on ice like it's tarmac) while the finale is unconvincing, to say the least. To give you a small example, every single one on that land is against the Queen and her ice age but nobody is willing to do anything about it. Furthermore, they even slow Gerda's quest with their pathetic problems only to pretend to help her by "providing" some material help (which was destroyed by them in the first place).This movie has one big plus and that is its aspect. It looks absolutely gorgeous from every single angle (except the above mentioned side characters) and although its animations sometimes lack a bit of polish, it still looks great overall. I can't say I enjoyed this movie and I'm only giving it this rating for its appearance and its soundtrack. Everything other than that is not worth mentioning, unfortunately

Okay I will be blunt in this review. Like many Americans who saw the trailer for this film I judged it too quickly solely by its appearance in animation. Living in America I'm engulfed mainly by CGI animation. Any time I want to see an animated film it's nothing but CGI. I'm not saying that I don't like CGI, I just hate knowing that everyone's jumping the band wagon. The only time I see non-CGI animation is when I usually watch a foreign animated film. I don't know what's with foreign countries in making CGI animated films. They usually turn out creepy, abysmal, or just plain weird. Granted making CGI is costly, but like every animated film ever, it's the amount of effort you put into that counts. Usually if a 100% percent effort of work is put into animated film, then the film's budget won't be too expensive. Enough talk, here's my review. The animation- Like i said before, I live in America and if there is one flaw to our CGI animated films is that they usually cost more than they should. While most of what we make in CGI is beautiful and amazing in both an artistic point and a technical one, certain films shouldn't cost so much. Some examples are The Nut job, Chicken Little, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, and many others. This film had a budget $7 million.I was shocked to learn that such good animation came from $7 million! The animation isn't perfect 10 praise worthy, but pretty it's impressive on an economic stand point. The character designs aren't equal enough, and there many moments of slowed down scenes that aren't required, or help the animation look better. However it's the art direction that made me fall in love with it. It's a mixture of fairy tale drawn designs, and a certain amount of CGI texture that makes the characters look painted. Unfortunately not all of the characters could receive the same amount of treatment. Some of them look like the laziest things in all of animation, but at least they kept the backgrounds equally impressive. I should note that the cinematography in this film is masterful! Up there with some of the best from studio Ghibli and Disney's Tangled. I'll be brutally here if this was done in 2D animation then this film would have looked beyond gorgeous! But for a CGI animated foreign film it's really impressive! Score 7.9/10 The story- The story is based off the fairy tale with the same name. The film does justice to the source material, and adds parts of its own that make it even better. The origin story for the films villain the ice queen is something I didn't expect and is a welcomed addition. Gerda and Kai being siblings instead of friends helps the story because people won't think that they're in love with each other like most animated fairy tales films do. But even with all of these improvements the film fails hardcore in storytelling because of the god awful pacing! No joke, no exaggeration this film has some of the worst pacing in all of animation. The film barely ever likes to take brakes. Every story element in the film is rushed, never allowing the audience to take in what happened. This especially apparent in the films jokes. The movies jokes are pretty good if you can catch them in time. The characters are never allowed to show why we should root for them, or be interested to watch them on the screen, all except for a troll named Orm. He's the only character the movie allows to show development. It made wonder why he isn't the protagonist. I can't even get into the interesting mythology that the movie has created, it doesn't give me the time I need. Score 2/10 Verdict- Honestly if it wasn't for the good looking visuals I would have quit watching the film 22 minutes in. This film could have been perfect 10 material, but it ended up being mediocre. Score 5.5/10 Now I don't regret watching this film, in fact it has altered my perception on CGI animation forever. It showed me the quality still reigns over quantity, even in an era in America where CGI has taken over animation. I actually recommend you watch this film if your an American. Normally I never would tell people to watch a film that I gave a score below a 6, but if you truly want to understand what I'm talking about take the dare and watch the film for yourself.

Despite the original English version which did not live up to its momentum, a new English version, except it is a Russian feature with English subtitles, definitely lived up to its momentum. It provided background information for each of the characters featured in the movie. The English subtitles easily matched the lips of the characters about 90%-96%. Even though a few scenes are a bit confusing, but the new English version made it reasonable.The English subtitles are obviously not a Russian translation, and I guess the same for the original English version, but it truly represented the animated feature very well. Even though some scenes are a bit confusing, but the new English version made it reasonable.Based on the original fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen in modern perspective, the plot, scenes, and characters are adaptable with additional characters to make it modern. Wizart Animation has shown great qualities in the animation business.

an old story. new technical tools. and a nice film who has only basic sin to be in shadow of too many and admirable versions. the Andersen work has, in many parts, the classic ingredients. but it has not soul. no real emotions, no touching moments, only a troll and a weasel. the travel of Gerda is only a sketch, the end - not real convincing and the promise of new part seems all only a commercial show. and that is problem - the need of Wisard studio to impress, the huge ambitions to be accepted on West market and the sacrifice of profoundity of story for a impressive but superficial show. a nice film, off course. but it is not enough. its great virtue - to remember the lovely version from 1957 by Lev Atamanov.