''Snow Queen'' is a 2002 made-for-television film produced by

Hallmark Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

and directed by

David Wu David Wu (born April 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. As a child of immigrants from Taiwan, Wu was the first Taiwanese American to serve in ...

based on the 1844 story ''

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samli ...

'' by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

. The film stars

Bridget Fonda Bridget Jane Fonda (born January 27, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), ''Single White Female'' (1992), ''Singles'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' (1993), '' It Could Happen to You'' ( ...

as the title character and

Chelsea Hobbs Chelsea Hobbs (born February 18, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She is known for roles such as Gerda in the 2002 television film '' Snow Queen'' and Emily Kmetko in the ABC Family teen drama ''Make It or Break It''. Early life Hobbs attended an ...

as her rival and the story's heroine, Gerda. The film originally aired on

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

as a two-part miniseries, but has since been released as a full-length film on DVD in the United States. The DVD was released in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2009 and in Australia on September 2, 2011. This was Bridget Fonda's last acting role before her retirement.

Plot

The film's story is roughly based on

's story "''

''" but features a number of significant changes. Most prominently are that Gerda and Kai are openly romantically attached to each other, instead of simply being best friends. Another significant change is that the opening and ending portions of the film take place in a modern "realistic" setting, while Gerda and Kai's adventures are dream-like and surreal.

Gerda and Kai

Gerda, along with her father, Wolfgang, is initially in mourning over the death of her mother. The mother died nine years previously, freezing to death in the woods, and Gerda has grown to hate the winter because of this. The family has not been able to move on until Gerda meets Kai. In this version, Kai, rather than being a childhood friend, is the new bellboy at the hotel owned by Gerda's father, and he immediately sets out to befriend Gerda and help her heal, convincing her to take up her childhood hobby of ice skating once more. Over the course of their friendship, the two soon fall in love. It is because Kai has helped Gerda find new purpose in life that she sets out to rescue him when he is kidnapped by the Snow Queen. The Snow Queen refers to Gerda and Kai's relationship as "true love."

The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen in this version is intentionally malicious towards Gerda and desires to keep Kai for herself. Throughout the movie it is slowly revealed that the Snow Queen has been hoarding power for some time, intending to destroy all the other seasons and ruling the earth alone. She intended to achieve this goal using the Devil's mirror, a beautiful full-length mirror that was shattered into thousands of pieces above the earth. The Snow Queen initially kidnaps Kai because the final piece of the mirror fell into his eye, but she takes him to her palace and charges him to fix the mirror the way it was. Additionally, during the opening scenes, split-second flashes of the Snow Queen during the sequence where Gerda's mother is alone in the forest imply that she was the direct cause of Gerda's mother's death, possibly because she was a magically inclined rival of the Snow Queen, and indeed, Gerda's mother's brooch, which Gerda carries throughout her journey, has the magic and warmth needed to defeat the Snow Queen. There is also a minor sub-plot involving a fierce talking polar bear who is the Snow Queen's henchman, and stays by her side because he is in love with her. After her defeat he carries her away into her castle, and is seen taking the form of an elegantly dressed man (credited as the 'Polar Bear Prince.')

The Four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Various characters that Gerda meets in the original story have been altered. The witch of eternal summer has become the motherly "Spring Witch," the prince and princess of the palace have been merged into the cunning "Summer Princess," and the Robber Girl's mother has become the fierce "Autumn Robber." In the film all three women are sisters of the Snow Queen who, like their winter sister with Kai, want to keep Gerda, albeit for various differing reasons. Together, the four sisters are known as the "Four Seasons". Gerda must escape from the Witch's cottage, the Princess' palace, and the Robber's camp, before she can reach the Snow Queen's mountain home and face the Snow Queen herself. It is stated in the legend that Spring, Summer, and Autumn have been severely weakened by Winter's attempt to take almighty power, and indeed, none of the other three sisters ever really show the same levels of power and magical influence that the Snow Queen wields over the course of the film. When they hold Gerda they explain that they are doing it to protect her, as their sister is much stronger than they can ever imagine, and that only they know the depths of the Snow Queen's cruelty and heartlessness. However, each of them helps Gerda on her quest in some small way, and just before the final fight between Gerda and the Snow Queen, visions of the Spring Witch, the Summer Princess, Chen (a young conjurer in the Summer Princess' court and a friend of Gerda,) and the Autumn Robber's daughter (who stopped her mother from killing Gerda,) along with a vision of her mother, encourage Gerda to keep going and that she knows what she must do to defeat the Snow Queen.

The Mirror

The magic mirror is the central piece of the plot and the catalyst for Gerda's adventure to rescue Kai. Listening to a legend being told to Kai by the Polar Bear, it is revealed that the mirror was forged by Satan, who gave it to the Four Seasons so they could admire their work. When Spring, Summer and Autumn looked into the mirror it reflected the essence of their power and the promise of life, while Winter saw a cold and barren world, which was the way of her season. Satan however had made the mirror twisted so that, as Winter gazed at her reflection, she desired for the power of her season to be absolute. Thus, one day, Winter steals the mirror, taking it to the Arctic wastes, where no one can find it. With the mirror now in her sole possession, she became the Snow Queen, and the world became colder. But this was not enough for the Snow Queen, since her sisters still lived, though greatly weakened. Taking the mirror up to the sky, she attempted to fly to Heaven itself, to demand that winter be made the dominant and unchallenged power on Earth. However, the magic of the demonic mirror and the magic of Heaven did not sit well together and the mirror shattered before she could reach Heaven, the glass fragments scattering to the four winds and starting the Snow Queen's quest for the recovery of the shards that fell into human eyes. After the Snow Queen's defeat, the mirror is seen sinking through the floor, possibly returning to Hell.

Cast

as Snow Queen *

as Gerda * Jeremy Guilbaut as Kai *

Robert Wisden Robert Charles Wisden ( Brighton, 2 June 1958) is an English-born, Canadian actor who has an extensive career in Canadian and American film and television, for which he has won a Gemini Award. Best known for playing U.S. President Richard Nixo ...

as Wolfgang * Wanda Cannon as Minna * Meghan Black as Robber Girl * Jennifer Clement as Spring Witch * Kira Clavell as Summer Princess * Suzy Joachim as Autumn Robber * Duncan Fraser as Mayor *

Rachel Hayward Rachel Hayward (born August 7, 1968) is a Canadian actress. She began pursuing a serious acting career in her early twenties. As a child and teen, Hayward was involved in modeling and commercials but always thought she would become a doctor. S ...

as Amy * Jessie Borgstrom as 8 Years old Gerda * Robert D. Jones as Priest * Alexander Hoy as Chen * Trever Havixbeck as Sergeant at Arms * John DeSantis as

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

Production details

* The town scenes were shot in

Fort Steele, British Columbia Fort Steele is a heritage site in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This visitor attraction lies on the east shore of the Kootenay River between the mouths of the St. Mary River and Wild Horse River. The locality, on the m ...

, a heritage town in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada * The interior of the White Bear Hotel was a set built on a sound stage, the same set being covered in synthetic snow for later scenes

Awards

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

(2003) * Best Single Television Presentation - Nominated Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards (2003) * Best Cinematography in TV Drama - Won

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

(2003) * Best Female Lead Performance in a Feature Length Drama (

) - Nominated * Best Overall Sound in a Feature Length Drama - Nominated

References

External links

* *
''Snow Queen''
at

Hallmark Movie Channel Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel, and also known as HMM) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Cha ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow Queen (2002 Film) 2002 television films 2002 films Films based on The Snow Queen Sonar Entertainment miniseries Hallmark Channel original films Films about witchcraft American fantasy adventure films American television films Canadian fantasy adventure films Canadian television films English-language Canadian films German fantasy adventure films German television films English-language German films Films shot in British Columbia 2000s fantasy adventure films Television shows based on works by Hans Christian Andersen 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films 2000s German films