The Little Matchgirl

[Ortino]

I didn't see a thread about this short film and thought it was too wonderful not to mention. The original story of The Little Matchgirl does not relate to the Romanovs at all and takes place in Denmark, but the Disney "Fantasia" type version sets it in tsarist Russia and uses Borodin's String Quartet #2 In D Major: 3rd Movement: Notturno (Andante) for music. The animation is spectacular and in my opinion really captures the atmosphere in St. Petersburg prior to the revolution. The ending is terribly sad, so be prepared to be depressed.

It is very short--around 7 minutes--and is available to watch on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkoaFT-Oc-U&feature=related

Enjoy!

[Sarushka]

Wow. I'm a Disney junkie and I've never seen that before.

What film does this come from? It's not in the original Fantasia, nor Fantasia 2000.

[Ortino]

This is what Imdb has to say about it:

In 2005, Walt Disney Feature Animation finished production work on a new adaptation of "The Little Match Girl". The short was originally intended to be a part of "Fantasia 2006", but this project was canceled. The Little Matchgirl is last of the four shorts from the aborted compilation to be developed as a standalone film. This short was subsequently released as a special feature on the 2006 Platinum Edition DVD of "The Little Mermaid."

I'm glad they decided to finish it. It's a lovely (but tragic) piece.

[Sarushka]

That explains it -- I have the original DVD release of The Little Mermaid, not the platinum edition.

[Love4Royalty]

Ah, so sad, I can see why it wasn't added in Fantasia (but why put it on the Little Mermaid DVD?).  The story was nicely done.

[Ally Kumari]

I would love to watch it, but for some reason the posted link doesn´t work for me. Could you repost it please? I always loved sad fairytales....

[Love4Royalty]

Try copying the link and pasting it in the address bar.

[Proud_Olga]

That was so amazing and sad to see... I hope Disney will do more of this kind of animated movie. (I'm really fed up with those they have been doing for several years now.)

[Ally Kumari]

I usually hate Disney. But I absolutely love this one....

Andersen´s stories are most amazing and sad.

[GoldenPen]

Wait, Disney did something with the Romanovs!?!? Those are like my two favorite things! Why haven't I heard about this?

Truly, GoldenPen

[Ally Kumari]

No. We´re talking about an animated movie based on a tale by H.Ch. Andersen. The only animated "Romanov" movie is Anastasia by Foxfrom 1997 and then there was a short movie Animatics where Rasputin and Nicolas II. appeared as comical figures. There is a link to it somewhere in this section.

[GoldenPen]

I just got a chance to watch the video, I cried too long after watching that. Oh and thank you Grand Duchess Ally for clearing that misunderstand up for me! Much appreciated!

Truly, GoldenPen

[Ally Kumari]

You´re most welcome.

[Olga Maria]

Andersen´s stories are most amazing and sad.

That's the reason why, Ally, I love Hans Christian Andersen so much!
I also hate Disney. (",)
I watched a cartoon about this movie and the ending made me cry for hours (likewise my sisters). I'm so touched (now my eyes are watery again).
Imagine how poor she is. Despite of that frigid winter, she managed to warm herself by those matches her grandmum gave her (huhuhuuhuh...sobs)
The next day, she's found dead. Oh my guh...I hate the people who just passed by her. They even didn't have pity for that poor girl! But, that happening helped much on giving the story a sad ending. Thank you Hans C. A.!

Thanks, dear Ortino for posting the link!

[Ally Kumari]

I love "Christmas tree" tale. So sad.