Movie Poster
Title Cards
"A Special Cartoon"
Synopsis
- In old Russia, a small girl sells matches to survive and dreams of a better life by the light of her few remaining matches.
Characters
- The Little Match Girl
Credits
- Director : Roger Allers
- Music : Alexander Borodin - String Quartet #2 In D Major: 3rd Movement: Notturno (Andante)
Sources
- Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, The Little Match Seller.
Awards
- Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Animated in 2007
- Best Film for Children - Animafest World Festival of Animated Films - Zagreb
DVD
Technical Specifications
- Color Type Technicolor
- Animation type Standard
- Sound mix Stereo
- Aspect ratio 1.85 : 1
- Negative format 35mm
- Print format 35mm
- Cinematographic process Spherical
- Original language English
Released by Walt Disney Feature Animation
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From DaVon : Alright, I'm the first to comment. I just saw the short at that site for the first time this morning and I've just got to say Disney did it again and struck gold with this one after using the Midas touch. Of all the shorts released in this decade (the 2000s), this has once again become another favorite of mine and I think it's the best from this decade. I don't believe I remember ever hearing of this story until a few minutes ago, coming across it as I looked at the year-by-year lists of Disney shorts.
Sorry if I'm rambling and haven't gotten to the point yet, but I wanted to mention all of that before I did first. A melancholy tale of the poor girl who vends matches to get by set to beautiful music. However, she has big dreams of making it out of that situation and one day moving on to better things and better days, she has hopes, wishes and aspirations of things looking up for her. I like how every time she lights a match, she envisions what she could've been doing instead of having to make it on the streets and not having to be so less fortunate. It's such a great, heartwarming story. I loved it and it really just goes to show how lucky some of us are, also another good reason to be thankful and what to be thankful for every Thanksgiving. A good reminder and realization of counting blessings. This will really tug at the heartstrings. Despite Disney's falling off in recent years( as mush as it pains me to say the truth), it still has some of it's thunder left that hasn't been lost. The little girl is cute and simply lovable. Another great short subject that's become a contemporary classic. Tell me this won't make you smile at the end, or especially if you do because you cry happily. Another one I highly recommend, no doubt, you will truly love it. To sum it up and put it concisely, a tale about overcoming hardship basically.
I don't want to mislead anyone with the part about the happy ending of this short, but I've just read one of the comments on Youtube about the ending to this story not really being such a happy one. Although the commentator might have been referring to the original, not the Disney version and I'm not quite sure about the latter, since Disney has been known for ending its stories with a happy note. Just wanted to clear that up and confirm to get it straight just in case I get any complaints of deception. But still and again, a very nice short that's still enjoyable, even if you actually only cry sadly at the conclusion. A tale of conquering the struggles or at least trying to do so.
