The Little Matchgirl (2006)

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Blistering performances.

My eyes don't tear up, not even in real life least of all movies. But this Disney animated 2D short is a beautiful metaphor. It is about everything, from the children of the street in some country, to the well-off professional dying inside from loneliness, in ours. Yes, I watch it with family during Christmas, and yes, along with the other less somber animated specials to compensate :). It has a beautiful message and the humanity of it is enormous. For a seven minute short film, it packs a punch! Roy Disney, the last of the Disney family to actually work with the company, died in 2009. Given that a lot of junk is also constantly put on DVD by the Walt Disney Co., I'm hoping more gems like "The Little Match Girl" will continue to appear.

'The Little Match Girl' is a Disney animated short of enormous quality. In fact, it's a surprise to know that this is a relatively recent short, such are its high standards. It means that Disney wasn't as lifeless as it seemed, after all.This short has potential to become a classic, for it lacks no ingredients to achieve that. It has a simple but emotional story, beautiful artwork and backgrounds, great animation, magic and a classic atmosphere. The music is beautiful too, capturing the essence of this mini-film: "Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 in D Major" by Alexander Borodin. It feels much more like a short from Disney's good old days than something from recent years. The story is sad and emotional, like I mentioned. It takes place in Russia and its artwork and backgrounds have a vaguely familiar feeling (resembling 20th Century Fox's "Anastasia"). The little girl of the story looks like Mulan, though.This story is based on a Hans Christian Anderson's fable about a poor and homeless little girl trying to sell matches in a cold Winter night (when it's freezy and snowing), possibly to get some money for some food and possibly to find a warm and comfortable place. The story shows us the difficulties she has to deal with and her wishes. These wishes are shown through the visions she has (like being in a warm and comfortable place). There are no dialogs at all, but despite that it's very easy to understand the story and its message.This short is included as an extra in 'The Little Mermaid' Platinum Edition DVD released in 2006. After getting that DVD, that is how I got to know this short.

This short only gives another good example of what to be thankful for and a blessing to count on that holiday. That's exactly what I love about this: The lesson/message/moral there is in the end. Which is some of us should consider ourselves fortunate enough not to be in that situation and go through what the little Russian girl had to go through and struggle to survive on the streets daily and/or nightly. With her having to try to get by, selling matches to the passersby. This is definitely one that goes out to the homeless.A poor, little, Russian girl is a match vendor and she goes about her routine attempting to sell matches on a wintry night. Hoping to use the money she could've received possibly to buy some food I imagine. Sadly for her, there are no takers. Afterwards, she heads into the alley and settles under a makeshift tent. She then uses up her matches and every time she lights one, she imagines other things that she could've been doing at that moment, such as having a nice dinner. The visualizations are her only means of escape, if solely temporarily. Another vision she has is that she either returns home or visits the house of her grandmother. A third involves her in a sleigh ride. Youtube was once again the first source of where I saw this months ago and one commentator said that the girl was dumb for wasting all of the matches that she had and that the commentator was glad for the girl's eventual misfortune, and demise. To that commentator, I'd say/type:" I don't think it would've really made much of a difference. Even if the girl hadn't used up all or any of her matches, she still wouldn't have been able to withstand the weather/climate that night. But since she did use up all of the matches, the fires she made with them simply burned themselves out after a while and she still didn't endure the winter anyway. It was inevitable and bound to happen either way, a no-win situation. Other than you saying 'it was her own fault', I wonder if you were in her situation but you saved all of your matches, would you be able to bear the cold? And how would you feel if somebody said the same that you said about her fate? Making a dense comment like that and failing to think ahead and logically before commenting? "We have no idea for sure accurately how nor why the girl ended up being so poor and getting on the streets, but how can nobody continuously feel for her after the aforementioned case that I mentioned above? Anyway, I recommend this because it's wonderfully told with actions instead of dialogue, plus since like probably the late '50s or early '60s, we've been getting one new Disney 2D animated short per year. So, it's a real treat that even after Home On The Range in 2004, we still got the Disney 2D featurettes, if not full-length feature films, in a time in which animation is dominated by the 3D/CGI style. I wish there were more than one Disney 2D cartoon short per year though, even if that's better than none at all, but still. It's a real tearjerker that will tug at your heartstrings. I never got teary, but I'm also sad for her and wish the conclusion of this would've been on a happier note, like somebody or some people in the animation crew suggested and would've liked (as the other Disney films had traditionally or usually avoided somber endings) . Each time anyone watches this, it's important they bear in mind that the point of this is to be grateful for what they have and not take everyday things for granted. Not having to strive the hardships and shortcomings like she did and literally weather the (snow) storm or at least try to do so.

Originally created as part of Disney's "Fantasia 2000" it was more than likely booted because the film already contained another work by Hans Christian Anderson, but it may be safe to assume that it may have also had a lot to do with the fact that this piece does contain the original ending (which, oddly enough, "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" which ended up in Fantasia 2000, has a very different ending).With Disney's decision to change the ending to "The Little Mermaid" it does come as a surprise that they managed to keep "The Little Match Girl" in tact, and it's rumored that there was some bit of fighting to keep the ending.The piece takes place in Russia, and follows a little girl with no shoes running through the streets of St. Petersburg trying to sell matches. She's cold, and appears to have no family, and despite that her feet are merely covered by rags, everyone is either too worried about themselves, or just sickened by the idea of dealing with this little urchin. As it grows darker and colder, and as the snow starts falling harder and wind starts picking up, she seeks refuge in an alley and starts lighting her matches to stay warm, and with each match, imagines herself in warm place, with familiar faces.It's a completely sad and emotional piece,a nd will surely bring a tear to your eye. It's both strange and lucky that it's available on the 2006 Platinum Edition of "The Little Mermaid". At only 7 minutes, it's a completely powerful and beautiful piece- beautifully animated (the animation ranks up there with Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Pocahontas) and beautifully scored! This is a must see (but keep that Klennex box close)