Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and back to Classic Shorts Showcase. Hans Christian Andersen is an author that Disney has mined for adaptations many a time before. Such as The Little Mermaid.
The Snow Queen and that was turned into Frozen.
And even in Fantasia 2000, they included an adaption as that included a segment based on The Steadfast Tin Soldier.
And today, we are looking at another Disney adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen story, The Little Matchgirl.
This like the previously reviewed Lorenzo was meant to be a part of never made third Fantasia film that would have featured music from around the world. In many respects, this was a bittersweet short film to watch. I'll explain as I get into the plot.
The Plot
On a cold winter day, we follow the titular Matchgirl in Russia as she tries to sell her matches but as we learn, she is all alone. She has no family with her. She is a lost soul in the world and everyone ignores her because she is just a child.
Soon, after numerous failures, we find her in a lone corner as she lights one of her matches and it brings back memories of a better time as we Christmas past with her grandmother but she is soon brought back to reality.
The happiness and warmth that the young girl feels is joyous and you just want her to be happy. And at the very end, we see her grandmother come and bring her home. The Little Matchgirl has finally found happiness and warmth once again by leaving this world.
This was interesting to see. Death in Disney is nothing new, there's a graveyard full of dead Disney parents but here, we are dealing with the death of a young girl and the death is viewed as a happy ending for the young girl. As death has brought her peace and happiness as she is with the ones that she loves again. This is honestly something that I never expected to see from Disney. Treating death as happy ending is a rather mature stance for Disney to take. I truly applaud this short for the way it treats the source and honestly, the decision to have the character never speak and instead let the music tell the story made the ending all that more effective.
Character
The Little Matchgirl
The Little Matchgirl was a fairly likable character and in both of her dream sequences, you could feel the joy and happiness that she was experiencing and you ached for her, when she was pulled back into reality. And in the end, when her grandmother came and brought her home, even though you knew it meant that she was dead, you couldn't help but be happy for her.
Music
Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 In D Major -Alexander Borodin
I'm not much with classical music. Really, Fantasia is the only way that you'll get me to listen to classical music, so this was the first time that I had heard this piece and just hearing it again is bringing back memories of watching the short. And the Aw and wow and sadness that I felt while watching it. This was a fairly good fit for the story being told.
My Final Thoughts
This is easily a must watch Disney short. You will not be disappointed in what you see. You may come out crying but they'll be tears of joy as you'll know that The Little Matchgirl's pain is over and she can finally be happy once again. I swear that you'll instantly love her and feel for her as you watch this short. Join me next time as we look at something much lighter in tone as I look at...
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