Originally conceived as a TV miniseries (but generally shown in a single three-hour installment), this lavish adaptation of
Hans Christian Andersen's
The Snow Queen stars
Bridget Fonda as the icy-hearted title character. Arriving incognito at the alpine inn run by a man named Wolfgang (
Robert Wisden), the embittered Snow Queen makes it her mission in life to ruin all chances of romance for Wolfgang's beautiful daughter, Gerda (
Chelsea Hobbs). To this end, the Queen exercises her magic over Gerda's bellhop boyfriend Kai (
Jeremy Guilbaut), literally freezing the boy in his tracks. In order to save her beloved, Gerda must undertake a grueling odyssey through the Four Seasons (each of them briefly appearing in human form), culminating in a final, frigid showdown with the spiteful Snow Queen. After its December 7, 2002 debut on the Hallmark cable network,
The Snow Queen was almost immediately released in a deluxe DVD edition. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide