Directed by: Dick Zondag and Dave Goetz (replacing Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi)
Written by: Based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen

Release Date: Late 2005 or early 2006 (Tentative); reportedly in limbo so might not happen at all
 
 

STORY

A sorcerer casts an evil spell onto a huge mirror. Then one day, some of the magician's useless trolls fool around with the mirror and end up breaking it into thousands of pieces. The pieces of the broken mirror end up being small as snowchrystals and blend in with the snow on the ground.

Nearby, two children (named Kay and Gerda ) who are friends are playing in the snow. As they are playing, Kay gets one of the mirror splints in his eye and his heart turns cold. Then the snow Queen arrives in her sleigh and picks him up and takes him to her faraway castle.

Gerda decides to find the Snow Queen's Castle to rescue him. A long and difficult journey beings, in which she stops many times along the way and at times even forgets her mission. But every time she forgets or almost gives up she sees a rose and its thorns, which reminds her of a song she and Kay used to sing, and help her get back on her journey.

Along her way she meets an old gardener, a young prince and his princess sister, a couple of crows, a group of gypsies, an old clairvoyant lady, and a friendly reindeer who helps her to the castle.

As Gerda reaches the castle, we see that the journey has taken so long that Gerda has become a young woman. Finally, Gerda finds Kay and doesn't recognize him since it has been so long, The Snow Queen, who has make Kay into a servant for her doesn't want to give him up. Eventually, as Gerda sings their song about the rose, Kay starts to cry and cries out the mirror splint. The romance starts to blume...
 
 

INTERESTING FACTS

  The Brizzi Brothers planned to work on this feature after completing Don Quixote.  Considering the later is now on hold and the Brizzi Brothers apparently left Disney in April 2001, it is unknown whether Disney will proceed with this project.

  Dick Zondag and Dave Goetz supposedly took over the Brizzi Brothers and are currently developping The Snow Queen.

  The President of Walt Disney Feature Animation, Thomas Schumacher, announced during a June 2001 interview that "there is another musical fairy tale in the works".  All that was further revealed is that it is one that we all know -rumours have it that it will be either Rapunzel, or less likely The Snow Queen.

  In October 2001, a very reliable source at AICN confirmed that a "lushly animated version of Hans Christian Anderson's classic tale, The Snow Queen" was currently in the works at Disney.

  Voice actor Corey Burton (Hook in Return to NeverLand) announced in February 2002 that he had "begun working on 'scratch' tracks for Disney's Snow Queen (set for completion in about 4 to 5 years)."

  The Snow Queen had initially been envisioned as a mix of CG and traditional animation but is now being thought of as strictly computer animated film.

  That same month, a Disney insider stated that the studio planned to animated The Snow Queen via computer generated imagery with a traditional "painterly" look, "kind of the same way as the Fantasia 2000 segment in The Tin Soldier but this time taking full advantage of the deep canvas process."  Where the use of softer colors and muted tones gave that portion of "F2K" an almost painterly quality. As if that entire section of the revamped concert feature had been painted by an old master.

  The movie was originally expected to be a traditionally drawn feature. It is being penciled out right now with CG in mind.

  It was revealed in March 2002 that 2D master Glen Keane has agreed to serve as lead animator for a yet-unnamed central character in this CG feature, which caused quite a bit of controversy among animation fans. "He has been doing some developing work (traditional artwork) for the adaptation of this fairy tale. And there are some chances of him trying CG animation for the first time once production starts." A Disney animator further corrected that "Glean Keane is currently storyboarding on Snow Queen and, amazingly, using a pen! (Glen's had quite a visceral relationship with graphite.)"

  According to a May 2002 report, Disney’s latest attempt to turn Hans Christian Anderson’s icy tale into a full length animated feature didn’t turn out so hot. So--even though temporary tracks had already been recorded for the work-in-progress reel for the studio’s latest stab at The Snow Queen (with Corey Burton providing many of the vocals )--Disney execs have reportedly pulled the plug on this version of The Snow Queen. And WDFA’s story staff is already hard at work, boarding a brand new take on the same material.  Master animator Glen Keane took advantage of this break in The Snow Queen's development to announce that he was leaving the project.

  This project is extremely important to WDFA’s future since it will be their first feature length cartoon based on a classic fairy tale since the original Aladdin back in 1992. Mouse House execs are reportedly really counting on this movie to help the Walt Disney Company reconnect with its increasingly disenfranchised customers.

  Disney's chief of animation David Stainton roiled the ranks on April 28, 2003 when he told a gathering of 525 animation employees that he wants them to produce lush, classic fairy tales--The Snow Queen and Rapunzel, according to the Los Angeles Times--entirely on computers. His vision was greeted with dropped jaws by the roomful of artists steeped in the traditional style of hand-drawn animation pioneered by Disney.

  'unionrep' stated at Animation Nation in September 2003 that the project had been "in and out of development. Not currently green-lighted for production." And 'Mr. Fun' confirms that "it's a go for Chicken Little and Rapunzel [but] I'm afraid Snow Queen will probably never happen. This project has been kicking around for years."
 
 

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (1805-75)

A native of Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen is one of the immortals of world literature. The fairy tales he wrote are like no others written before or since. "Little Tiny or Thumbelina" (1835), "The Princess on the Pea" (1835), "The Little Mermaid" (1836), "The Emperor's New Suit" (1836), "The Ugly Duckling" (1844), "The Snow Queen" (1845) or "The Little Match Girl" (1846) are some of his stories that have been translated into virtually every language.

Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense in a one-room house on April 2, 1805. When he was 11 years old, his father died and he was virtually left alone. He went to school only at intervals and spent most of his time imagining stories rather than reading lessons. He could memorize very easily and learned some of his lessons by listening to a neighbourhood boy who was in the habit of studying aloud. He memorized and recited plays to anyone who would listen and imitated ballet dancers, acrobats or pantomists. To put an end on this, his mother apprenticed him first to a weaver, then to a tobacconist and finally to a tailor. Hans Christian knew these occupations were not for him. The only things that held his interest were the theater, books and stories. When he was 14, he decided to go to Copenhagen and seek his fortune.

There followed three bitter years of poverty. Hans Christian earned a little money singing in a boy's choir until his voice changed. He tried to act and to join the ballet, but his awkwardness made these careers impossible. He attempted to work with his hands but could not do this either. It never occured to him to return home and admit defeat.

At last, when he was 17, Andersen came to the attention of Chancellor Jonas Collin, a director of the Royal Theater. Collin had read a play by Andersen and saw that the youth had talent. He procured money from the king for Andersen's education and sent him to a school near Copenhagen. His teacher, a bitter man, treated him harshly and took delight in taunting him about his ambition to become a writer. Finally Collin took the youth from the school and arranged for him to study under a private tutor in Copenhagen. In 1828, when he was 23, Andersen passed his entrance examinations to the university in Copenhagen.

Andersen's writings began to be published in Danish in 1829. In 1833 the king gave him a grant of money for travel and he spent 16 months wandering through Germany, France, Switzerland and his beloved Italy. His works were poems, plays, novels and impressions of his travels (he always brought a rope, because he was afraid of fire).

In 1835 Andersen published 'Fairy Tales for Children' - four short stories he wrote for a little girl, Ida Thiele, who was the daughter of the secretary of the Academy of Art. People, who had read the stories - adults as well as children - wanted more. Andersen published 168 fairy tales in all. He wrote the stories just as he would have told them. Although he never married and had no children of his own, he was at his best as an interpreter of the nature of children.

Andersen died on August 4, 1875.