1001 Animations: The Little Matchgirl (2006 short)

Show: Disney Theatrical Shorts
Episode: N/A
Year: 2006

Writer(s): Hans Christian Anderson (Original Author), Roger Allers, Kevin L. Harkey, Ed Gombert, Mark Walton, Ralph Zondag

In the years where Disney basically said: "Fuck it! Animation doesn't need to have any meaning or be taken seriously, we just want more money!", this short is a massive surprise in a 1/2 decade loaded with crap from them, considering a year before this, they released Chicken Little. And the same year as this came Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which totally ruined Mickey's reputation until 2010, as well as Brother Bear 2 and The Fox and the Hound 2, both regarded as two of the worst Disney cheapquels. This was the second of Hans Christian Anderson's works to be adapted by them for theatres, with the first obviously being The Little Mermaid in 1989.

 

The original short story from 1845 was written by Anderson as a plight to the suffering poor children of Europe, but its popularity went beyond any of his wildest expectations. It helped inspire stories such as A Dog of Flanders and was a huge influence on Disney as a whole helping them create some of their saddest and most tear-jerking moments. This is the essential tear-jerking short story; if you felt nothing for the match girl herself as she slowly succumbs to the cold and her dying delusions as she uses what little heat she has in a desperately attempt to stay alive, then you have no soul. The animation of this short is spectacular as it was Disney's final usage of the Computer Animation Production System which they used in such features like Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame which allowed them to use computer graphics to give more depth to their movies.

 

Most importantly, however, is that they didn't really "Disneyfy" this short as it were like they did with things such as Hercules and downplay the depressing and morbid themes. The little girl still does die at the end of the short as the spirit of her grandmother whisks her away to Heaven. The only notable differences are the location change from Hans' native home Denmark to Russia and the honestly justified lack of the plot point of the match girl's cruel and overbearing father, which while still in is less emphasized. This short was originally meant as part of the project known as Fantasia 2006 but was sadly scrapped because, again, they stopped giving a fuck until John Lasseter stepped in. This short itself isn't hard to track down and is well worth a watch to any fan of Disney or Hans Christian Anderson.

The Little Matchgirl is owned by Disney.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314