I don't really know of the Hans Christen Anderson tale nor have I seen other versions. I wanted to see it because... I have nothing better to do. I watched this and in terms of getting across drama, for a 7 minute short with no dialogue I'd say they get it across pretty well.The story is about a pauper girl around the Christmas season in the 1800's. She tries to sell the only thing she has - a box of matches. People apparently aren't interested in buying them. So she sits in an alleyway lighting up the matches she has, which lets her fantasize of keeping warm, eating food and having nice people take care of her under the Christmas Tree.I'm not really going to spoil the ending but I wouldn't mind seeing what could have been done if this was longer or if it had voice actors... It might be just me. This does get across the situation this poor kid is going through really well by only visual representation which I can imagine is not an easy thing to do. The animation is also good, but then again it is no better than an average Disney film.If there is anything I can complain about with this short. They'd be nitpicks. I guess the best one is that I wouldn't have minded if it was a little bit longer to evaluate on the character of the little match girl a little bit more. Again, I'm nitpicking.I'd say go see it. If you don't like this movie then it won't take up much of your time. But in my opinion there is quite a bit to enjoy about this short. It is a good watch and it's making me interested in seeing other versions.

It's something that everyone fears in their heart of hearts, the thought of being utterly alone and out in the cold. I love how there are no words. It doesn't need any, the feelings are the same in any language. The story and its poignant music go together absolutely perfectly. This animated short is fairly brief and it's so engrossing that the time flies by before you know it. The Little Match Girl short is so great because it captures and mirrors the exact same emotions you get from reading the story, or remember from being read the story as a small child. My mother used to read this to me when I was little and it was extraordinary to me how familiar it felt watching this, and how all those old emotions came flooding back. There's the harrowing plight of the girl trying in vain to sell her matches, the improbable, desperate hope as she strikes them and experiences her beautiful visions-a rather disturbing thought that now occurs to me with my adult sensibilities is that they could be near-death cold induced hallucinations-and of course, finally, the tragic hopeless despair of her sad lonely end. Sure, she is now free, with her beloved grandmother in a better place of warmth and love, but she had to die to do it. What's so "happy ending" about that? It certainly makes me feel little joy, it makes me feel cold in my gut, as cold as the girl probably felt, and I felt the exact same way when I was small. That is precisely how you're supposed to react. Very sad, but perhaps also grateful for just a certain something. That's why I think it's very important for little kids to be read this and all the other classic tales and fables because I believe they can instill a sense of empathy, as well as other good values. Of course it "pulls at the heart strings" that's the whole point, to make you feel the sorrow, to make you CARE. Anyone remember that? Kids should be read stories like this because they should know, in an innocent gentle way, that this world can be a very cruel place, and that not every ending is a happy one. There's not really much in the story that they left out of this. Except, in some of them I remember, it shows a few of the townspeople sadly offering far too late sympathies as they discover the girl, and then the scene changes to show the girl and her grandmother as angels in the stars... And so, for the sheer emotional impact alone, do I consider this to be, for what it is perfect. It couldn't be any more moving. If anyone really "enjoyed" if that is the right word, the deeply moving themes of this short I highly recommend you try and watch the 1988 TV drama: God Bless the Child. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Thanks for reading! Stay warm now...

For me, Disney's gold generation finished a long time ago, by the end of the early 90's. Disney was no longer Disney after that.This is a precious little short, one that will surely become a classic. Actually, you can say that it was already born a classic. If this wasn't included as bonus material on 'The Little Mermaid' DVD, I probably wouldn't know this until now or even hear about it.This short has no dialog, but pretty classical music instead. Images and classical music are so expressive that they speak for themselves, not unlike 'Fantasia'. As such, this short doesn't even need dialogs. Besides, its story couldn't be more simple to understand and this lack of dialogs makes it a heavier experience when it comes to emotions.This mini-motion picture is based on a tale by Hans Christian Anderson, being undeniably a sad one. I know that Hans Christian Anderson was danish, but I don't know if his original tale took place in his native country. I only know that in this short the plot takes place in Russia.Besides the moving and heartwarming story, this short has got artwork of high quality. The artwork is a successful combination between old and new. On the one hand, its artwork clearly evokes the classic/traditional Disney artwork from the good old times. On the other hand, it looks simultaneously modern and current.I don't know the title of this in my country. Perhaps it has no Portuguese title at all?

I didn't get my first taste of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl" until a few weeks ago, when I watched Jean Renoir's silent short-subject adaptation, for which he unusually cast his 28-year-old wife in the lead role. Many subsequent versions of the story have followed, the latest being this impressive 7-minute snippet from Disney, which tells the story wordlessly against a classical music soundtrack. Notably, 'The Little Matchgirl (2006)' was the studio's final 2D-animated film, the last remnant of a dying art, its seems, in popular American animation. Directed by Roger Allers {whose only previous directorial credit was 'The Lion King (1994)'}, this short was nominated for an Academy Award in 2007, but lost to Torill Kove's 'The Danish Poet (2006),' which I unfortunately have yet to see. From a studio whose non-Pixar track-record has been a little shaky in recent years, this little treat suggests a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel, and that Disney still retains more than enough creativity to produce quality works of art.In pre-revolutionary Russia, a young girl stands shivering in the winter cold, trying unsuccessfully to sell matches to passersby. As though she didn't exist, one person after another strides past without even acknowledging her silent pleads; one man scavenges enough kindness to help her down from a pole, but waves away the offer of a match. As night falls, the young girl huddles beneath a snowstorm, trying miserably to warm herself by the flame of a matchstick. As she slowly and tiredly succumbs to exposure, the girl descends into sparks of fairytale, envisioning the warm home of her deceased grandmother, with a roaring fire and a dinner table bulging with food. 'The Little Match Girl' was initially produced for a 'Fantasia'-style compilation film, and so the music – Aleksandr Borodin's "String Quartet #2 In D Major: 3rd Movement: Notturno (Andante)" – plays a major role. However, the music doesn't "interact" with the story and images as did the segments in 'Fantasia (1940),' and so there's an impersonality of tone that the film struggles to shake off.