DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL

Based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen (who wrote classics that Disney has tackled on before such as "The Little Mermaid" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier") a homeless little girl (who kind of looks like a young Mulan) wanders around the snowy streets during Christmas time trying to sell matches to people who don't need them. As she huddles in an alley trying to warm herself from the brutal cold after having no luck with selling the matches, she decides to keep herself warm by lighting them where she envisions herself in a warm house full of food and toys with her deceased Grandmother. Unlike the last Disney Christmas short I reviewed that was a half hour long, this is under 10 minutes so expect this review to be brief.

Much like how I felt about seeing "The Small One", I was wondering if the short's magic was going to bring that emotional impact that people say was so powerful, and to my surprise it not only did just as solid of a job, but I found it be more emotionally scarring in comparison. The story of a homeless girl shivering on the streets and imagining what it'd be like to not be homeless was a very sad but yet cute tale that keeps bringing you on a roller coaster of emotions. When we're in the real world everything is dark and depressing where it's mostly consumed with the colors black, white, and grey. When we enter her fantasy world after she lights each match, everything looks so magical and pleasant as it's supported by beautiful warm colors that you want to stay in this alternate reality just as badly as the girl does, since everything in the real world is so gloomy. Although the film is mostly done with hand-drawn animation, it still has a few uses of CG that flow with this stylized world fine. The short was originally going to be part of a third "Fantasia" movie before the idea was scrapped, and you can tell that this was meant to be part of a "Fantasia" related project since the story is expressed through the animation flowing to the movement of a classical score without any dialogue or sound. And it works just as perfectly as you would expect from a segment of a "Fantasia" film. As for the ending, well without giving too much away, let's just say that the endings that Disney usually does when adapting a Hans Christian Andersen story is not carried out here.

"The Little Matchgirl" is in my opinion one of Disney's masterpieces in terms of animated shorts. It tells a bittersweet story through gorgeous animation and wonderful music that will have you moved to tears from start to finish. If you haven't seen it, well now's a good time to give it a watch!