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| Special Features: |
Full-screen format
Chapter selection
Featurette: A look behind the scenes
Photo gallery
Trailer gallery |
| Video Format: |
Full Frame (1.33:1)
[SS-DL]
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| Languages: |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
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| Subtitles: |
English for the hearing impared.
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| Captions: |
Yes
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| Casing: |
1-Disc Keep Case
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"Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale" is a family film from Hallmark that misses the mark. The lavish made for TV movie is just too bizarre to be enjoyed by the entire family. This film presents the famed Danish writer as a mentally ill fruitcake. I'm not sure if the movie was written that way or if the director couldn't control lead actor Kieran Bew. Mr. Bew's performance as Anderson had a chilling similarity to the strange impression left by Michael Jackson during the recent TV documentary about the King of Pop.
The Hallmark film presents Anderson as a man-child with an imagination as hyperactive as his body. The immature freak seems to charm every woman he comes into contact with as he stalks famed actress Jenny Lind (Flora Montgomery) all across Europe.
Several of Anderson's tales including "The Little Mermaid" and "The Snow Queen" are presented in this film. My 5 year-old daughter was frightened by the ending of "The Little Mermaid" segment. Anderson's original ending is a far cry from the Disney version. She didn't want to watch any more after that fright. My 16-year-old couldn't get through the first 30 minutes. "Is he on crack?" was my older daughter's question after we laughed through the strange opening. I came back to the film later, and Bew's performance did not become any less unusual.
If this is a family film, I'd hate to see the family the filmmakers had in mind when they made it. Good picture and sound. Lame extras. Fair price.
Picture Quality: 8/10
The picture is very good. Rich, well saturated colors. A few delineation problems. A few artifacts also. The movie had outstanding production values. To bad, they did pay as much attention to the script.
Sound Quality: 8/10
Both the 5.1 and 2.0 tracks are well done. Nice musical score. No loss of dialogue. All of lead actor Bew's quirky lines and mannerisms may be heard. The question remains, do you really want to listen?
Menu: 7/10
The menu goes for the "enchanting" look. It succeeds where the film fails. Easy to navigate. No Easter Eggs.
Extra Features: 3/10
The Behind the Scenes look is little more than an extended trailer. The five-minute featurette includes interviews with the cast and crew. Nothing special. There is a so-so photo gallery and a gallery of trailers for other Hallmark films.
The Final Word:
The usually excellent Hallmark strikes out big time with this mess. A bizarre film which will alternately bore and scare little kids. Adults will just want to shake their heads and walk away. Avoid at all costs.
Rusty White
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