qultlifter This film is absolutely fabulous fiction. Without disclosing much of the actual events, it focuses on Hans Christian Andersen's relations to women after he has left his childhood home. It is described at two levels. A straightforward reality outlines the dilemma quite sober and exact: should you go for what you need, or should you be led by your deepest desire. As intervals fantasies consisting of reproductions of some of the main character's world-famous fairy tales offer the viewer an intense and intuitive understanding that might be hard to obtain otherwise. This is fantasy at its best. I can only compare it with reading Michael Ende's book: The Never-ending Story, and of course Pink Floyd's music-movie of genius 'The Wall'. It is a success mixing reality and fantasy into a higher entity.

Lee-107 'The Ugly Duckling' was a part of our English textbooks when I was six-seven years old. After that my interaction with Hans Christian Andersen's tales has been sadly minimal... Until of course I saw Hallmark's production of 'The Snow Queen' with Bridget Fonda recently. But it was this film that really made Hans Christian Andersen intriguing to me and actually made me want to learn more about him through the net. It is one of Hallmark's best productions with really good performances from everyone. Kieran Bew is excellent in the title role. I'm sad to read from his filmography that hitherto this is the only film he has acted in. In the film, Hans' "brother" Edward, played by Mark Dexter, reads from a letter informing his father (James Fox), that Hans met Victor Hugo while in Paris. It so happened that while reading Hugo's 'Les Miserables' recently (a tome which I have yet to finish!), I could not, really could not imagine anyone else playing the character of the earnest, handsome young Marius in the novel but Kieran Bew! And this was before I even saw this film. I had just seen some trailers of it. I know that there are quite a few productions of 'Les Miserables' already in existence, the most recent one being with Liam Neeson as Jean Valjean. But, I do hope that there is one more production of this epic novel and Kieran Bew gets to play Marius - it's a character made for him! He's a good actor whom I really hope to see in many more films!All in all a really worthwhile film that needed to be made to keep the torch of Andersen's tales burning(dimmed as it is in the popular imagination by the more dominating presence of the tales of the Brothers Grimm).

rainbow414 I am enjoying watching this movie that has been recently reshown on the Hallmark Channel. How refreshing to watch a film that doesn't have foul language,etc. and tells the wonderful tale in a dramatic form of Hans' life.......I also admired the new actor who played Hans......we hope to see him in other theatrical productions or films sometime soon.......Thanks Hallmark for showing it again on tv!!!!!!

Moondust_Hermione Oooooooh, I loved this movie. Quite true to Andersen's life. Kieran Brew (Hans) captured his innocent, sensitive personality just perfectly. Emily Hamilton as Jette was also fantastic. Good integration of his tales into the plot, that was a good addition. I loooooved this movie!