I really wanted to like this movie, especially when I saw that Patrick Stewart was in the cast as the voice of the raven since I'm a long-time Patrick Stewart fan. I realize I'm a snob when it comes to "The Snow Queen." This was one of my all-time favorite children's stories. I also realize that anytime you read a story and create your own image of things, a movie will have a hard time living up to your creation. That being said, I really enjoyed "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" but, alas, I cannot say the same for this movie.<br /><br />The CG effects were cool but distractingly obvious. It was sort of like watching somebody's first attempt at a video production using CG. Gerda's mother was played by an actress (Juliet Stevenson) I had seen before but couldn't remember where. To give a gauge as to how emotionally engaging the movie was, I spent most of the movie trying to figure out where I had seen her before.<br /><br />I would say that, for young children not familiar with the original story, this would be a good 'pop it in the VCR for an hour so I can get some cleaning done' movie. But if it wins any awards, I'd be shocked.