MovieChat Forums > Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairy Tale Discussion > Huh?

Huh?

posted 21 years ago by maxvaughn
14 replies | jump to latest

Okay, I've yet to see this movie, but I want to. However, I'm a little confused by all the user comments I've read about it. I always heard that Hans Christan Andersen was in some ways down right creepy. It's been rumored that the character Uriah Heep in Charles Dickens's David Copperfield was based on Andersen (for those of you who've never seen/read David Copperfield, Heep is a worm of a man who embezles money and sets his sights on a little girl for future marriage). What is all this rambling and trivia leading to? A question for those who have seen this movie about Andersen. Is he ever portrayed in the film as being strange or other characters reacting to him in a negative way? Or is this all the much more cheerful and fun to watch idea of the man that was originally concived in the Danny Kay movie?

The penguins are calling and I can't find my way out of the labyrinth.

[–] olive_zoeky98 21 years ago

Not sure if you've watched the film by now, maxvaughn. If you have, you will know that Hans in the film indeed is portrayed as an unsual character.. we can say, strange. Due to that, often he is disliked by many other characters in the film. However, in overall Hans was described as a very fun-loving character who enjoys living in a world of his own imagination. And that's what made him world famous. The film has a close proximity with the real life of Hans Christian Andersen. I really enjoyed watching it. Well, I think the best way to judge it is by watching it yourself.

[–] 21 years ago

[deleted]

[–] maxvaughn 18 years ago

Thanks a lot. I still haven't seen the film, but these comments are making me more prepared for it.

The penguins are calling and I can't find my way out of the labyrinth.

[–] bunnystyck 18 years ago

pfft, yeah i'd say he was certainly creepy in this movie! like an autistic stalker. dun mean this movie is bad, though.

[–] lunaarwen 18 years ago

I didn't think he was creepy, it seems at the beginning of the movie he acted more like a young boy (although actor was obviously a young man)
then throughout the movie he does grow up. no doubt from his difficult and confusing childhood, left him awkward in adult life.
although he may have had his creepy moments, as sometimes he definitely reminded me of Michael Jackson, a man who never grew up.

[–] IreneHvR 18 years ago

I loved this movie

makes you sort of realise what those stories are really actually about

instead of just being child stories

they go much deeper than that

[–] maxvaughn 18 years ago

I'm a history major and I've done a little bit of studying into fairy tales and folk stories. I can tell you straight out that most stories like Andersen's were meant to have something behind them (according to psychologist) and a lot of them were meant for adults. For example, stories like the Little Match Girl and Little Red Riding Hood are said to have been as cautionary tales for kids, but also to help parents deal with the loss of children. Also, some fairy stories were based on things going on at time like the French story "Bluebeard" is thought to be based on a lord who was reportedly murdering children. These are just theories though, but some of them are really cool. Sorry, I love useless trivia :-)

The penguins are calling and I can't find my way out of the labyrinth.

[–] IreneHvR 18 years ago

funny you talk about Bluebeard
my collegue was talking about that yesterday too!!!

but I always loved fairy tales and I also love the trivia about them (not useless at all)
just too bad that I can't read them in their original language
well at least from Andersen, I could from brothers Grimm but they didn't actually write them they just wrote them down so they still could have different versions.

In NL there is an amusement parc Efteling where there is a BEAUTIFULL fairytaleforest
and ever since I've been a kid I always loved to go there

and last year they've made a Little Match Girl and it just BLEW me away
soooooooooo BEAUTIFULL

[–] maxvaughn 18 years ago

Wow! That's awesome! I've always wanted to see the black forest in Germany and Bluebeard's castle in France, but I've never made it to either

The penguins are calling and I can't find my way out of the labyrinth.

[–] dy158 17 years ago

I loved this movie

makes you sort of realise what those stories are really actually about

instead of just being child stories

they go much deeper than that

Yup! I like to read and often I wonder what really inspire the book's plot. Yeah, I am like that.

'Treat each day as if it's your last'

[–] tresfun 15 years ago

They have been replaying this movie on the Hallmark channel for a couple of
months now and it brought me back to this post. We're all wondering, 3 years later.. did you ever see the movie and what did you think? You've posted many times on this site without having watched the movie so now post something if you have.

[–] tresfun 15 years ago

I meant 7 years!

[–] maxvaughn 15 years ago

Ha ha ha! I assume you're refering to me :-) Yeah, i finally saw it. I liked it. It was lovely and well written for a TV movie. They most certainly did a good job of showing Andersen's little social quirks without making him creepy. They made it a good mix between history and what makes for a film plot. I really liked the way they portrayed Jenny Lind too.

I still don't know what to believe about the real Andersen, but I enjoyed the movie enough to tape it off TV

The penguins are calling and I can't find my way out of the labyrinth.

[–] tresfun 15 years ago

Thanks so much for posting and we now finally have the "wrap up" of your initial question. I thought the same as you, however, I thought the
actor who portrayed Andersen was a little too exaggerated in his movements; but overall was a nice updated version (and truer to form) of the classic. Thanks again.