Hans Christian Andersen - My Life as a Fairytale
One of the great figures of world literature, Danish author Hans  Christian Andersen (1805-1875) is renowned for his children's tales, yet  comparatively little is known of his extraordinary rise from poverty to  preeminence. Hallmark Entertainment presents the story behind the storyteller,  one as full of pathos as Andersen himself. In his film debut, Kieran Bew is  remarkable as Andersen, an impoverished child who, at age 15, runs away to  Copenhagen. Destitute, he's befriended by a wealthy benefactor, Jonas Collin  (James Fox), who offers him shelter, education, and, ultimately, an audience  with a publisher. As the biography unfolds, so does Andersen's brilliant  imagination. The film deftly weaves snippets of his fairy tales ("The Snow  Queen," "The Little Mermaid") into the real-life scenes of a man whose rise to  fame is tangled with the strains of success and a tendency to believe his own  fiction. An inventive script and strong ensemble cast make this a cinematic  standout. (Ages 8 and older)--Lynn Gibson