The Little Matchgirl

The Little Matchgirl is a short based on the Hans Christian Andersen story that was released in 2006 as a bonus feature on the Platinum release of The Little Mermaid that was intended for a third Fantasia film. It is set to Alexander Borodin's "Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 in D Major".
The short was intended to be one of the segments for the proposed but never completed Fantasia 2006.
==Summary==
Set in Russia, The Little Matchgirl tells the story of an unnamed girl as she tries to make it through a harsh Russian winter, with matches her only way to make money. She later uses all of her matches to make her happy.
==Plot==
A Little Matchgirl is trying to sell matches on the snowy streets of Russia. Unfortunately, no one will buy them from her, not even a policeman who helps her down from a lamp post. After a day without success, the young girl curls up in a corner with her box of matches in her lap. As the cold winds becomes stronger, she is forced to use one of her matches to keep warm.
As she removes one match from her box and lights it, she begins to imagine that the small flame is a large stove by which she can warm her fingers. However, it is not long until the match goes out and finds herself back in the frozen alley. Undaunted, she removes another match and lights it, but this time she envisions a candle sitting atop a food-filled table. Just as she reaches out to claim a tasty morsel, the flame is extinguished, causing her belly to rumble. Once more, the match girl lights a match, this time a sleigh drawn by horses comes to her, which takes her to the home of her beloved grandmother. As the match goes out, the match girl uses her remaining matches to continue the heartwarming thought.
In her final vision, she sees a Christmas tree in the other room, decorated with presents, ornaments, and candles. Her grandmother picks her up, and she gets to light every candle with her matchstick. As the match goes out, the scene goes black, as the girl had died during the cold night. However, the spirit of her grandmother appears to the match girl, whose spirit is joyous to see her. The grandmother picks up the match girl's spirit as she carries her into the afterlife.
==Trivia==
*Before it became an animated short, the story was adapted in Walt Disney's Giant Book of Fairy Tales, featuring Alice as the Little Matchgirl and Fauna as the Grandmother.
==Gallery==
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The little matchgirl 7large.jpg|The spirit of her grandmother carrying the matchgirl into the afterlife, her suffering over at last.
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Category:Fantasia segments
Category:2006 shorts
Category:Academy Award nominated films
Category:Christmas shorts
Category:Fantasia