Russian animation powerhouse Wizart has revealed the trailer for the fourth installment in its hit franchise, The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands, which will kick off its global release Christmas Eve and arrive in Russian theaters on January 1. The studio has also issued a new poster for the title, which will be on offer to buyers at the American Film Market (Oct. 31-Nov. 7).
Mirrorlands promises to be the property’s most ambitious outing yet, with amped up animation, effects and a unique story about the collision of science and magic in its fairytale world. The picture is directed by Aleksei Tsitsilin and Hollywood animation veteran Robert Lence, who has worked on blockbuster movies such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, Shrek and others. Mirrorlands marks Lence’s feature animation directorial debut.
The producers are Yuri Moskvin, Vladimir Nikolaev, Boris Mashkovtsev, Pavel Stepanov, and Vadim Vereshchagin. Central Partnership (which is a part of Gazprom Media) and Soyuzmultfilm took part in co-production.
In The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands, Gerda, Rollan and of course the Snow Queen return — the latter being transformed into a ghostly presence visible only to Gerda — in an exciting adventure in which a mighty king takes revenge on the Snow Queen by banishing all magic creatures from his world to the Mirrorlands. Former foes must forget their differences and unite to keep fairy tale magic alive!
In the new movie, the creators paid special attention to the special effects: realistic clouds, lava and water look like they were real; breathtaking vast landscapes; and impressive battle scenes of great technological level and scale. The heroes – and the audience with them – will travel by zeppelin and steam cart, they will also visit a flying City of Pirates.
The first movie in the franchise was released in 2012 – since then The Snow Queen brand has earned Wizart Animation Studio about $100 million. The franchise is the most successful Russian project abroad. To the present day, the movies have been sold to 150 countries and translated into 30 languages.
