What makes it different from others?

ridiculous rating

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I saw this as a child and it enchanted me and it stayed with me for years. How disappointed was I as a grown up that it had dated so badly. It was annoying and trite and made me a little uncomfortable. Danny Kaye was a favourite of mine many years ago with his Mitty movie and The Court Jester ( the pellet with the poison routine still cracks me up). He was rather subdued in this film and I now find the songs I loved too cheesy and very much fifties. The ballet sequences are terrifically staged and still work brilliantly. Who knew Zizi Jeanmaire was the person in Peter Sarsted's song?! Perhaps it still works for children even now but not for adults. The songs I remember were a staple of fifties radio and are a part of my childhood and speak of a much more innocent time.

My vote is largely for the superb score by Frank Loesser; written a scant two years after his great Broadway masterpiece Guys And Dolls the most striking thing about it is its complete difference to the Broadway musical with the only commonality being the melodic melodies and literate lyrics. Danny Kaye, of course, phones it in, and whilst its easy to see how a child may be captivated by his easy charm the adult will note the cynicism at work and the calculation that goes into every smile to ensure just the right amount of sincerity, not too little, not too much, in some ways Kaye was the Olivier of the cinema. On the other hand Sam Goldwyn clearly instructed his creative team to come up with an entertaining, schmaltzy musical full of sentiment and songs and, let's face it, he got just that.

A fictional account of the life of storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. First, if you haven't read his stories, then you probably won't appreciate this movie as much as you should. It's a perfect excuse to read them with your family, then watch the movie. Second, if you're expecting a sophisticated, adult-oriented story, you will be disappointed; however, the morals to Hans' stories, as well as the movie's lessons, are very worthy. That said, the musical numbers are an absolute delight -- Danny Kaye never fails to deliver a wonderful performance, and where else can you learn to sing stories, instead of tell them, for your children? -- and the ballets are great for this venue. We even get to see the movie's choreographer dance in one of the numbers. This movie was nominated for several Oscars. It deserved those nominations. Don't skip this one, especially if you have small children.

A lot of the comments previously made here are true and this certainly isn't any kind of real biographical film of Hans Christian Anderson. But one must remember that Samuel Goldwyn was primarily making this film as children's entertainment. And on that level he succeeded brilliantly.In fact at the age of 5 in the cinema in Brooklyn this was the first movie on the big screen I ever remember seeing. My father was a big Danny Kaye fan so the whole family went to see it. And of course one of the first long-playing records we had in our house was the soundtrack to that film. Another reviewer said that Frank Loesser's score was the highlight for him in the film. I don't think Danny Kaye ever had better material to sing with on the screen. Up to this point he got by with stuff especially written for him by his wife Sylvia Fine. He proved here in Hans Christian Anderson that he could definitely succeed without it.Anyway when I view this film I'm five years old again. You will be too if you see it.