Gerda and Kay are best friends; however, the depth of their bond is tested when the beautiful Snow Queen strike's Kay's eyes and heart with shards of ice that make him cruel. After breaking Gerda's heart with his bullying, Kay is kidnapped by the Snow Queen, who takes him to her palace in the north, where she hopes to erase all memories and emotions from the child. Gerda's love for Kay motivates her to leave home and find Kay. She encounters a variety of strange and sometimes sinister characters during her quest. But can she rescue Kay in time, or will the Snow Queen succeed in turning his heart to ice?
In 1959, the film was dubbed into English and released by Universal Pictures with the voices of Sandra Dee and Tommy Kirk as Gerda and Kai. The film was introduced by a six-minute live-action Christmas prologue featuring TV personality Art Linkletter, as well as a two-minute montage. In the prologue, Linkletter recited the following rhyme just before the film began: "One snowflake two/three snowflakes four/And now you'll see 'The Snow Queen'/if you add a million more." The American version also contained an entirely rewritten musical score and had three new songs in English, two of which replaced the Russian songs (the other one was in the montage). Hollywood Russian composer Joseph Gershenson composed the score for the 1959 film.

Credits
Sandra Dee as Gerda(voice: English version)
Tommy Kirk as Kay(voice: English version)
Patty McCormack as Angel(voice: English version)
Louise Arthur as The Snow Queen(voice: English version)
Paul Frees as Ol' Dreamy/The Raven(voice: English version)
June Foray as Court Raven(voice: English version)
Joyce Terry as The Princess(voice: English version)
Dick Beals as The Prince(voice: English version) (as Richard