A Snow Fairy Tale 1960

On the night before New Year’s Eve, a daydreaming boy named Mitya Igor Yershov confesses to his classmates that his toy clock—painted hands and all—has the power to stop all the clocks in the world, to halt time, or even to wake a snowman. The other students doubt him, but his wild idea somehow starts to come true: the snowman into which he placed the clock, instead of a heart, comes to life and transforms into a beautiful girl whom he names Lyolya Alla Kozhokina.

The Old Year, a mysterious and deceptive old man who fears the arrival of the New Year (and what it signals for his own end), learns about the clock’s existence and resolves to seize it in order to stop time and extend his own life. He believes his scheme will “help people,” even as it risks unraveling the natural flow of the season. After failing to persuade Mitya and Lyolya to surrender the clock, the Old Year seizes a box containing three ordinary items—a coin, a piece of charcoal, and a scrap of paper with a wax seal. With these simple objects, he brings three more snowmen to life as his assistants, and he races to locate the magical clock before the New Year arrives.

What follows is a tense and whimsical race between youth and time, where Mitya and Lyolya must outsmart the Old Year and his growing troupe of snow beings. The story blends playful fantasy with a sense of peril, inviting viewers to consider themes of imagination, courage, and the inexorable passage of time as the countdown to midnight unfolds. Lyolya’s voice is provided by Margarita Korabelnikova Margarita Korabelniknova (uncredited).